Course Description:
The Pre-AP® English summer institute is a four-day intense training focused on best practices for engaging students in critical reading and writing.  Participants gain hands-on activities and lessons to develop analytical skills.  Specific topics explored include genre studies, poetry analysis, close reading, analyzing author’s craft, crafting lessons and units of study at the appropriate Blooms level, utilizing interactive notebooks, and research.

Pre-AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the development nor delivery of this professional development.

Course Description:
Teaching Pre AP® mathematics provides a wide variety of math lessons to explore. Preparing students to understand AP® mathematics begins with a solid understanding of Pre-Algebra and Algebra. Teaching Algebraic skills in the context of a problem is developed in four ways; numerically, verbally, algebraically and graphically. There will be a variety of lessons comprising Pre-Algebra and Algebra skills as well as ways to help students see patterns that lead to a deeper understanding and application of Algebra. Manipulatives will be explored and used by the participants. This institute will be a hands on workshop with a variety of activities that you will make and take.
You will delve into different concepts with a Goldilocks type of approach. Within the concept there will be a simple beginning lesson, a more in depth lesson and then a lesson with more rigor. This will provide you with a variety of ideas and a way to reach a diversified group of student in your classroom.
There will be time to discuss different components of The College Board and its philosophy as well as taking time to learn how to create and tailor your own performance task activities.

Pre-AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the development nor delivery of this professional development.

Course Description:
Participants should bring:

Pre-AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the development nor delivery of this professional development.

Consultant:

Pre-AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the development nor delivery of this professional development.

Course Description:

Participants of the summer institute will be exploring the AP® Biology curriculum with foundation in the 4 Big Ideas and science practices. They will also participate in inquiry labs and alternative lab protocols, and will review  AP® Biology Exams using the standards used at AP® Biology Readings. Opportunities for participant sharing of best-practices concerning content, lab equipment and procedures and use of technology will be included. Discussion will include equity, access and preparation needed for students and teachers in the AP® Biology course.

This course is designed to provide a framework for establishing a successful AP® Biology program. Teachers will become familiar with the AP® Biology Curriculum Framework and the AP® Biology Exam. Participants will gain firsthand experience in the set up and delivery of many of the recommended labs that support the curriculum.

Topics will include the following:

• Syllabus – components of the Curriculum Framework and pacing
• Managing the lab component of AP® Biology
• AP® Exam
• Lab reports
• Exploring proven instructional strategies• Assessing students’ understanding

• How to write a Free Response, response
• Inquiry-Based Laboratories and laboratory write-ups
• The concepts of AP Vertical Teams and Pre-AP Biology
• AP Biology textbooks and multimedia resources
• Teaching strategies for under-prepared and prepared AP Biology students

Participants should bring:

• • Flash drive
  • Laptop or tablet if possible
  • Pencil and paper
  • Calculator
  • Goggles if possible

Consultant: Karen Davis

Karen Davis has been an AP® Biology teacher for 20 of her 32 years in education, most recently at Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas. She taught in El Paso for 20 years and worked for a year at Region 19 in El Paso with the Mathematics and Science Partnership. She collaborated with the rural school science teachers around El Paso to provide professional development opportunities within the context of the classroom. She has been a member of Comal ISD’s Teacher Leadership Collaborative, helping to provide quality professional development to the teachers in the district. She has been an AP Biology Reader for the past 7 years.

Karen is a Consultant for National Math and Science and travels to various parts of the United States to present Student Study Sessions for AP Biology students and training for teachers. She is a Texas AP Advocate, advocating on behalf of AP Biology students and teachers to community leaders and legislators. Karen has been a member of the STAT CAST committee in both El Paso and San Antonio and has been a presenter at NSTA. She is a member of both TABT and NABT.

Course Description:
The AP® Calculus AB Institute will cover the content of the AP® course, with an emphasis on approaching the material both graphically and analytically. Participants will receive materials to use with their students including teaching notes, discovery lessons using the graphing calculator, worksheets for extra practice and AP® practice problems. Discussion of how to fit all of the topics into the school year and how to review for the AP® test will also be included.

