Courses and Instructor Information

For New Teachers (teachers with 2 years or less experience teaching AP courses)

Courses for New Teachers

Calculus AB

This institute will focus on the AP Calculus AB curriculum as outlined by the College Board. Major topics in the 2009-2010 curriculum will be investigated from a numerical, graphical and analytical point of view. Graphing calculator technology will be an integral part of our week’s work. Curriculum topics will be introduced via lecture and demonstration, problem solving activities, calculator lab activities and cooperative learning projects. A preview of references and textbooks will be included. Participants will outline lesson plans, develop teaching strategies and formulate alternate forms of assessment. Group discussions will focus on the issues of teaching an AP Calculus course--such issues to be determined from the needs and interests of the participants at the institute. Some issues identified for discussion in the past: student selection, prerequisite coursework, homework, grading, AP exam preparation, etc.

Instructor:

Phyllis Hillis has taught mathematics for 35 years and has been at Oak Ridge High School since 1979. She received her BS and Masters degrees in mathematics from the University of Tennessee. She has taught AP Calculus AB for 21 years. She has served as an AP exam reader for six years and a table leader for an additional six years. She is a consultant to the College Board presenting workshops on AP Calculus for one day and summer institutes, Pre-AP, and Math Vertical Teams, as well as, Teaching and Learning Mathematics throughout the United States. Phyllis is currently serving her fifth year appointment with the Educational Testing Service on the SAT II, Mathematics Test Development Committee. Additionally, Phyllis is a Tandy Scholar and has recently co- authored a calculator lab workbook for AP Calculus.

 

English Language & Composition (NOW CLOSED)

This workshop will examine various approaches to organizing and teaching AP English Language courses as well as proposed changes for the 2008 English Language and Composition Examination. Of primary significance will be attention to the critical reading and writing skills, which facilitate students' recognition of the inherent link between rhetoric and style as markers of meaning and import. Participants will develop course syllabi and individual assignments appropriate to various rhetorical and stylistic strategies. Discussions will cover the structure and philosophy of the AP Language Examination and exercises in holistic scoring of examination essays. Each participant should bring a favorite collection of non-fiction (such as essays), two or three issues of a magazine such asThe New Yorker, Harper’s, or the Atlantic Monthly, and any writing test that is particularly useful.

Instructor:

Mary Jo Potts is a member of the faculty of the Webb School of Knoxville, TN, where she serves as Dean of Faculty, head of the English Department, and most significantly, an AP English teacher. Since 1977 she has been teaching AP English, and since 1981 she has been associated with various aspects of the AP English program: as an AP reader, Table Leader, and Question Leader; a College Board AP and English Vertical Team Consultant; the primary author of The Teacher’s Guide – Advanced Placement English Language and Composition (1998). She was also a member of the AP English Test Development Committee (1998-2002). Currently she serves as a member of the College Board English Academic Advisory Committee.

 

English Literature and Composition

The English Literature and Composition Institute is designed for both beginning and experienced AP teachers. We look at student selection criteria, objectives, course outlines, methods, evaluation, and the exam. We examine teaching strategies, create or revise a course outline, and devise techniques that will help students with the exam. Most materials come from the College Board and from the instructor.

Instructor:

Carol Yoakley-Terrell is an AP English teacher and English Coordinator at Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, TN. She has over twenty-five years of AP teaching experience and has served as a reader for the AP English examinations. She has taught summer institutes for AP teachers since 1985 and serves as a consultant to the College Board. She is past president of Tennessee Council of Teachers of English and past state coordinator for NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing. Carol is the recipient of the Tennessee Humanities Council's Award in Teaching and the Don Jenkins Award in Teacher Excellence in Language Arts.

 

European History

The purpose of the summer institute in European History is to help participants understand the philosophy, objectives, and applications of the Advanced Placement course in European History. The institute will consider the equity and access principle of the College Board, the selection of primary and secondary texts, the pacing of the course, and answering the free response and document-based questions. In addition, participants will examine the role of study skills, reading, writing, past multiple choice sections, movies, and power point presentations in the AP curriculum, as well as the selection and use of primary and secondary documents. Participants will also discuss and practice a variety of teaching methodologies.

Instructor:

Doug Smith chairs the Department of History at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg, VA, where he has taught AP European History for twenty-seven years. Doug has served as an AP reader, Table Reader, and Question Leader at the AP readings in European History since 1986, and has been an endorsed consultant in European History with the Southern Regional Office of the College Board since 1996.

 

Statistics

This workshop is intended for inexperienced or beginning teachers of AP Statistics. The workshop will cover all topics needed to start the course as well as the subject matter covered in the course. In addition, preparing students for the exam, book selection, recruiting students, pace, and selling the course to your administrators. All four main topics will be studied (descriptive statistics, experimental design, probability, and inference) as well as the exam, its preparation and its grading.

Robert TaylorInstructor:

Robert Taylorreceived his Ph.D. in Statistics from Florida State University in 1971. He is a Fellow and Life Member of the American Statistical Association and Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics. He has taught at the University of South Carolina and the University of Georgia where he served as Head of the Statistics Department from 1989-1998. Dr. Taylor regularly teaches statistical education courses, has been at the AP Statistics Readings 2000-2002, was a Table Leader for the 2004, 2005 and 2006 AP Statistics Readings, was a Question Leader for the 2007 AP Statistics Reading and was the Assistant Chief Reader for the 2008 AP Statistics Reading, has presented one-day and five-day College Board AP Statistics workshops throughout the Southeast and is currently a member of the Test Development Committee. He has co-presented the Beyond AP Statistics workshops at the national statistics meetings in Atlanta (2001), New York (2002), San Francisco (2003) and Minneapolis (2005). Most importantly for this workshop, Professor Taylor has taught the 'AP Statistics for Teachers' course seven different times at the University of Georgia and Clemson University. He is currently Professor and Department Chair of Mathematical Sciences at Clemson University.

 

U.S. Government and Politics

This workshop will address the scope and sequence of the AP US Government and Politics course, including a basic outline, important concepts, and suggested time lines for instruction. Participants will also learn about the format of the AP Examination and the skills necessary for success. The workshop format will include lecture, analysis, and discussion of concepts, exam materials, and textbook and supplementary materials. Participants will receive hands-on materials and ideas for instruction from the instructor, and will develop and share their own course outlines, syllabi, evaluation items, teaching techniques, and units of study.

Instructor:

Ethel Wood taught AP Government and Politics at Princeton High School in Princeton, New Jersey from 1989 to 2007, and was a reader, table leader, and question leader for the Government and Politics Exams from 1991 to 2007. She has conducted numerous workshops and institutes for AP Government teachers, and she has authored several study guides and a textbook for United States Government. This will be her second year to teach the government course at the Advanced Placement Institute at Maryville College.

 

U.S. History

The U.S. History Institute is designed to provide teachers with effective strategies to prepare history students to successfully take the AP U.S. History Examinations. The institute will include suggestions for course content and organization, materials, methods, and techniques. The writing process for the specialized history essays will be covered in detail, along with information on how the test is constructed and scored. Teachers will be encouraged to fully participate.

Instructor:

Cassandra Osborne is an AP U.S. History teacher at Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, TN. She also holds the position of Social Studies coordinator. She currently serves as an AP reader and Exam Leader for the College Board. In addition, she is a consultant for Advanced Placement and a National Leader for the College Board. She currently serves on the US History AP Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee. She has written test items for the Praxis exam.