AP Mentoring provides on-going support in a small group setting with experienced AP teachers. Mentor groups are tailored to the AP teacher needs and experience level. AP teachers will attend four online group meetings with an experienced AP teacher to discuss strategies to support student success and access shared documents through the AP Mentoring platform. Open to all teachers of AP Art and Design, AP Biology, AP Calculus, Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP U.S. Government and Politics, and AP U.S. History
AP Summer Institutes offer the most thorough professional learning available for AP teachers. Attendees engage in 30 or more hours of content-rich training designed to strengthen how they teach their AP courses. AP teachers will leave the AP Summer Institute experience with ready-to-use strategies and pedagogical tools shared by an experienced educator within the AP community.
At your Summer Institute, teachers will:
- Explore each section of the course and exam description, including the unit guides, while making connections to the course curricular requirements
- Begin to develop a course plan by unit and topic that incorporates the full scope of your AP course into your school’s academic calendar
- Examine formative and summative assessment items to identify content and skill pairings that are the targets of these assessments and create lesson plans to reinforce content and skill connections
- Practice applying the scoring guidelines from the most recent AP Exam to samples of student work
- Identify student strengths and weakness using data available through AP Classroom and Instructional Planning Reports
- Explore ready-to-use strategies, instructional materials, and pedagogical tools pertinent to the content and skills required for success in your AP course
- Develop meaningful connections within the AP community
AP teachers can attend an online workshop to explore the AP course and exam description, discuss what the AP Exam assesses, and learn how AP Classroom can help to plan and focus instruction as well as provide data-driven feedback. Four modules are included in this series. Although both new and experienced teachers are welcome to register, the online AP workshops were developed with the new AP teacher in mind.
Module 1: Course and Exam Description and Course Planning (90 mins)—Introductory live synchronous session on Zoom led by an experienced AP educator focused on the course and exam description, curricular requirements, and course planning.
Modules 2 and 3: On-demand (asynchronous) sessions to be completed before Module 4.
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Module 2: AP Classroom (90 mins)—After watching an on-demand recording led by an experienced AP teacher on how to leverage AP Classroom to help support students and teach your AP course, receive feedback on one of your lesson plans to implement in your classroom.
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Module 3: Assess and Reflect (60 mins)—After watching an on-demand recording led by an experienced AP reader, practice scoring student responses based on the rubric.
Module 4: Strategies and Pedagogical Tools (120 mins)—Concluding live synchronous session on Zoom led by an experienced AP educator focused on instructional strategies, tools, and best practices to be used in your classroom, whether online, in person, or in a blended teaching environment.
Each Achieving Equity in AP workshop is customized for teachers and administrators in a single district or school to explore how to create an AP program devoted to improving access to and equity in advanced academics for students from all populations.
During the workshop, educators will:
- Identify policies, procedures, and tools that can be used to increase diversity in the AP student and teacher population.
- Discuss curriculum adjustments and instructional strategies that will help to recruit and retain students who have traditionally not had access to AP classes.
- Identify district-, school-, and classroom-level policies and practices that enhance or restrict student opportunities to take AP classes and exams.
The toolkit includes information to share with students and families around course enrollment and registration, and communication templates for email, text, and social media posts.
The kit includes:
- One-page flyers
- Videos
- Links to College Board Student Blog posts that highlight free resources and tips
