Courses and Consultants

By Sue Johnson

Courses offered in 2012 

Biology
Calculus AB/BC
Computer Science
Chemistry
Economics
English Language
English Literature
Environmental Science
European History
French Language & Culture
Latin:Vergil
Physics B
Psychology
Spanish
Statistics
US Government
US History

Course Descriptions with Consultant Information

BIOLOGY

This session is designed for beginning as well as experienced teachers and will focus on freshwater populations, communities and ecology. Having access to Sebago Lake will provide us with the opportunity to connect the AP curriculum
content to direct observation in the field. We will concentrate primarily on plants and algae along Sebago’s shoreline and will utilize our fieldwork to develop and perform experiments that are currently included in the AP biology curriculum.
These will likely include plant pigments and photosynthesis, cell respiration, transpiration, and dissolved oxygen and aquatic primary productivity. Participants will be expected to develop a research project as a group, and begin data
collection and analysis. Additionally, we will examine techniques and strategies used to develop an engaging AP biology curriculum that leads to a scientific community in the classroom and success on the AP exam.

Michael Schaab, Department of Arts and Sciences at Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, Maine, has taught high school science for 31 years and for the last ten years at the college level. He is a College Board consultant and exam reader,
and mentor for the State of Maine. He has developed and delivered numerous AP chemistry and AP biology workshops and summer institutes for the last eleven years. His primary focus of educational interest and research is in the area of
laboratory learning.

COMPUTER SCIENCE

The course accommodates participants with different levels of familiarity with Java and OOP.  We will study classes and objects, constructors and methods, interfaces, inheritance, and polymorphism, strings, arrays and ArrayList, and other topics specified in the AP CS Course Description.  We will also work with the GridWorld case study, review the College Board's AP materials and the 2012 AP CS Exam, and discuss techniques for teaching Java in high school (role play, team projects).

Maria Litvin has taught computer science and mathematics at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, since 1987.  She is an AP Computer Science exam reader since 1996 and provides AP training for high school computer science teachers.  Maria is a recipient of the 1999 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement for Mathematics, Science, and Technology for New England and of the 2003 RadioShack National Teacher Award.  Prior to joining Phillips Academy, Maria taught computer science at Boston University.

Maria is a co-author (with Gary Litvin) of Be Prepared for the AP Computer Science Exam in Java, now in its fourth edition.  Maria and Gary also co-wrote C++ for You++, and more recent Java Methods: Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures, the textbook used for AP CS courses in hundreds of schools.  Since 1999, Maria and Gary co-wrote questions for the Continental Mathematics League contests in computer science; this collection is now available in the book 250 Multiple-Choice Computer Science Questions in Java (Skylight Publishing, 2008).  Their latest book is Mathematics for the Digital Age and Programming in Python (Skylight Publishing, 2008), now in its second edition (2010).

CALCULUS AB/BC

This session will provide thorough coverage of the concepts and ideas of AB Calculus, with emphasis on both teaching strategies and test taking tips. BC topics including logistic growth, parametric and polar equations, and series will also be treated.  The format of the exam will be explored with analyses on the multiple choice, free response, and calculator active portions of the test. Reform topics will be covered and insights into the grading rubrics will be provided.  It is recommended that participants bring a graphing calculator.


Gerald Pockl, of John Marshall High School, West Virginia, has been teaching AP Calculus since 1984, and has been an AP Reader since 1996 and a Table Leader since 2001

CHEMISTRY

This session will provide an intensive overview of the AP Chemistry course with particular attention to laboratory work, the structure and content of the AP examination. Participants will learn about scheduling variations, course outlines, resources and the development of a syllabus suitable for the College Board's Course Audit. The development of the examination rubric, the setting of standards and the process of applying them to the AP examination will be covered and a series of one dozen different laboratory activities will be performed and discussed.

Cheri Smith is the science department head at Yale Secondary, a medium sized secondary school near Vancouver, British Columbia. Cheri has been teaching AP Chemistry since 1988, and she has worked as a consultant in the areas of AP Chemistry and Pre-AP Science for over a decade. Most recently, Cheri has assisted in editing and writing of the Special Focus materials for the College Board's AP Chemistry workshops and the reviewing of materials for AP Central. She has been an AP chemistry exam reader, table leader and question leader since 1998.

ECONOMICS

The workshop will cover the major topics of both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Each of the major topics areas that present difficulty to students will be examined and discussed. Course organization will be examined as well.  All participants will receive a handbook and CD that covers all of the content, planning, activities, correlated test questions, etc. It is recommended that teachers bring a copy of the text that they intent to use if it is already selected, school calendar for next year; and a notebook computer, if possible.

