Dana is an instructor at Woodridge High School in Irvine Unified School District and helped to establish the Faculty and Social Science Department in that school. She has served as an AP* instructor in Economics since 1989 and is presently teaching AP* U.S. History at Woodbridge. Dana has served as a College Board Reader for AP* U.S. History and was Irvine Unified Teacher of the Year in 1991 and a Semifinalist Orange county Teacher of the Year for 1992. Dana was the Presenter for AP* U.S. History at the Southern California AP* Summer Institute at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School during the summers of 2001-2003, 2006 and 2007.

You can e-mail Dana at dana.duenzen@cox.net

GOALS FOR THE WEEK

Overall, the goal of the course is to enable teachers of AP* USH to develop their own course, refresh the course they already teach, or to simply be able to infuse new ideas and strategies in their existing course. Ms. Duenzen is a firm believer in student centered learning where the teacher is "a coach on the side" rather than a "sage on the stage." Students need to learn higher level critical thinking, reading and writing skills and develop confidence in their ability to practice those skills as they engage in ever more difficult course work. This one-week AP Summer Institute course is designed to improve teachers' ability to provide the "coaching" necessary for their students to be successful not only in AP* USH, but also in college.

Specifically, teachers will
1. become familiar with the continuum and flow of AP* U.S. History curriculum from early settlement to 1980's.
2. become familiar with online resources as well as more traditional resources and develop ideas for their use in the instruction of students.
3. become familiar with and practice various instructional strategies for teaching the skills and knowledge necessary for student success on the AP* exam.
4. develop lessons and share ideas for the use of the instructional strategies
5. become familiar with the 2008 AP* US History exam, how it was scored and how they might use the exam to develop successful test-taking skills in their students for next year.

The agenda which follows is tentative. Time in a computer lab will be factored into the week, and depending on the demands and needs of the participants, more or less time will be spent on each area listed. There will be some "homework" but nothing requiring significant time outside of class. Most activities will be completed entirely within class time. Participants are encouraged to bring a favorite lesson to share, but this is not required.

AGENDA

Monday, Day 1

Introductions/"Housekeeping"/Course Info

What Do Students Need to Be Successful in AP*? - discussion

Knowledge and Skills

Resources

Role of the Teacher

Role of the Student

Role of the Parent

Role of Administration

Equity and Access

Scope and Sequence - "There's a Lot to Cover" - depth vs. breadth - Themes and Topics: Changes From the Past

AP* Audit: the Latest

Critical Reading Skills: Strategies for Reading the Textbook

Tuesday, Day 2

Critical Reading Skills: More on Reading for Improved Learning

Computer Lab: How Can the Computer Be Used To Help Teach Your Students?

Resources

Blackboard.com

Turnitin.com

Primary Sources: Using Artifacts and Documents to Understand History - Strategies for critical thinking

Critical Writing: Strategies to Improve Student Writing and Learning of History

"Great Idea" Presentations - Teacher Sharing

Wednesday, Day 3

More Critical Thinking Strategies to Improve Student Writing on the DBQ and FRQ

2008 Exam: The DBQ - Rubric, student samples and comments on results of the exam

"Great Idea" Presentations - Teacher Sharing

Thursday, Day 4

Success on the Multiple Choice Portion of AP* Test

Student Centered Activities - "Coach on the Side"

Writing: Looking at the 2006 FRQ

"Great Ideas" Presentations - Teacher Sharing

Friday, Day 5

What Do You Do After the Exam (for the next six weeks)?

Tying It Together

"Great Ideas" Presentations - Teacher Presentations