Advanced Placement* Summer Institute
Course Descriptions
Week One – June 23 – 27, 2008
AP* Calculus AB
Candace Smalley
Westmoore High School
Oklahoma City, OK
This session is specifically designed to help interested teachers build a successful AP Calculus AB course. The week will include an analysis of the current curriculum, including an examination and discussion of various teaching strategies that reflect the current philosophy and goals of the course. Included will be an overview of the AP program; suggestions for pacing and sequencing of concepts; a study of numerous AP level problems; activities with graphing calculators (including CAS systems); a review of the AP Exam including format, scoring standards and student responses; a discussion of the grading process from the perspective of an AP Reader; and an overview of resources and materials available to AP teachers. Participants will receive numerous materials. Participants should bring a graphing calculator with them.
Candace Smalley has taught mathematics at Westmoore High School in Moore, OO for 19 years and has recently been named the department chair for the new Southmoore High School which will open in the fall 2008. Candace has taught the AP Calculus AB course since 1995 and the AP Calculus BC course since its inception in 2000. Candace has served as a College Board consultant since 1998 and is a reader for the AP Calculus exams. She has served on the College Board’s Southwest Region advisory council and the Southwest Region Conference planning committee. She has been a presenter at many AP conferences, a lead instructor at numerous AP Summer Institutes, and will serve as a table leader at the AP Calculus Reading this year. Candace was a recipient of the College Board’s 2001 Advanced Placement Special Recognition Award and also received recognition for her work with the AP program as a 2003 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement winner.
Pre AP* Math for Middle School
Kathy Heller
Lakewood Middle School
North Little Rock, AR
This course is designed to help middle school teachers strengthen their existing Pre-AP teaching strategies as well as introduce new methodologies and activities into the curriculum. Participants will explore topics such as rate of change, accumulation, statistics, number theory, functions, algebra, and geometry, as well as other topics appropriate to the middle school level. Activities will be hands-on and the use of various forms of technology will be encouraged. Assessment methods will also be examined and practice will be given in writing and scoring free-response questions.
Kathy Heller is a national board certified teacher from North Little Rock, AR. She has been teaching pre-algebra, algebra, and geometry for 18 years at Lakewood Middle School. She has won numerous teaching awards at the local, state, and national level. This is her eight year as a consultant for the College Board where she presents at regional 1-day, 2-day, and summer institutes.
AP* U.S. History
Christine Bond
Edmond Memorial High School
Edmond, OK
This course will be a combination of course content and pedagogy. Emphasis on essay writing and document analysis, as well as creative lessons, will be the focus of the week. Numerous sample texts and resources will be given to each participant. Participants need to bring 26 copies of their favorite lesson to share and a flash drive (if possible).
Christine Bond has nine years of experience teaching AP U.S. History. She has been a College Board consultant since 2001 and completed her master's degree in 2002. She was awarded the state department first and second time grant for AP U.S. History and the Mellon grant from the College Board.
Pre AP* Social Studies
Nancy Schaeffer
Pulaski Academy
Little Rock, AR
The focus of the course is to assist Pre-AP teachers in developing lessons that prepare students for the challenges of AP courses in social studies and is targeted toward experienced, as well as inexperienced teachers. The sessions will provide opportunities for participants to learn a variety of instructional strategies that will motivate students and foster the development of skills necessary for success in subsequent history classes in high school and in college. Teachers will be active participants in the sessions and will engage in hands-on activities and the sharing of ideas. Participants should come ready for an informative and intellectually stimulating week. Topics will include settlement of the New World, American Revolution, Jefferson’s presidency, nationalism and economic expansion, and the Civil War along with ways to write a syllabus, journal writing, strategies for critical thinking, ways to take class notes, primary source analysis using APPARTS, OPTIC and other acronyms, vocabulary cartoons and cartoon analysis, conceptual identifications, categories and generalizations, document-based questions, Socratic seminars and discussions, close reading techniques, ladders of questions, timed writings, rubrics, designing effective test questions, and interdisciplinary projects. Suggested books to read: Washington’s Spies by Alexander Rose, 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America by Steven M. Gillon, The Civil War Soldier by Ray M. Carson, and Adopted Son by David A. Clary. Participants should bring 26 copies of one lesson or best teaching practice to share with the participants.
Nancy Schaefer draws from her teaching experiences in private and public schools to present ideas and strategies that work well with young adolescents. She holds bachelor's degree and a master's of education degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She currently teaches at Pulaski Academy, an independent, college-prep school in Little Rock, AR, where she also serves as department chair of Middle School Social Studies. Nancy is a College Board consultant in the Southwestern Region, and she has 16 years of teaching experience at the middle school level with ten years as a Pre-AP teacher. She has presented at two AP national conferences, as well as AP workshops and summer institutes in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Nancy has developed curriculum for middle school social studies, and her instructional experience includes U.S. history, world cultures, economics and English. She has membership in the National Council for Social Studies and the Arkansas Council for Social Studies, and she is a member of the Teacher Advisory Board on Economic Education at the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank.
