DirectionsAdvanced Placement® Summer Institutes 2013
Preparation for Teaching AP® Classes
Valdosta State University (VSU) Continuing Education has teamed up with the Dewar College of Education to provide week-long Advanced Placement Summer Institutes® (APSI) for teachers committed to the pursuit of enhanced teaching and learning. This year we are offering the following courses.
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For more information, click on a class title below or scroll down the page. Click here for PLU Requirements |
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| Course | College Board Consultant | Dates | Click HERE Fee & Cancellation Policies Housing and Travel Information |
| English Language and Composition | Terry Filippo | July 8 - 12, 2013 | |
| US History | Tom Kilbourn | July 8 - 12, 2013 | |
| Biology | Tom Willis | July 15 - 19, 2013 | |
| Our summer institutes serve to provide guidance and curriculum development assistance to the new teacher preparing to teach Advanced Placement® (AP) courses and to update and refine skills of the experienced teacher. Courses focus on positive and effective teaching strategies and practical classroom use of AP® materials. During the week long session information is shared regarding what is new in the AP® curriculum, as well as offering an overview of the AP® semester/year long course, its objectives, and exam content. Advanced Placement® Summer Institutes are appropriate for those currently teaching (AP®) courses, as well as for those who will be teaching AP® courses, honors and/or accelerated classes, and special courses that feed into an AP® program. | |||
Register early - Space is limited. In an effort to maximize facilitator and participant interaction, APSI programs are limited to 20 students at Valdosta State University. |
PLU credit and certificates |
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| Certificate and PLU credit requirements: College Board Southern Regional Office Requirement Participants who miss more than 10% of the AP® Summer Institute will not be given a certificate of completion. Participants wishing to earn PLU credit must complete and return a Prior Approval form before the course begins. This form will be sent to you with your registration receipt. A Letter of Completion will be sent to the school system designee as indicated on the Prior Approval form upon the participant’s successful completion of the course. Successful completion requires that the CollegeBoard attendance requirement is met and that the course facilitator signs the completion form indicating all class requirements were met. |
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Housing and Travel Information (for APSI programs):
You will need to bring your own linens.
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AP® Summer Institute classes will be held at: Valdosta State University Regional Center for Continuing Education 903 N Patterson Street |
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2013 AP® Summer Institutes at Valdosta State University
AP® Biology (3 PLUs)
General Information: Workshops and Summer Institutes
Introduction and Overview of the AP® Biology course*
Introduction
Given the speed with which scientific discoveries and research
continuously expand scientific knowledge, many educators are faced
with the challenge of balancing breadth of content coverage with depth of
understanding.
The revised AP® Biology course addresses this challenge by shifting from a
traditional “content coverage” model of instruction to one that focuses on
enduring, conceptual understandings and the content that supports them.
This approach will enable students to spend less time on factual recall
and more time on inquiry-based learning of essential concepts, and will
help them develop the reasoning skills necessary to engage in the science
practices used throughout their study of AP Biology.
To foster this deeper level of learning, the breadth of content coverage
in AP Biology is defined in a way that distinguishes content essential
to support the enduring understandings from the many examples or
applications that can overburden the course. Illustrative examples are
provided that offer teachers a variety of optional instructional contexts to
help their students achieve deeper understanding. Additionally, content
that is outside the scope of the course and exam is also identified.
Students who take an AP Biology course designed using this curriculum
framework as its foundation will also develop advanced inquiry and
reasoning skills, such as designing a plan for collecting data, analyzing
data, applying mathematical routines, and connecting concepts in and
across domains. The result will be readiness for the study of advanced
topics in subsequent college courses — a goal of every AP course.
The revised AP Biology course is equivalent to a two-semester college
introductory biology course and has been endorsed enthusiastically by
higher education officials.
*excerpt from the College Board Course description (effective Fall 2012) page 5, http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/2012advances/AP-Biology_CED_Fall2012.pdf
Overview of the Concept Outline
The key concepts and related content that define the revised AP Biology
course and exam are organized around a few underlying principles called
the big ideas, which encompass the core scientific principles, theories and
processes governing living organisms and biological systems. For each
of the big ideas, enduring understandings, which incorporate the core
concepts that students should retain from the learning experience, are also
identified.
Each enduring understanding is followed by statements of the essential
knowledge necessary to support it. Unless otherwise specified, all of the details
in the outline are required elements of the course and may be included in
the AP Biology Exam. To help teachers distinguish content that is essential
to support the enduring understandings from the many possible examples
and applications that can overburden a course — and to see where important
connections exist among the different content areas — particular content
components are emphasized as follows:.
