AP summer institute prepping teachers for fall
Instructors hope program will aid classroom experience
Educators new to teaching Advanced Placement courses or needing to refresh their knowledge took advantage of a summer program sponsored by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3.
The Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s AP Summer Institute was held from June 22 to 25 at South Fayette High School. It was attended by nearly 120 teachers from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Idaho, Louisiana, New York and Rhode Island.
“We wanted to make specific training available,” said Pat DiRienzo of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, which has sponsored the program for the past four years.
Locally, teachers from South Fayette, Gateway, Keystone Oaks, Moon, South Allegheny, West Allegheny, South Park, West Jefferson Hills, Oakland Catholic, Pittsburgh Public, Mt. Lebanon, Franklin Regional and Baldwin among others were in attendance.
Participants were able to choose from 10 workshops focusing on the AP subject they teach at their schools. The workshops were taught by consultants from the College Board, which oversees AP courses.
According to the College Board, AP summer institutes are “subject-specific professional development opportunities.” The workshops provide teachers with support and training needed to teach AP courses.
Topics covered at the summer institute included course content, resources and equipment, how AP exams are developed and graded, how to refresh and improve existing courses and recent changes in courses.
“Every couple of years, the College Board selects one or two courses to redesign,” Ms. DiRienzo said.
Although it is not required for those who teach AP classes to take the workshop, Ms. DiRienzo said it is “highly recommended.”
Jeff McGowan, a science teacher at South Fayette High School and a consultant with the College Board, led the biology workshops.
The final day had teachers performing several experiments, including ones involving enzymes, mitosis and plants.
Mr. McGowan has led the workshop for two years and said what he likes the most about it is “interacting with fellow like-minded biology teachers.”
“Everyone brings a different spin on their experience,” he said.
Mr. McGowan said by doing experiments at the workshop, teachers can determine if they would like to implement them in the classroom.
“Plus, it’s a lot of playtime for us geeky science teachers,” he laughed.
Tim Hrivnak will be teaching AP biology at Moon High School for the first time in the fall and attended the summer institute for the first time.
“It really just gives you a good idea of what the College Board is looking for,” Mr. Hrivnak said about the workshops. “It’s a crash course in AP biology.”
Amy Palaski, who will be teaching AP biology at Seneca Valley High School in the fall, said taking the workshop “brought the curriculum into focus.”
“It gave us experience with labs, networking and the dos and don’ts,” added Cheryl Kohler, a teacher at Gateway High School.
Jon Gentile, a history teacher at Bethel Park High School, took one of the AP history workshops.
He said he likes that he will “be able to actually do things and take them back to the classroom.”
“It’s super helpful to get an idea of what’s going to be expected of me and the kids,” said Josh Tobin, a teacher at Homer Center High School in Indiana County.
Marsha Plotkin, the foreign language supervisor at Pittsburgh Public Schools, attended the Spanish workshop.
“It’s very helpful to learn more about what students need to do on the actual exam,” she said.