Dick Brunelle is the Executive Director of the Economic Education Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting high school economic programs by providing professional development and support to high school teachers. He also teaches economic courses at Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. Dick taught AP Economics at Ashland High School, where he also was the chair of the Social Studies Department before retiring from that position. Dick has been conducting economic institutes throughout the U.S. and Canada for more than ten years, and he served for 5 years on the Test Development Committee for AP Economics.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION

Essays, speeches, letters and memoirs are central to instruction in this session. However, important changes are coming to the examination which will affect the character and content of AP English Language courses. New and experienced teachers of AP English will be able to establish or revise their AP practice around nonfiction, focusing on activities that accompany close reading and rhetorical analysis. The session also will address ways to help students write effective arguments and synthesis essays. Participants will bring new approaches and materials into their courses by designing model units. Recent AP examination questions and scoring practices will be reviewed.

John Brassil of John Bapst Memorial High School, Maine has taught AP English Language and Composition for more than 20 years. A table leader at the AP English Language and Composition reading, he has conducted AP summer institute sessions and professional development workshops throughout New England and in Canada. He also mentors new AP English Language teachers in Maine.He has also served on the Development Committee as College Board Advisor for AP English Language and Composition.

ENGLISH LITERATURE & COMPOSITION

This course will focus on methods for guiding students to acquire knowledge and skills essential to a deeper understanding of poetry, drama, and fiction.  We will consider such topics as close reading, means of gauging a work’s tone, and application of key literary terms, as well as possible choices in designing an AP literature syllabus and in using flexible approaches for teaching diverse groups of students.  Other goals will be to familiarize participants with the structure and content of the AP exam and to consider sample questions from both the multiple choice and the free response sections of past exams.  Since AP English is different in intensity but not in kind from other literature courses, both new and experienced AP teachers will also share sample lessons from their own classes that might serve as models and inspirations for the rest of us.

Sharon Hamilton has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois.  She taught English at several colleges, at Phillips Exeter Academy, and at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, where she taught AP English for twenty-six years and, for twenty-one years, also headed the English Department.  She served as a Reader for the English Language and English Literature Advanced Placement Exams for eight years (2000-2007).  A College Board Consultant since 2001, she has taught day-long workshops for AP teachers and, since 2002, summer workshops at the Taft Educational Center.  She has presented at several educational conferences, including the AP Annual Conference in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.  She is the author of five books, including Shakespeare’s Daughters (McFarland, 2003) and Essential Literary Terms (Peoples and Norton, 2007).

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

In this session, participants will learn about the development and grading of the AP test, discuss and evaluate teaching resources, and experience several different kinds of lessons and student-centered experiences. You will be expected to draft a syllabus for a year-long AP Environmental Science course. Through designing experiments, engaging in inquiry-based activities, and collecting data in the field, students will understand how the process of science works. Hands-on activities rather than lecture are the tools used to develop critical analysis and problem solving abilities, fundamental skills necessary for this course. Cemeteries, power plants, fields, forest, ponds and school campuses are all rich resources of inquiry-based projects.

Jeanne Kaidy currently teaches Biology and AP Environmental Science at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, New York, where she also serves as Chair of the Science Department. Jeanne is also an adjunct instructor of Environ¬mental Science at Monroe Community College. She has participated as a Reader for the College Board for the past five years, and is an AP Consultant. Jeanne co-authored the test bank and instructor's manual that accompanies the most recent edition of the AP textbook, Living in the Environment, by G. Tyler Miller. She is a contributing author to the AP lab manual for Environmental Science, an inquiry-based lab manual that accompanies the text.

EUROPEAN HISTORY

The AP European History workshop is designed to help both new and experienced teachers address some of the key challenges of the course: coverage of the content, development of critical thinking skills, success on the AP test, and stimulating student engagement. We will also examine the Document Based Essay and Free Response Essays in terms of strategies, the College Board scoring rubric, and the analysis of actual student papers. Participants will be asked to bring some of their best practices (lessons, resources, unit plans, books, films, and syllabi) for sharing and discussion with the group. The instructor will provide a thumb drive of hundreds of files, including assignments, tests, projects, and strategies. We will also review upcoming changes to the AP European History test.

Dr. Lenore Schneider has taught AP European History for 15 years at New Canaan High School, Conn., where she also teaches AP World History. She has served as table leader for ten years at the scoring of the national AP test, been a member of the AP European History Test Development Committee, and taught numerous workshops and institutes in the past years.