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Week Two – July 7 – 11, 2008
AP* Biology
Gary Earleywine
W. D. Mills University Studies High School
Little Rock, AR
Our Advanced Placement® Biology session will cover all 12 experiments from the student lab book. We will also discuss major concepts in AP Biology and various strategies that I am using to help students understand these important facts. The AP exam will be reviewed and issues involving test preparation will be addressed. Technology activities, involving the use of TI calculators and CBL2’s, will also take place during the five days. At the end of our five days, the new AP teacher will leave our institute feeling more confident about teaching AP Biology in the coming year.
Gary Earleywine is from Little Rock, AR, and teaches at Mills University Studies High School. He has taught AP Biology for 18 years. In 1994, his first year as a consultant for the Southwest Region, he was the AP Biology facilitator for AP New Mexico. Gary has received numerous awards for his teaching including the Presidential Award, Outstanding Biology Teacher Award, National Wildlife Federation Conservation Educator Award, Southwest Region AP Special Recognition Award, and most recently the Siemens National Award for Advanced Placement.
AP* English Language
Sandra Coker
Westlake High School
Austin, TX
This workshop is designed for new and experienced teachers of AP English Language. During the week we will focus on preparing students for the exam through practice in critical thinking strategies in reading, strategies for analysis, and strategies for constructing argument. We will also look at sample essays from the 2008 Reading and examine recent changes in the English Language exam. The workshop includes practical activities and teaching units. Participants should bring a book of non-fiction they want to teach in their classes.
Sandra Coker is an experienced teacher of AP English Language and Composition and currently teaches at Westlake High School in Austin, TX. A veteran table leader at the AP English Language and Composition reading, and a College Board consultant, she conducts AP summer institute sessions and teacher development workshops both nationally and internationally. She recently served as a member of the committee to write and compile Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the Advanced Placement Program. This guide is among the Texas resources available to teachers as they align state curricular objectives with the goals and expectations for Advanced Placement English. She is author, along with fellow writers John Brassil and Carl Glover, of Analysis, Argument, and Synthesis and of Writing the Synthesis Essay.
AP* English Literature
Michael Degen
Jesuit College Prep School
Dallas, TX
The goal of the AP Literature course is to explore a sequence of strategies that show students how to acquire the skills found in the top scoring essays on the literature exam. Teachers will progress through a sequence of instructional strategies designed to develop essays marked by their use of concrete elaboration, perceptive interpretative commentary and execution of effective compositional skills—clear thesis statement and topic sentences, along with unified and coherent paragraphs. Course activities will involve the modeling of daily lesson plans seeking to reinforce the strategies necessary to interpret and write about all aesthetic forms of writing. These instructional judgments have been created as a result of Dr. Degen’s experience as an AP grader of four years, his 17 years of teaching experience, and his experience as a graduate student, matriculating through a master's degree in English and a doctorate's degree in English.
In his 17th year as an educator, Michael E. Degen, Ph.D., currently teaches AP Literature and English III at Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas, TX. He has presented nationally for NCTE and ASCD, state conventions in Texas and Kentucky, and numerous College Board conferences and institutes. Additionally, he has read for the AP Literature Exam for four years. Furthermore, he is the author of two books: Crafting Expository Argument and Prospero’s Magic. Additional information can be found at http://www.jesuitcp.org/facultypages/Mdegen/Default.htm.
Pre-AP* English - Section #1 (High School emphasis - grades 9 & 10)
Teri Marshall
Saint Mary’s Hall
San Antonio, TX
This course will focus on providing teachers in grades 9-10 with the strategies, techniques, and tools necessary to design a high school English program that prepares students for the challenge of both AP English Language and AP English Literature. In order to do this, there must be a strong focus on writing at the ninth grade level with a corresponding strong focus on literature at the tenth grade level. Teachers will have many opportunities to practice reading, writing, and discussion strategies that will challenge students to go beyond superficial thinking about poetry and prose. Participants will also receive a short course in classroom assessment design, with a particular emphasis on rubric development. The workshop will conclude with discussing possibilities related to vertical teaming. It is not necessary to bring a lesson plan to share.