- Underlying content
- Illustrative examples
- Exclusion statements
- Concept and content connections
- Learning objectives
Concept Outline
- Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
- Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
- Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
- Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.
*excerpt from the College Board Course description (effective Fall 2012) contens and page 6, http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/2012advances/AP-Biology_CED_Fall2012.pdf
Pre-course information and preparation suggestions from the course consultant:
During this week, participants will explore the many components of AP Biology including the new curriculum framework, labs, exam, grading procedures, textbook selection, and audit syllabus. Emphasis will be placed on the inquiry lab approach and methods of teaching a college level class. Additionally, participants will be given an opportunity to become familiar with biotechnology techniques and the use of probeware and computers in the classroom.
What participants should bring:
* Lab coat
* Calculator
* Laptop (helpful, but not essential)
Facilitator Information:
Tom Willis has been teaching high school science for 20 years, in both public and private institutions. Tom has taught AP Biology for 15 of those years and served as an AP reader for 12 years, as well as teaching regular and honors Biology, Anatomy, Marine Biology, Astronomy, and Psychology. Tom has a B.S. in Applied Biology from Georgia Tech and a M.Ed. in Science Education from Georgia Southern University. Tom is currently teaching at Frederica Academy on St. Simons Island and is a College Board certified workshop consultant. Tom is also the golf coach at Frederica Academy. He
served as a table leader for the AP reading last year and will this year as well.
Dates: July 15 - 19, 2013
Time: Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 4:30 PM
Location: Regional Center for Continuing Education
College Board Consultant: Tom Willis
Fee: $550 Prior to June 13, 2013 (Registration with full payment or confirmed school purchase order.)
$625 After June 13, 2013 (Registration with full payment or confirmed school purchase order.)
Click here for refund and cancellation policy
Registrations will not be considered as confirmed until a completed registration form
and payment (or confirmed school purchase order) are received.
Back to the top of this list
Register
AP® US History (3 PLUs)
General Information: Workshops and Summer Institutes
Introduction and Goals of the AP® US History*
Introduction
The Advanced Placement Program (AP) offers a course and exam in AP United States
History to qualified students who wish to complete studies in secondary school
equivalent to an introductory college course in U .S . History
Goals
Students should learn to assess historical materials—their relevance to
a given interpretive problem, reliability, and importance—and to weigh the evidence
and interpretations presented in historical scholarship . An AP U .S . History course
should thus develop the skills necessary to arrive at conclusions on the basis of an
informed judgment and to present reasons and evidence clearly and persuasively in
essay format.
*excerpt from the College Board Course description (effective Fall 2010) page 4, http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-us-history-course-description.pdf
Themes in AP U.S. History
- American Diversity
- American Identity
- Culture
- Demographic Changes
- Economic Transformations
- Environment
- Globalization
- Politics and Citizenship
- Reform
- Religion
- Slavery and Its Legacies in North America
- War and Diplomacy
*excerpt from the College Board Course description (effective Fall 2010) pages 6-7, http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-us-history-course-description.pdf
Pre-course information and preparation suggestions from the course consultant:
Course goals and intent:
The summer institute program is designed for teachers at all levels of experience to meet together to develop, build, and refine their skills and knowledge of Advance Placement procedures and techniques as set forth by the College Board and the best practices of their colleagues in the classroom.
During the course we will review in detail the outline provided by the College Board and the resources available to effectively teach our students this knowledge. We will also spend significant time building on the skills and cognitive development that we need to instill in our students, and share our best practices to help our colleagues learn from shared experience. So bring any assignments, resources, websites, and your syllabus to share.
Course overview & agenda:
Introductions and workshop materials distribution
Course Syllabus & Course Audit Information
AP vs. regular courses – defining the difference
AP exam strategies & AP writing skills
Detailed review and grading of previous AP exams & writing prompts
Detailed review of College Board course outline and themes
Review of teaching resources including the Internet
Sharing experience and best practices
Review and connect state and district curriculum with AP curriculum
Connect with local expertise in the area if available
Q&A for specific issues the participants want addressed
Facilitator Information:
I retired early from the US Air Force and began a career in education teaching high school history and government. Early on I picked up Advanced Placement (AP) courses because of my focus on academic excellence, earning National Board Certification and became an AP consultant as a result of my success with students. I have taught AP workshops on AP-US History and AP-US Government & Politics in seven states and at the National Conference, plus reading AP exams for three years. I am passionate about education and the value of AP classes at the high school level, and I love to share this passion with other teachers who step up to the AP challenge.
