COURSE DESCRIPTION
This AP* Summer Institute is designed for AP* Computer Science teachers who are teaching for the very first time as well as veteran teachers with more than 20 years of experience. Teachers will participate in a fast paced course with many hands-on activities. The most important focus of the course revolves around the GridWorld Case Study and Free Response Exam preparation. A new Gridworld Case Study Training Manual - based on three years of using the case study - will be presented to help teachers and students in better understanding the Gridworld Case Study to learn computer science and prepare for the AP* Exam. The second major focus of the course is on method writing strategies that take the mystery out of the free response section of the exam.
Topics will include:
- The four steps of method writing
- Object Oriented Design with encapsulation, inheritance and composition
- Static one-dimensional arrays, static two-dimensional arrays and dynamic arrays
- String manipulation and number systems
- Algorithms and algorithmic analysis
- Using generic classes and creating generic classes
- Interfaces, Abstract classes and polymorphism
- Creating your own lab assignments, quizzes and tests
- The GridWorld Case Study with a new approach based on three years of experience
- Using prior exam free response questions to prepare students for the new exam
- Understanding advanced "non-tested" topics to teach "tested" topics better
- Share "best practices" strategies
Tuesday evening, after an early dinner, will feature a 6:00pm-9:00pm session geared towards new teachers. This session is not required to receive the AP* Summer Institute certificate. This extra time allows a total focus on topics unique to new teachers and also beneficial to teachers with limited teaching experience.
New Teachers Tuesday Evening Topics will include:
- