AP® Vertical Teaming:
From Theory to Praxis
• Michele Brannon, Hoover High School, AL
• Chad Cooley, Hoover High School, AL
• Dennis Fare, Hackensack High School, NJ
• Mark Porto, Hackensack High School, NJ
• Mike Wojcik, Hackensack High School, NJ
AP® Vertical Teaming:
From Theory to Praxis
Hoover High School
How We Got Here
► Transitioned
into the AP classroom
► Attended College Board AP summer institute
and half-day / full-day workshops in winter
and summer 2005 - 2006
► Proposed a new AP course in spring 2006
► Wrote curriculum with other teachers in
district spring – summer 2006
► Implemented new course fall 2006
The New AP Teacher’s First Steps:
Focus on YOU!!!
► Training
through the College Board
ƒ On-site workshops and / or summer institutes
ƒ Online workshops
► Information
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gathering
Sample syllabi
Sample assignments
Resource guides / texts / old exams
Reasonable Goals
► Discernment
of usable ideas
► Realistic syllabus for first year
► Honest evaluation of successes and failures
► Enjoyment of students and curriculum
Building a Vertical Team
► School
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/ district commitment to AP program
Courses offered
Personnel assigned
College Board training
Dedicated curriculum planning time
Professional development and leave time
granted
Building a Vertical Team
► Teachers
take the lead
ƒ One team for each subject area
ƒ Team members include all teachers of pre-AP
and AP courses within the discipline
ƒ Vertical team leader / coordinator for each team
ƒ Smaller teams created in grade-level pairs
(9-10 / 11-12)
ƒ All members of each department should be
invited to join the vertical team
Bringing the Vertical Team to Life
► Year
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one goals
Provide initial training for key team members
Establish regular meeting schedule
Promote buy-in within core group
Determine curriculum goals
►Common
terminology
►Common assessment tools / practices
►Transition points for each grade level
►Benchmarks for each grade level
Meeting Structure
► Meeting
topics correlated to curriculum goals
► Dedicated topic / agenda for each meeting
► In-house professional development credit
► Sharing of best practices, resources, lesson plans,
assessments
► Sharing and evaluating student work for
calibration purposes
► Tangible hands-on end result
► Collaborative planning devoted to long-term goals
of the team
Long-term Goals
► AP
Training for all vertical team members
► Expansion of vertical team concept to include all
members of department, not just AP and pre-AP
teachers
► Monthly rotation of curriculum leaders in team
meetings
► New teacher curricular support system
► More teachers teaching pre-AP courses
► Extension of vertical team to middle schools in
district
Benefits of the Vertical Team
► Measurable
increase in student success on AP
and college entrance examinations
► Increased enrollment in AP and pre-AP courses
► Collaborative planning within a professional
learning community
► Collegial atmosphere
► Trickle-down effect on the regular classroom as
best practices are brought to more students
► Higher curriculum standards in all classes
AP® Vertical Teaming:
From Theory to Praxis
Hackensack High School
“Changing our Conversations”
Barriers
photos from Bagdad, Aug 22, 2007
-courtesy of my brother, Justin
4.5 Billion spent in Iraq 06
70 million spent on US Education 06
Barriers
“One-third of American eighth graders
cannot perform basic math. That means
more than a million thirteen-year-olds can’t
do the simplest calculations needed to buy
a candy bar or ride a bus.”
Barriers
“The odds that any
given ten-year-old in
a large American city
can read are about
fifty-fifty, and six in
ten for the nation as a
whole.”
Barriers
data from
ONLY CONNECT: The Way to Save Our Schools
by Rudy Crew, 2007
“Only one in five
students entering
college are prepared
for college-level work
in math, reading,
writing, and biology.”
Tangible Barriers
► Illiteracy
► Poverty
► Disability
► Illness
► Abuse
► Oppression
Intangible Barriers
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Low or unreasonable expectations
Close-mindedness
Cynicism or bitterness or jealousy or anger
Prejudice or disdain
“Fundamentalism”
Inability to deal w/ ambiguity or change
Inability to accept “life-long learning”
Education in 21st Century:
Breaking Down Barriers
photos from HHS SY 06-07
Change the
Conversations
There is a direct correlation
between student achievement
and teacher attitudes and
beliefs.
Two Essential Messages for
Success
SY 06-07:
Change
Your
Conversations!
SY 07-08:
TALK about
Math & Science
& College
What you do
TODAY
affects you
NOW
and
in the
future.
