Courses and Instructor Information

For New Teachers

Chemistry

This workshop will examine various approaches to organizing and teaching AP Chemistry courses. Of primary significance will be attention to the redesign of Chemistry exam which emphasizes reasoning, analytic, and inquiry skills.

Instructor:

James Dennis teaches AP Chemistry at Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia. Mr. Dennis taught AP Chemistry in West Virginia for over 20 years before moving to Georgia, and has served as an AP exam reader.

English Language & Composition

This course focuses on introducing new instructors to current teaching practices for AP English Language and Composition.  Participants will review and explore the core principles of the English Language and Composition curriculum, including classical and modern concepts of rhetoric, test preparation, construction of a course syllabus, and associated readings.  Teachers will be encouraged to share their best practices and learn from each other as well as adopt new teaching strategies for an effective and satisfying teaching experience.

 Course Objectives: 

  • Participants will review key concepts of AP English Language and Composition, such as the rhetorical triangle, Toulmin’s model of argumentation, Aristotle’s means and modes of persuasion, rhetorical analysis, synthesis essay writing, and effective course management.
  • Participants will keep a daily journal of notes and responses to assigned readings. 
  • Participants will review essay samples from past years, including this year’s AP Exam scores. 
  • Participants will receive packets of relevant materials both hard and electronic, including old AP essay prompts (1981-1998), old AP objective tests (1991 and 1996), an audit-approved course syllabus, samples of student writing, writing models for argumentation and rhetorical analysis, sample rubrics or scoring guides, selected readings, and more).

Instructor:

Bob Kuhn taught for 34 years in several locations.  Until his retirement in 2011, Bob worked in Winston-Salem, NC, but he also spent eight years abroad in the Department of Defense Dependent Schools system in Mannheim, Germany.  He is a graduate of Pfeiffer University (BA) and Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English (MA).  Although he has taught all levels and grades of high school English over the course of his career, he was an Advanced Placement English teacher almost exclusively for the last 25 years, so he has seen the changes in testing and course philosophy over time.  He began scoring AP exams in 1992 (first in Literature, then in Language) and has been a table leader since 2005.  A consultant for the English Language program for College Board’s Southeastern region since 1998, Bob continues to do daylong workshops and summer institutes.  Bob is married and lives with his wife Cathy and cat Louie in High Point, NC..

 

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 a retired AP English teacher and English Coordinator at Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, TN, has over thirty 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:

Louis Gallo is a Social Studies teacher at West High School in Knoxville, TN. He has taught AP European History since 1996 and has served as a reader since 2000 and a College Board consultant since 2001. In 2003, Lou received the Milken National Educator Award as well as West High School Teacher of the Year. He was named Knox County Teacher of the Year in 2008.

 

Spanish Language & Culture

This workshop will examine various approaches to organizing and teaching the new AP Spanish Language and Culture course. Of primary significance will be attention to the redesign of AP Spanish Language and Culture exam which stresses the various modes of communication and encourages students to explore culture in engaging thematic contexts.

Instructor:

Janet Harms teaches AP Spanish Language at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA. She received her bachelor's degree in Spanish and Master's degree in Hispanic Civilization and Culture from New York University. Ms. Harms was active in College Board as an endorsed consultant for nine years and a ETS Reader for thirteen years.

 

 

Statistics

This workshop is intended for experienced 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.  Bring a TI-83 or TI-84, a three ring notebook capable of holding 200 pages, and a big box for complimentary texts and workshop training packets from the 2010, 2011, and 2012 AP Statistics Readings.

Instructor:

Robert Taylor received 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, 2010, and 2011 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 nation 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 twice at Maryville College and nine 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 from1991 til 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 fifth year to teach the government course at the Advance 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 Examination. 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 a retired AP U.S. History teacher from Oak Ridge High School in Oak RIdge, TN. She also held the position of Social Studies coordinator. She has served as an AP reader and Exam Leader for the College Board. In addition, she is a consultant for Advance Placement and a National Leader for the College Board. She recently completed a three year term on the U.S. History AP Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee. She has written test items for the Praxis exam. She currently serves on the steering committee for the AP Annual Conference.