FRENCH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

The AP French Language & Literature workshop is designed:

  • To provide the participants with ideas and techniques (Vertical Team Concept) – To prepare the students from the basic level to the New AP French test.
  • To familiarize participants with the content and the structure of the different components of the New AP French Language test.
  • To present the three modes of written and spoken communication defined in the Standards for Foreign Language learning in the 21st Century.
  • To familiarize the participants with the Presentational, the Interpersonal and the interpretive modes of Communication in Speaking and Writing.
  • To share materials and techniques that will assist the participants to understand the new approach and will help their students to succeed on their 2012 AP test.
  • To present the cultural approach and material to be incorporated at all levels of instruction.
  • To present the websites available and how to integrate the authentic material in their daily teaching.
  • To present the six essential themes and the sub-topics recommended to be integrated in the daily instruction.
  • To provide the participants with time and opportunity for collegial interaction and exchange of successful strategies.
  • To help the participants with the preparation of the new syllabus for the College Board Audit.

To Contact Presenter:  mmulhair@aol.com

Mona Mulhair has taught French at Gavilan and Cabrillo Community Colleges and presently teaches AP French language and literature at Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek. She has been the World language mentor for the District and is presently the department chair at Las Lomas.  She has been appointed as a reader and consultant for the College Board since 1995. She was a member of the test development committee and has been a table leader since 2001.  She has conducted several curriculums and grading workshops nationwide as well as internationally: Paris/France and Montreal/Canada.  She has presented the five-day workshops at Monterey, San Diego, Stanford, Redondo Beach California, Bellevue Washington, Tucson Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Vermont, Texas , Montana, Hawaii, and Paris France.  In 2002, Mona presented French AP language and Literature in the First National AP Conference in Chicago and was certified as a National Consultant Leader for the College Board.  She was teacher of the year for the Acalanes District in 1994 and has been the recipient of numerous Awards of Excellence in her field. In 2005, She authored the French Study Guide of Candide, Voltaire.  In 2007, she authored and compiled the French Language Guide for the College Board and the AP workshops. In addition, she was nominated to serve on the National Academic Council of the College Board. In August 2010, she was asked to conduct a special workshop for the French consultants, preparing them for the 2012 new AP French Language and Culture test.

LATIN: VERGIL

2012-2013 is the first year of the new AP Latin.  This workshop will give AP teachers the opportunity to read excerpts from the new lines of books 1, 2, 4, 6 of Vergil’s Aeneid, as well as text from Caesar’s De Bello Gallico.  Special attention will be given to the Curriculum Framework and the instructional strategies for themes and contextualization in the new course.  Time will be spent preparing materials for literal translation, writing comparative essays, and integrating short answer questions into instruction.  Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop computer or a flash drive.

For any and all questions or more information contact jmcrooker@aol.com.

Jill Crooker taught Latin, all levels including AP Vergil and AP Latin Literature, for more than 25 years at Pittsford Mendon High School, N.Y. She has served as Reader, Table Leader, and presently Question Leader for samples for more than 10 years. She has conducted numerous AP summer institute sessions and has led professional development work-shops in Maine and New York, as well as at The American Classical League Institutes for many years. She presently serves as the College Board Advisor on the AP Latin Test Development Committee and has responsibility for the professional development needs of teachers.

PSYCHOLOGY

Designed for both new and experienced AP Psychology teachers, this institute will present both curriculum related materials for each topic found in most introductory college textbooks and strategies for teachers to help students achieve success on the AP Psychology exam. Demonstrations, discussions, technology and a variety of other methods will be used to explore techniques for creating a dynamic AP Psychology course. Sharing of best practices will be an essential element of the institute and each participant is encouraged to bring a storage drive and/ or laptop for saving many of the materials presented.

Al Kirton has taught both General Psychology and AP Psychology at Natick High School in Massachusetts during his 34 years of teaching. He has been both a table leader and reader for the AP exam since 1993 and has been a College Board consultant conducting both AP workshops and summer institutes for the past 17 years. Al is a past recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools Excellence in Teaching Award. In addition to Al’s involvement with AP Psychology he is currently a supervisor of student teachers for Simmons College in Boston.

PHYSICS B

This five-day AP Physics B summer institute is to provide an opportunity for participants to familiarize with the AP Physics program, and to meet and share ideas with others who are developing or teaching the AP Physics B course. The primary focus is to help prepare participants to teach the AP Physics B course successfully, with strategies and resources including course syllabi auditing, class pacing, lab ideas, AP test development and grading, and future trends in the AP Physics courses and exams. Participants should expect to review topics in mechanics, fluids, thermodynamics, waves and optics, electricity and magnetism, and atomic and nuclear physics as outlined in the College Board Physics B course description. Each participant should bring a favorite lab/activity to share. A CD, which contains activities contributed by participants as well as sets of multiple choice and free response questions from previous AP B and C exams including solutions and grading standards, will be distributed at the conclusion of the institute.