CHANGING CONVERSATIONS:
Rethink, Rephrase, Reap Rewards!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Too difficult
Not for me
At risk
Not possible
Lower level
Not capable
Unskilled
AP is elite
Maybe Bergen
Won’t do work
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
I will try
Maybe for me
In training
Probable
Still learning
Will learn in time
Becoming
AP is a possibility
What 4-year college?
How will I motivate?
Using Grants to Implement
Reform
SLC
Grant
TAH
Grant
CSR
Grant
Title 1
Funds
Using Grants To Implement Support
Programs & Services
Title 1 Funds
CSR Grant
Summer Institute of
Advanced Studies
Algebra 1
Writing Prep
Geometry
English/ELL
Extensive Tutoring:
Before School - During School After School & Saturdays
Core
Math/Eng
HSPA Prep
Using Grants & Local Funds To
Implement Support Programs
SLC Federal Grant
Local Funds
Extensive Tutoring:
Summer Institute of
Before School - During School After School & Saturdays
Advanced Studies
Adv Math &
Science for
Credit
Courses
Pre AP Prep
AP Prep
Core
Academics
Pre AP & AP
Courses
Using Federal Discretionary Grant
To Prepare for NCLB Testing
Teaching American
History Federal
Discretionary Grant
Preparation of Cross
Curriculum Writing Lessons
In Preparation of NCLB Test
Partnerships with Colleges to Implement
Reform
(Currently Implemented or Under Consideration)
FDU
University
Bergen
Community
College
Montclair State
University
Dual Credit College Programs
BCC Health Careers Program
FDU Middle College Program
UMDNJ Pre Med Honors Program
NJCU College Placement Pilot Program
New Jersey
City
University
Univ Medicine
& Dentistry
New Jersey
Partnership with College Board
to Implement Reform
College
Placement
Testing
AP Test
Preparation
For Students
Validation
Of Success
Professional
Development
Partnerships with Community
Organizations To Implement Reform
New Jersey
Chamber of Commerce
On-Line
Instruction
Pilot Program
Learn More Now
Do More Now,
Earn More Later
Program
Hackensack Educational
Foundation
Discretionary
Grant Proposals
To Private
Foundations
DATA: Hackensack High School
Student Population SY 07-08
1804 students
►
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40.5 % Latino
28.5% African- or Caribbean-American
25.5% White
5.5% Asian
More students from sending districts than in past 5 years
15% Maywood, 8.3% Rochelle Park, 4% So. Hackensack
HSPA Language Arts 05-07
‘05
Prof
‘05
Adv
‘05
Total
‘06
Prof
‘06
Adv
‘06
Total
‘07
Prof
‘07
Adv
‘07
Total
Total
65.6%
7.9%
73.5%
61.4%
11%
72.4%
66.1%
13.1%
79.2%
Gen Ed
71.5%
10.6%
82.1%
71.9%
14.4%
86.3%
74.8%
16.8%
91.6%
32%
34.5%
34.5%
41.7%
Sp Ed
32%
White
77.4%
12
89.4%
70.9%
19.3%
89.5%
68.4%
22.8%
91.2%
Black
69%
5.6%
74.6%
60.5%
7.8%
68.3%
63.7%
8.8%
72.5%
Asian
68.8%
12.5%
81.3%
72.4%
20.7%
93.1%
68.8%
18.8%
87.6%
Latino
52.9%
5.1%
58%
55.2%
6.9%
62.1%
65.5%
8.1%
73.6%
Econ
Disad
59.6%
5.3%
64.9%
61.2%
6.7%
67.9%
63.5%
11.1%
74.6%
5%
6.7%
6.7%
17.4%
LEP
5%
41.7%
17.4%
HSPA Data:
Language Arts, Writing
Our Writing Initiative
has been very SUCCESSFUL!!
HHS Grade 11 students are AT or ABOVE
state and District Factor Group (DFG CD)
means for
Open-Ended Writing
Narrative Writing
Persuasive Writing
SIGNIFICANT Improvements in
Language Arts
•
> 5% increase in general education students reaching
proficiency over last SY AND…
•
…>91%: first time ever since state testing
•
Consistent increase in students reaching advanced proficiency
in ALL student populations
•
Significant increases in ALL subpopulations
•
Significantly higher mean scores in ALL subpopulations (except
females!) compared with state and District Factor Group (DFG)
CD means
SIGNIFICANT Improvements in
Language Arts
These dramatic results indicate
SUCCESSFUL REFORMS!!!!
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Detracking in English and Social Studies
Vertical Teaming among English/Social Studies
School-wide Writing Initiative
Mainstreaming 74% of Spec Ed students
New ESL/Bilingual Reading/Writing Program
HSPA Data:
Language Arts, Reading
We need to work on READING!
