Reflections on Building an AP Culture Conference

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend Stevenson High School's first "Building an AP Culture" Conference with Math/Science Division Head Chris Marks and several mathematics teachers from BGHS.  The mission statement of this conference was: "An Advanced Placement school culture represents the cumulative impact of a rigorous, college level course of study that prepares students for creative contributions, interdisciplinary study, and lifelong learning.  Advanced Placement tests are a starting point, not an ending point."

The opening keynote was delivered by Dr. Tim Kanold, a leader in the field of both mathematics and educational leadership (Dr. Kanold is also a former professor of mine from Loyola).  He presented the audience, which mainly consisted of high school AP teachers from around the area, with the notion that equity and access to AP courses is a social justice issue that, research shows, has a positive impact on a student's college success.  Dr. Kanold also mentioned the work of Dr. Carol Dweck and Kathleen Cushman.  One of my big takeaways from his keynote was that "every time a student makes a mistake, they grow a new synapse."  This notion, from Carol Dweck should support a learning culture that allows for mistakes and growth opportunities in school.  Students, like all of us, learn from their mistakes and we must create a culture that encourages academic risk taking and growth.

Dr. Kanold shared that "a good AP culture is really just a good school culture" and that we must establish high standards of learning that we expect ALL students to achieve.  AP culture should be a culture of learning and not of performance.  What supports and interventions do we need to put into place in order for every graduating senior to experience at least one college level course?

Later, during the conference sessions, I learned about the essential role that extracurricular activities can play to support and extend the learning of AP courses.  What after school clubs exist to support student interest and learning in AP courses?  How can we make explicit the connections between AP success and extracurricular participation?

I also learned about collaborative, interdisciplinary opportunities in AP courses that foster growth for multiple disciplines.  The example shared was of an AP Statistics teacher teaming up with an AP Psychology teacher to help students connect their learning of research and experimental design in both subjects.  There are countless opportunities to connect curriculum in order to make learning deeper and more meaningful for our students.

The students panel discussed how they felt their education had benefitted from the AP culture and reminded teachers that students want to be engaged in learning and not just copy notes from a lecture.  They each felt more prepared for their upcoming college experiences as a result of having taken AP courses.

In another session,  an experienced AP teacher suggested that all HS courses can contain elements of AP style questions and assignments, building a solid foundation for AP success.  Another presenter suggested that schools should take a close look at course sequencing in order to facilitate access to AP courses.

I am very excited to learn more about the AP Culture at BGHS and to support success for all students in this new role.