Jiang Yu is a physics professor at Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. She has been an AP Physics exam grader since 2000 and is the current Chief Reader for the AP Physics Reading. Jiang is a College Board certified workshop consultant and has led many AP Physics workshops and institutes. She is also a certified senior reviewer for the AP Physics syllabi audit program.

SPANISH LANGUAGE

This five-day workshop will explore pedagogical possibilities for developing or enhancing programs whose focus is preparation for the AP Spanish Language Exam. By way of the communicative approach, participants will concentrate on strategies that facilitate the integration of the basic skills of language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Teachers participating in this workshop will share and develop “best practices” through discussion and classroom demonstration. We will discuss the dynamics of the Spanish AP Language format including the rubrics for grading compositions and speech samples. We will explore how to take advantage of materials now available on the internet and in various textbooks. Participants are asked to bring textbooks, laptops and other materials that they have or could use in their AP Language course.  Examples of classroom quizzes and exams would be particularly pertinent.  The workshop is for the teacher, experienced or novice, who is willing to maintain an open mind about the whys and wherefores of the AP program in Spanish.  It will be conducted primarily in Spanish.

John McMullan, having retired after thirty years at The Hotchkiss School, is currently an instructor in Spanish language and literature at The Millbrook School in Millbrook, NY.  He has taught both the AP Language and AP Literature courses for decades.  In addition, he has worked as a teacher trainer with Educational Testing Service for over twenty years in the correction of the oral portion of the Spanish AP Exam.  He has been involved in writing syllabi and guides for the College Board.  In addition, he has co-authored textbooks for McGraw-Hill and McDougal-Littell and is co-author of Triángulo:  A Propósito, a highly successful preparation book for the AP Spanish language exam.   At this time he is co-writing a multimedia on-line Spanish textbook Aventuras conectadas  and an up-date of Triángulo for Wayside Publishing.  He has given many workshops on AP Spanish materials as a consultant for College Board.

STATISTICS

This AP Statistics workshop is an intensive five-day program that will provide an overview ofstatistical ideas and concepts and give valuable resources andinstructional strategies for teachingAP Statistics. We will cover the four principal areas of the AP Curriculum: ExploratoryAnalysis, Data Collection, Probability, and Statistical Inference. Participants will be given instruction on content, classroom activities, teaching strategies, time management, uses of
technology, review for the exam, cumulative projects, and exposure to previous AP questions, concentrating on how the 2012 AP exam was graded. There will be a discussion of AP goals,resources, and equity issues, the course audit, and recommended textbooks. This workshop will be valuable not only to teachers planning to teach or already teaching AP Statistics, but also to Pre-AP teachers who through vertical teaming can help prepare and encourage students to take
AP Statistics.

Dr. Martin Sternstein, a Professor of Mathematics at Ithaca College, received
his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago and his doctorate at Cornell University. He spent two years in West Africa as Fulbright Professor at the University of Liberia. He has strong interests in national educational and social issues concerning equal access to matheducation for all. He has been a Reader and Table Leader for the AP Statistics exam, has givenover 50 college Board Pre-AP and AP workshops, and is the author of the Barron's AP Statistics review book and the Barron's AP Statistics flash cards. You can reach Marty at
martys@ithaca.edu.

U.S. GOVERNMENT

This session will address curriculum issues and provide a detailed overview of the AP Government and Politics exam. The mornings will focus on how to present the AP Government course, including syllabi, curriculum materials (texts and audio-visual resources) and effective teaching strategies. Afternoons will focus on the AP exam, the scoring of free response essay questions and the structure of the multiple choice section, and will provide tips on preparing students for the exam.

Dr. Paul Weizer, of Fitchburg State College, Mass., has been involved with the AP Government & Politics program for many years. He has been an AP reader for seven years and has conducted AP workshops and summer institutes since 1998.

U.S. HISTORY

This workshop will provide participants with insights into the development and reading of the AP U.S. History Exam as well as new developments in the AP curriculum, including the emphasis on themes and in-depth coverage. It will combine an exploration of both the content and the development of effective teaching strategies, including the use of technology, necessary to design or revise a successful AP course. Participants should bring some of their best practices, as well as any problems they have encountered, for sharing and discussion.

Jim Glinski has 30 years experience as a teacher and department chairperson at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Mass. He has served as a Reader and Table Leader at the AP U.S. History Exam Reading; been a consultant for workshops in AP U.S. History and AP European History; and received the College Board's New England region's Advanced Placement Recognition Award for Excellence in Teaching.

For more information, contact Richard Dennison at 800-343-5498 ext. 7512, or e-mail apsi@sjcme.edu