Dates: July 8 - 12, 2013
Time: Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 4:30 PM
Location: Regional Center for Continuing Education
College Board Consultant: Tom Kilbourn
Fee: $550 Prior to June 13, 2013 (Registration with full payment or confirmed school purchase order.)
$625 After June 13, 2013 (Registration with full payment or confirmed school purchase order.)
Click here for refund and cancellation policy
Registrations will not be considered as confirmed until a completed registration form
and payment (or confirmed school purchase order) are received.
Back to the top of this list
Register
AP® English Language and Composition (3 PLUs)
General Information: Workshops and Summer Institutes
Introduction and Goals of the AP® English Language and Composition course*
Introduction
An AP course in English Language and Composition engages students in becoming
skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts, and in becoming
skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes . Both their writing and their
reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes,
audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way genre conventions and the
resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing .
*excerpt from the College Board
Course description (effective Fall 2010) page 7, http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-english-course-description.pdf
Goals
As in the college course, the purpose of the AP English Language and
Composition course is to enable students to read complex texts with understanding
and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers . An AP English Language and Composition course should help
students move beyond such programmatic responses as the five-paragraph essay that
provides an introduction with a thesis and three reasons, body paragraphs on each
reason, and a conclusion that restates the thesis . Although such formulaic approaches
may provide minimal organization, they often encourage nnecessary repetition and
fail to engage the reader . Students should be encouraged to place their emphasis on
content, purpose and audience and to allow this focus to guide the organization of
their writing
*excerpt from the College Board
Course description (effective Fall 2010) page 7, http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-english-course-description.pdf
Pre-course information and preparation suggestions from the course consultant, Terry Filippo:
Participants in this institute will engage in a comprehensive, collaborative exploration of designing and teaching an Advanced Placement English Language and Composition course. We will review and discuss rhetorical terminology and concepts with an emphasis on how to help students apply them as critical readers and analytical writers. Special topics and focus areas will be determined by participant needs, experience, and interests. Our menu of topic possibilities will include syllabus development, AP Audit preparation, assessment/examination strategies, text/materials selection, and basic to advanced teaching strategies. A highlight of our time together later in the week will be a simulated AP essay reading that will include a review of prompts and sample student essays from the 2013 AP English Language exam. While we will analyze print and non-print texts involving a range of areas and issues throughout the week, our feature theme will be “America’s Table: Food Production, Marketing, and Consumption in the United States.” Participants should read and bring to the institute the following texts: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Michael Pollan) and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver).
Facilitator Information:
Terry Filippo teaches AP English Language and AP English Literature at Wren High School in Piedmont, South Carolina. A National Board Certified teacher and recipient of the 2012 South Carolina English Teacher of Excellence Award, he has been an educator for over twenty-five years. In addition to his secondary work, he has taught literature, composition, and education classes at Clemson University for many years. He has served as an AP English Language and Literature Reader for eleven years and a College Board Consultant in both English subject areas for the past seven years. He also mentors other College Board AP English consultants. A former president of the South Carolina Council of Teachers of English, he continues to serve on the SCCTE Board of Directors as its Advanced Programs Liaison.
Dates: July 8 - 12, 2013
Time: Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 4:30 PM
Location: Regional Center for Continuing Education
College Board Consultant: Terry Filippo
Fee: $550 Prior to June 13, 2013 (Registration with full payment or confirmed school purchase order.)
$625 After June 13, 2013 (Registration with full payment or confirmed school purchase order.)
Click here for refund and cancellation policy
Registrations will not be considered as confirmed until a completed registration form
and payment (or confirmed school purchase order) are received.
Back to the top of this list
Register
Additional programs for teacher recertification:
| Valdosta State University Continuing Education has partnered with Virtual Education Software, inc.(VESi) to offer professional learning unit courses for K-12 educators. These interactive continuing education courses provide expert instruction at a pace that fits your schedule |
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| Now available in two formats! Please specify your preference when registering 1. CD-ROM Based Instruction using your own computer 2. Online access using a computer with access to high-speed Internet |
Click here for a list of course titles and brief course descriptions or Click HERE for complete information on all VESi courses Click here for Computer System and PLU Requirements |
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Instructor-paced PLU Courses Online (all instructor-paced, 6 week online courses noted here are approved for 2 PLUs) |
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| Click here for a schedule of starting dates Click here for a complete list of online courses approved for PLU credit |
Click here for Computer System and PLU Requirements |