HHS Grade 11 students are BELOW or AT state and
DFG CD means for all Reading Tasks on HSPA for
Interpreting Text
Analyzing/Critiquing Text
Overall Reading Tasks
NOTE: Except LEP subpopulation which was above or
at state and DFG CD means in overall reading tasks
and analyzing/critiquing texts!
HSPA Math 05-07
‘05
Prof
‘05
Adv
‘05
Total
‘06
Prof
‘06
Adv
‘06
Total
‘07
Prof
‘07
Adv
‘07
Total
Total
62.5%
9.6%
72.1%
57.5%
11.5%
69%
59.1%
9.5%
68.6%
Gen Ed
71.5%
10.7%
83%
71%
15.1%
86.1%
71.4%
12.1%
83.5%
15%
17%
17%
17%
Sp Ed
15%
White
65.4%
16.5%
81.9%
64.3%
23.2%
87.5%
63.7%
17.7%
81.4%
Black
61.4%
4.2%
65.4%
57.5%
3.6%
61.1%
58.4%
2%
60.4%
Asian
56.3%
25%
81.3%
69%
27.6%
96.6%
75%
18.8
93.8%
Latino
61.5%
6.4%
67.9%
52.6%
7.6%
60.2%
54.7%
6.8%
61.5%
Econ
Disad
59.8%
8%
67.8%
58.2%
7.3%
65.5%
58.7%
9.5%
68.2%
11%
10%
10%
8.7%
LEP
11%
17%
8.7%
AP Enrollment Growth & Test Scores
2003-04
2005-06
2006-07
Students in 1 or
Students in 1 or
Students in 1 or
more AP courses: more AP courses: more AP courses:
52
181
309
Total # of AP
enrollments:
Total # of AP
enrollments:
Total # of AP
enrollments:
102
365
616
% of AP scores 2
or higher: 90%
% of AP scores 2
or higher: 82%
% of AP scores 2 or
higher: 71.2%
AP and Middle College
Enrollment – SY 0708
►
Total # of AP Enrollment: 594
(-3.5% from SY0607)
Students in 1 or more AP Courses: 398
(+29% from SY 0607)
22% of students are in an AP course
compared with 17% SY 0607
Students in 1 or more Middle College: 109
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28% of students in college level work
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AP Tests SY 05-06 vs SY 0607
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132 students took AP
exams (7% of total
student population)
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247 tests in 13 AP
courses
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42% earned 3, 4, 5
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257 students took AP
exams (14% of total
student population)
500 tests in 21 AP
courses
32% earned 3, 4, 5
AP Scores are one indicator of the academic health
and
culture of the school.
AP English Language & Composition
A course that began only TWO YEARS AGO…!
Growth in AP English Lang/Comp
SY 05-06 vs SY 06-07
►
61 students in
SY 05-06
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92 students in
SY 06-07 (+66%)
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28% earned 3, 4, 5
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49% earned 3, 4, 5
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62% earned 2
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46% earned a 2
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10 % earned a 1
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5% earned a 1
Classroom Enrollment
SY 01-02
90
80
70
60
50
White
Hispanic
Black
40
30
20
10
0
Coll Prep Gen/Appl Remedial
AP
School Enrollment vs AP Enrollment
School
SY 06-07
Enrollment
40
White:
Hisp:
Black:
35
31 %
37 %
32 %
30
25
White
Hispanic
Black
20
15
10
AP
Enrollment
5
0
School Enrollment
AP Enrollment
White: 36 %
Hisp:
38 %
Black: 26 %
Using Data to Measure Success
AP Enrollment
475% increase over 4-yr period
(Total school population)
235% increase over 4-yr period
(African-American subgroup)
335% increase over 4-yr period
(Economically disadvantaged)
SAT Data SY 05-06 vs SY 0607
SY 05-06
SY 06-07
316 students from HHS
(state mean)
238 students from HHS
(state mean)
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Reading: Mean 438 (496)
Writing: Mean 432 (496)
Math:
Mean 461 (515)
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Reading: Mean 444 (495)
Writing: Mean 437 (494)
Math:
Mean 462 (510)
SAT Data: GOOD NEWS!
SY 05-06 vs SY 06-07
►
75% increase of HHS students taking SATs
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Despite more students taking SATs, there
are SIGNIFICANT increases in Reading and
Writing Mean Scores (even though state means for
reading and writing decreased!)
Our Data = PROVEN RESULTS
We must not stop the momentum.