Participants should bring:
Graphing calculator

Consultant:  Linda Hall
I grew up in Illinois and graduated from Illinois State University. I hold a BS in Education and a Masters in Mathematics. I moved to Texas and have lived in the Sugarland area for almost 40 years. I am currently teaching mathematics at Stephen F Austin High School in Fort Bend ISD. I have taught AP Calculus for 26 of my 42 years of teaching. I have a wide range of strategies to help students be successful in AP Calculus. I am a College Board consultant and have presented at numerous College Board two-day conferences and week long summer workshops.

Course Description:
Designed to be the equivalent of the general chemistry course usually taken during the first year of college, this course is structured about the six big ideas: structure of matter; properties of matter-characteristics, states and forces of attraction; chemical reactions; rates of chemical reactions; thermodynamics and equilibrium.

Participants should bring:
Apron and Goggles if readily available
Wear closed toe shoes

∗NOTE: Chemistry teachers must follow the University’s lab safety rules by wearing closed-toe shoes (no sandals), long pants or skirts, and goggles during all lab activities. 

AP® Computer Science A

This course is designed to expand the knowledge of both new and experienced AP® Computer Science A (AP®CS A) teachers.  It will focus on the required course content, available resources, and teaching strategies for use in the AP®CS A classroom.  Additionally, participants will receive information about the structure of the AP®CS A exam, the AP®CS A Course Description, and the AP®CS A Reading.

This workshop will focus on the recommended AP®CS A Labs, along with other difficult AP®CS A concepts.  Participants will engage in the hands-on activities and discuss options of how to best implement them in the classroom.  Opportunities to engage in hands-on activities involving traversing arrays and Lists, String processing, and recursion will be provided.

Consultant:  Judy Hromcik

Judith Hromcik taught AP® Computer Science at Arlington High School in Arlington, Texas for 20 years. She retired in 2009, but missed teaching and returned to the classroom in 2012; she is currently teaching at The School for the Talented and the Gifted in Dallas, Texas. Judith was a member of the AP® Computer Science Development Committee from 2001 – 2005 and has been a Reader and a Question Leader at the AP® Computer Science Reading. She has been a College Board consultant since 1997 and has conducted many AP® Computer Science Summer Institutes. Judith wrote the solutions for the “GridWorld” case study and is a co-author of the new Computer Science lab “Elevens”. She piloted tested “Elevens” and “Magpie” in her classes. Judith has a strong interest in developing curriculum for Computer Science.

Course Description:
This course will focus upon various elements of an AP English Literature course – the study of prose and poetic works.  Beowulf, Chaucer, Hamlet, Oedipus, AP® Comedy, The Multiple Choice Question, the AP® Research Paper, New Approaches to Teaching the Novel or Play and a Simulated Reading of the 2019 AP Literature Examination are just a few of the units that will be presented and discussed.

New teachers in an AP® English Literature and Composition course will be introduced to the AP® Course Audit, and successful and hands-on AP® strategies that they will be able to introduce immediately to their own students.  Experienced teachers will be introduced to new strategies in teaching classic works as well as preparing students for the AP® English Literature Examination.  These strategies require higher order thinking, and are designed to engage students and rejuvenate your high school curriculum.

Consultant:  Dr. Randy Baker

Dr. Randy Baker has been teaching English for more than forty-three years.  A Nationally Board Certified Instructor, Dr. Baker has taught Pre-AP® and AP® classes for at least twenty-seven years, and has been a national consultant for the College Board in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Illinois.  He conducted a workshop for experienced AP® teachers at the National College Board Convention in Seattle, Washington, in July 2008.

A Reader for the AP® English Literature Exam for eleven years, Dr. Baker is chairman of his English Department at Crossings Christian School and retired from the Putnam City School District in 2013. He was named the recipient of the 2010 Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in Secondary Teaching by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.  He is a past member of the Oklahoma State Master Teacher Program and received his doctoral degree in English Education at the University of Oklahoma.

In addition, he is also an adjunct at Oklahoma State University in Oklahoma City.  Dr. Baker says that he loves to conduct Summer AP® Institutes because he learns as much from the participants as they learn from him.

Course Description:
Designed for the English instructor seeking to learn or improve teaching strategies pertinent to AP® English Language, this course will focus on preparing students for the national exam but have an emphasis on application to the rhetorical situations present in communications “of the real world” so that students may also become critical thinkers “beyond the classroom” as well. Participants will leave the institute with lessons and strategies they can immediately incorporate into their curriculum.

Topics will utilize examples from fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama with an overall emphasis on improving students’ close reading/analysis skills and improving the syntactical maturity of students’ writing. Possible AP®SI discussion topics include:

• Developing an AP® English Language course as part of an effective Vertical Team
• Improving close/ reading, critical thinking, and rhetorical/language analysis
• Improving students’ writing through their ability to read and analyze complex text
• Introducing/Improving Argumentative Writing (for the Eng Lang & Comp Exam)
• Classroom Discussion methods and Student Annotation methods
• Utilizing multiple genres in the AP® English Lang & Comp classroom
• Utilizing high-interest non-fiction (including images and video as rhetorical text)
• Computer lab time for lesson planning, enrichment pieces, and application
• Practical methods for preparing students for the Multiple Choice and Free Response sections of the AP® English Lang & Comp exam
• A study of 2019 AP English Language free response questions with sample student responses for each participant and discussion of using those samples for instructional purposes

Consultant:  Phil Miller

Phillip Miller currently teaches the AP Language and Composition course at Amarillo High School in Amarillo, Texas. Phil has been in education for 28 years. He has experience at the Pre-AP® level and has been in the AP® English classroom for the past 19 years. Phil has been a reader for the Language and Composition exam but now spends his summers working as a College Board consultant around the country. Phil has been a College Board consultant for the past 20 years. He is also the English Department Head and AP® Lead Teacher as well as the IB Coordinator at Amarillo High School. Phil loves what he does and truly believes in the AP® program.

Course Description:
AP® Environmental Science provides students with the scientific principles, concepts and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems and to examine alternative solutions for resolving or preventing them.

AP® Government and Politics, US

Course Description:

The course will focus on the development of content for each of the five units of the re-design as established in the course outline, as well as the use of essential questions, course objectives, learning activities, teaching strategies, and the interplay of multiple resources. Emphasis will be placed on preparing students for the AP® examination. An analysis of past AP® examinations will be included, as well as a review of the standards established for grading the annual exams. A major portion of the course is devoted to the development of units for an AP® Government and Politics course by participants including the resources necessary for the implementation of such a course.  Additional instruction will be provided on lesson preparation, block teaching strategies, and the use of internet based assignments.  The course will provide assistance for those instructors who teach the AP ®US Government and Politics course for one high school semester as well as for an entire year.

Participants should bring:

Laptop or tablet; USB (memory stick); highlighters, pens.

Consultant:  Ulrich Kleinschmidt

Ulrich Kleinschmidt has been teaching government and economics at Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas since 1987 and has presented AP® government and AP® economics classes since the early 1990s. He also holds the position of department chairperson.  His College Board experiences include working as a reader and table leader for the US government and politics exam since 1999.  He has presented economics and government training sessions at multiple universities in College Board’s Southwest Region, Florida, California, Colorado, and Massachusetts.  He has also had the chance to present economics training programs in eastern Russia, led a national AP® conference in Guanzhou, China and presented at the national AP® conferences in California and Pennsylvania. He is the lead author for “Kaplan’s AP® Government and Politics” review text and a contributing author and editor for “Pearson’s Test Prep Series for Economics.” Currently, his duties also include working with the College Board consultant mentor program in the fields of macro and micro economics.

Participants should bring:

Laptop

Course Description:
This course is designed for new and experienced AP® Physics instructors.
The learning objectives and what the participants will be able to do after this session:
• Develop a syllabus to pass an AP® audit,
• Understand the emphasis on the AP® exam and effectively prepare students for the AP® exam,
• Understand the content in the AP® Physics 1 curriculum and apply strategies for designing and implementing an effective AP® Physics 1 curriculum,
• Understand the different types of laboratory experiments and activities and effectively apply strategies for designing and implementing these activities, and
• Share with other participants ideas for classroom demonstrations, labs and activities.
Included in this course are the following materials.
• College Board Workshop Handbook
• Curriculum Materials and Activities

