As I mentioned before, I will be taking on two levels of Calculus this year. My school has taught AP Calc for many years, and the wonderful Honors teacher retired this year. So, I picked up AP (AB). We also finally decided to add a regular-level Calc class, which I will be starting this year.
The retiring teacher gave me some advice about teaching AP, and #1 on his list was "Get to a summer institute". I am so happy my school listened to his advice and made arrangements for me to attend.
I attended a 4-day institute at an Ohio college, which was co-taught by an experienced high-school teacher and a college professor/AP test reader. They were a great pair, giving us tons of insight into teaching methods and mathematical processes. The course was for both new and experienced AP teachers, giving us newbies a chance to pick everyone's brains.
This course was mentally tough! I took Calc through Differential Equations in college, and I have tutored here and there, but it had been years since I sat down and worked on Calculus. In the first three days of the conference, the instructors essentially retaught us ALL of AP Calc AB! I was drained and starting to feel overwhelmed. The final day of the course, we discussed logistics such as submitting syllabi, pacing, test prep, and extensions. It was a whirlwind of a week, and I am so happy for it.
I left ready to tackle planning. In the weeks since, I have started prepping my notes, planned my year and syllabus, and gathered resources for test prep questions. I am (close to!) ready for this challenge!
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