College Board Equity Policy Statement
“The
College Board and the Advanced Placement Program
encourage teachers, AP Coordinators, and school
administrators to make equitable access a guiding principle
for their AP programs. The College Board is committed to
the principle that ALL STUDENTS DESERVE AN
OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN RIGOROUS AND
ACADEMICALLY CHALLENGING COURSES AND
PROGRAMS…The Board encourages the elimination of
barriers that restrict access to AP courses for students from
ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been
traditionally underrepresented in the AP Program…” [my
emphasis]
Expectations and Challenges
Expectation 1: All students can perform at
rigorous academic levels and are
consistently being challenged to expand
knowledge/skills.
(The AP Vertical Team Guide for English, p.xiii)
Challenge: Each student in our classrooms
will be at a different academic level, based
on knowledge/skills.
Expectation 1 is possible only if…
All teachers have and work together in
maintaining this expectation;
► All teachers know that all students are
being challenged to improve skills/build
knowledge at each grade level;
► All teachers know that upcoming students
will have “agreed upon” skills, knowledge
base, with excitement to continue!
►
Expectations and Challenges
Expectation 2: We can prepare every student
for higher intellectual engagement by
starting the development of skills and
acquisition of knowledge as early as
possible.
(The AP Vertical Team Guide for English, p.xiii)
Challenge: We must align curricula, teaching
methodology, assignments and
assessments with rubrics
Expectation 2 is possible only if…
All teachers have and work together in
maintaining the expectation;
► All teachers must be willing to meet
regularly to discuss/review curricula and
instruction;
► All teachers must be willing to teach
“aligned” curricula, implement “agreed
upon” instructional strategies, and uphold
standards.
►
Essence of PreAP/AP Vertical Team
“The essence of the concept
[AP Vertical Team] is that the
skills taught in the AP program
are important to all students in
all English classes at all grade
levels….the instruction is
important because thinking,
analyzing, and problem solving
are fundamental skills for
every career.” (p. 3)
Why the PreAP/AP Team?
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To
To
To
To
To
To
increase standards;
foster inclusion (Literacy = Equity);
encourage innovation – TOGETHER;
coordinate instruction and curricula;
empower both teachers and students;
stimulate enthusiasm for learning.
(pp. 4-5)
All of these goals will recreate HHS into Professional
Learning Community!
What do we align?
(Horizontal and
Vertical)
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Content (continually reinforced)
Skills (continually reinforced)
Strategies when teaching writing in social studies
Strategies when teaching reading in social studies
Regular, coordinated use of nonfiction/primary sources
Texts
Summer assignments, homework, other assignments
(research papers?), creative projects
Extracurricular activities and tutorials
Rubrics
Align Instructional Strategies:
Writing
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Teach “thesis” development and writing – particularly in
responding to “DBQ’s;”
Assign essays and DBQ’s weekly;
Coordinate “writing instruction” with English teachers;
Use open-ended questions to assess content knowledge;
Require textual support for all open-ended questions;
Assign writing in every class;
Use same editing marks at all grades;
Use similar rubric for editing (HSPA?);
Peer edit regularly.
“High School Teaching and College Expectations in
Writing and Reading”
(Patterson and Duer, English Journal 95(3): January 2006, pp. 81-87)
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The study demonstrates statistically significant
differences in reading and writing expectations of
students in classes for college-bound vs. noncollege bound….TRACKING LEADS TO INEQUITY!!!!
The study demonstrates the need for grammar and
usage in high school instruction.
“Some seemingly important higher-order reading
skills have a questionable status in high school
teaching…”
“High School Teaching and College Expectations in
Writing and Reading”
(Patterson and Duer, English Journal 95(3): January 2006, pp. 81-87)
The positives….
► “High school teachers and instructors of
common first-year college courses already
agree on what many of the most important
skills in writing and reading are….”
► For example: “Using rhetorically effective
subordination, coordination, and parallelism”
►
(QUESTION: Do we teach subordination, coordination,
parallelism…especially parallelism with participles, gerunds, infinitives?)
“High School Teaching and College Expectations in
Writing and Reading”
(Patterson and Duer, English Journal 95(3): January 2006, pp. 81-87)
Key Point for Social Studies Teachers….
“High school teachers and instructors
of common first-year college courses
already agree on what many of the
most important skills in writing and
reading are….”
Use passages to teach syntax (balanced structure,
parallelism, anaphora, antimetabole, stichomythia: see pp.