Consultant: Dr. Brian Monson

Course Description:
This language course will focus on the themes for the Spanish Language and Culture Course as prescribed by the College Board. The course themes are: Global Challenges, Science and Technology, Contemporary Life, Personal and Public Identities, Families and Communities, and Beauty and Aesthetics. Throughout the institute, participants will create units of study for the six themes which will be shared at the end of the institute. The institute will also address the components of the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam (interpretative communication with print and audio texts, writing an email response and a persuasive essay, participating in a simulated conversation, and recording a cultural comparison presentation). Participants will practice grading exam samples; they will also analyze and review published texts and digital materials for the course. Strategies and teaching methods for different types of students will be addressed. Throughout the week participants will share in creating strategies for preparing students for the test, incorporating culture and language, finding and using authentic materials, integrating skills and using them in class and for the exam, and any other AP related matter that may be of interest.This workshop is for new and experienced AP® teachers who want to prepare students to advance in the study of the Spanish language. We will focus on the current course and exam format. Participants will become familiar with the themes that explore connections among language, literature, and culture through diverse global perspectives. In addition, participants will explore various sample activities applicable to various levels of second language acquisition.

Consultant:  Santos Gutierrez

Santos (Sandy) Gutierrez is a 4th generation Texan. She grew up in Houston and received her BA and MEd at the University of Houston. She started teaching at 21 and never stopped. She has been a teacher for 40 years at all levels from third grade through college. She taught the AP® Spanish language course for 20 years and the AP® Spanish literature course for 14 years, 10 of those years via television (distance learning) to students throughout Fairfax County, Virginia. She received her Ph.D. in 2008 from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Course Description:
This workshop, designed for both new and experienced AP® Statistics teachers, will provide an overview of the topics included in the AP® Statistics syllabus including the broad conceptual themes: Exploring Data, Sampling and Experimentation, Anticipating Patterns and Statistical Inference. It will include curriculum design, in-class activities, simulations on the TI-83+, software demonstrations, text selection, AP® examination expectations, grading, and information regarding the College Board audit. This will definitely be a hands-on workshop.

Consultant:  Tom Parker

Thomas Parker has taught at Southwest Guilford High School since 1996 and has taught AP® Statistics since 2004. Thomas has served as an AP® Statistics consultant for the College Board, as well as an AP® exam reader.

Course Description:
This interactive institute will have something for every teacher, regardless of experience. A closer look at the curriculum framework and the new test is a given. Other topics include organizing the course, teaching strategies and skills, content specific lessons, grading essays, resources, and creating test questions. Participants will take home activities that can immediately be used in the classroom.
The primary focus of the institute will be to address the parameters of the course and look closely at the Curriculum Framework, including Historical Thinking Skills with thematic learning objectives. In addition, time will be spent examining the exam—multiple choice, short answer, long essay and DBQ.

This workshop will also provide strategies and resources for every new teacher to organize their course, reflecting content specified in the College Board guidelines. Participants should come expecting to gain information and skills including writing instruction, grading essays, specific instructional strategies focused on analytical thinking, and student centered activities. This institute has something for every teacher, regardless of experience.

Participants should bring:

Every participant should bring their course syllabus (hard and electronic copy), questions regarding APUSH, district calendar, textbook, and memory stick.

Consultant: Penny Rosas

Penny Rosas, an educator for over 30 years, has been a College Board consultant and exam reader for over ten years. Receiving her undergraduate degree from Pan American University and her M.Ed. from University of Texas—Pan American, both of Edinburg, Texas, Penny has taught junior high school through college history classes and finally found her true calling with high school juniors. Teaching high school students, and working with educators are her passions.

Course Description:

In this workshop, we will work together to accomplish the following goals:

o To better understand the mechanics of the AP® World History Course and

o To improve our dependence on the Curriculum Framework in lesson planning and assessment

o To develop instruction that emphasizes writing using the Historical Thinking Skills

o Using more primary and secondary sources in the classroom

o Guiding students through argument development (Thesis writing and development)

What to Bring:

Please make sure to bring an electronic device and be willing to share some of the wonderful activities happening in your classroom!

Consultant:  Chad Smith

Chad Smith is the AP® World History teacher at MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas. As a MacArthur teacher, he has taught on-level, honors, Pre-AP®, and AP® classes in both US and World History. He also coaches several academic teams, including Academic Decathlon and UIL Current Events. Chad is also an official reader, grader of the free response portion of the AP® test, for the College Board and has presented at the AP® National Conference.