Dr. Teri Marshall currently teaches ninth grade English and AP English Language at Saint Mary’s Hall in San Antonio, TX, where she also serves as English department chair K-12 and AP English vertical team leader. Next year marks 33 years that Teri has been an educator, and she has been a Pre-AP/AP instructor and consultant for the College Board for 15 years. She is the primary author of the College Board’s national workshops Pre-AP: Setting the Cornerstones for the AP Vertical Team and An Introduction to the AP Program and Pre-AP Professional Development, and she is a reader for the AP English Language Exam. She is an active member of several national organizations, and she served as president of the Texas Council of Teachers of English from 1997-98. In 1997, Teri received the AP Special Recognition Award for English.
Pre-AP* English - Section #2 (High School emphasis - grades 9 & 10)
Yvonne Kaatz
Dripping Springs High School
Dripping Springs, TX
Participants will explore ways to improve and enhance a Pre-AP English course by focusing on the following items: close reading, annotating the text, analyzing and author’s style, attacking an AP Prompt, writing multiple-choice questions, developing personal voice in writing, creative ways to teach literary analysis, and creative ways to teach poetry and analysis. Ideas will be shared on how to develop lessons for major units to reflect advance placement goals. Participants will discuss the AP Language and Composition and Literature and Composition Exams and how to best relate Pre-AP goals to future student success on these exams. Participants should bring 26 copies of a successful, fun, or interesting lesson for a five minute presentation, a saved version of your lesson on a thumb drive, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and a copy of one major work of fiction, non-fiction, poetry or drama that you plan to teach and that is most often taught in schools across your state.
Yvonne Kaatz teaches tenth grade Pre-AP English at Dripping Springs High School in Dripping Springs, TX. She has taught either ninth or tenth grade Pre-AP English for the last 19 years of her career. For the past six years, she has presented at one and two-day conferences for the College Board and for the last two years presented at week-long conferences. She also had the opportunity to present at the National Conference in 2006. Other speaking engagements include presenting for Region XIII and the University of Texas. She is currently the AP coordinator for her school and has served in other positions such as events coordinator, grade level team leader, and district curriculum advisor for Austin ISD. She received her bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M with a writing specialization.
Pre AP* English for Middle School – Section 1
Penny Crofford
Ernest Childers Middle School
Broken Arrow, OK
The Pre-AP Middle School English will provide materials for beginning and experienced middle school teachers. Topics to be covered include: literary analysis; writing and grammar in the Pre-AP classroom; how the AP Exam relates and can be made appropriate for Pre-AP; vertical teams and where and how Pre-AP fits; and how to make Pre-AP accessible to most students. Genres include novels, short stories, poetry and non-fiction. Participants will receive classroom-ready materials and participate in hands-on activities. The week should be useful and fun. Participants should bring highlighters, Post-It notes, notebook papers and a poem, short story or novel that they might want to teach.
Penny Crofford has taught sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Childers for the last 19 years, but has been teaching since 1975. She currently teaches Pre-AP eighth grade students, is part of an active AP vertical team, is a member of the curriculum and assessments district committee, and is the gifted coordinator for her school. In addition, she is on the Oklahoma Committee for Teacher Preparation, Content Advisory Committee, Middle Level English. Ms. Crofford presents at College Board conferences, summer institutes and is a consultant for AP Strategies.
Pre AP* English for Middle School – Section 2
Ayn Grubb
Union Intermediate High School
Broken Arrow, OK
Participants in this section will use film to excite students about literary analysis, find easier ways to grade writing, and discuss ways to build and maintain a working vertical team. The goal will be to think in terms of pushing middle school students to achieve more. Discussion will also focus on some new ways to deal with grammar and how to walk students through annotation, including how to find good passages. Mostly, participants will build a network of colleagues and gain new ideas from interaction with them. Teachers should come prepared to work hard, think a lot and rejuvenate and prepare for next year! Participants should be familiar with and bring copies of The Call of the Wild, Walk Two Moons, The Pearl and a story called “The Sea Devil.” It will also be helpful to have a textbook that is used in the classroom and a few student writing samples although these two items are not as necessary as a familiarity with the stories listed above. Also bring a large supply of sticky notes, paper and favorite writing utensils.
Ayn Grubb received her bachelor's degree in language arts education from the University of Oklahoma in 1989 and her master's degree in English from New Mexico State University in 1992. Since then she has challenged eighth graders and tenth graders with a brand of English that’s not always titled “Pre-AP,” but which always asks students to push themselves beyond what they normally expect of themselves. In the past seven years, Mrs. Grubb has led Pre-AP English sessions at more than 30 summer institutes and at countless other College Board conferences all over the region. Mrs. Grubb is a recipient of the 2004 Special Recognition Award from the Southwestern Regional Office of College Board. She presented at the Pre-AP National Conference (January, 2002), the Southwest Regional Forum (February, 2005) and twice at the AP Annual Conference (July, 2004 and 2005). This is her fifth year at OU.
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For more information or to enroll, contact
the Academic Programs-CAFE office at 325-5101 or cafe@ou.edu.
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