38-39), diction (overtly religious), literary devices
(juxtaposition, paradox)
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it
was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the
season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of
despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we
were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other
way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some
of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for
evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on
the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a
queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it
was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves
and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.” -- Dickens, A
Tale of Two Cities
Align Instructional Strategies: Reading
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Model “making connections” as you read (i.e., as
you read “X”, you thought about “Y” and why);
“Read Aloud”: Encourage students to “make
connections” between current and historical
events;
“Shared Reading”: Teacher and students share
passages they appreciate from the text, book,
article;
Reciprocal Teaching (frequent strategy at HHS);
Shared Vocabulary Lists (from texts): Vocabulary
is used by next grade level teacher.
Regular, Coordinated
Use of Nonfiction
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Use nonfiction or primary documents in
conjunction with text;
Use current events regularly to support text
(preferably from The New York Times);
Require regular written responses to nonfiction
(with clear thesis and text support);
Make regular connections with other core
content: How did this “event” impact social
sciences, geography;
Encourage students to make connections with
nonfiction or other media sources.
Example of Use of Nonfiction Article:
“In Ancient Document, Judas, Minus the Betrayal” from The
New York Times, A1, Friday, April 7, 2006.
►
What impact might the discovery of this text
(like “The Gospel of Judas”) have on the
other primary sources that are sacred to
Christianity?
►
Why are only certain ancient texts “sacred”
in a religious tradition (while other texts from
a similar time considered “apocryphal”)?
Example of Use of Nonfiction Article:
“The of Impulse”
from The New York Times, Tuesday, April 4, 2006.
To explore character in Salinger’s Catcher
in the Rye: With advances in brain study,
is the character of Holden consistent with
the new advances in physiology and
psychology?
► Is Holden suffering from “impulsivity
disorder”? Why or why not? Use text(s) to
support your thesis.
►
Using Nonfiction: “The Worst Hard Time,” “The Ground
Shook…” and “The Victory of Reason”
Ask students to identify the premise (key
idea) of the chapter and how this idea
supports or challenges the text. Refute or
support with references to the text.
► How do disasters impact history
(geography, cities, populations, economy)?
Read about 1906 San Francisco
Earthquake, “Black Sunday” on April 14,
1935. Hurricane Katrina?
►
Align Assignments (Summer and
Weekly) Homework, Regular Reading
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Align summer assignments (consequences of not
completing summer assignment is consistent) in scope and
sequence;
Limit “creative projects” to vacations;
Assign essays weekly with variations: Timed, timed and
edited at home, peer edited, thesis-statement only, etc.;
Assign “DBQ’s” as one of the essays once a month;
Provide regular reading schedules for the month with text,
primary sources, and nonfiction articles/chapters mapped
out, so students will learn to time manage and will be held
accountable. (BE FLEXIBLE);
Create a webpage linked to the HHS AP website.
The Dreaded Weekly Essay…
There are ways to cope!!!
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Assess writing/reading skills in first weeks to determine which students
need most improvement (I can give you ways to accomplish this task);
Grade one essay a month in depth;
With other essays, focus on students who need most improvement
(and give cursory scan to others);
Use peer editing after November for grammar problems;
Spend lots of time on thesis development: The rest of essay can be
determined by the thesis!
Choose one aspect of essay writing to improve each month: use of
text as support OR essay intro OR conclusion OR subordination of
ideas OR pronoun-antecedent agreement.
Require “open-ended” questions to assess content knowledge before
assigning an essay;
Essays should be “DBQ’s.”
Align Texts
What grade should read Guns, Germs, and
Steel? etc.;
► All teachers should know what students
have read in previous grades to help
students make connections with past
reading, to build upon the continuum of
primary sources; to prep for AP questions;
to help students with “DBQ’s;”
► Use nonfiction and primary sources
regularly to support the text.
►
Align
Extracurricular Activities and Tutorials
Period 10 tutorials addressing writing issues;
► Period 10 discussion groups;
► PreAP and AP US teachers use common text
and show nonfiction film detailing the event
with discussion;
► In April and May: Period 10 Review of AP
Tests with PreAP students invited.
►
CHANGE THE CONVERSATIONS
Some ideas to think about as we
team today and in days to come
According to Deal and
Petersen in Shaping School
Culture, successful schools
where students flourish are
those “…with a primary
focus on student learning, a
commitment to high
expectations, social support
for innovation, dialogue, and
the search for new ideas.”
Change the Conversations
There is a direct correlation between
student achievement and teacher
attitudes and beliefs.
Studies demonstrate that
writing enhances a student’s
literacy skills, and reading
improves a student’s writing
ability. The more time
students spend in writing and
reading, the greater their level
of achievement.
(Wood and Harmon, p. 26)
Classroom teachers (and their
attitudes/beliefs) determine what
gets taught and how it gets taught
and ultimately how well students
respond and achieve.
Establishing study
habits and class
routines are
essential for academic
reforms that are
lasting.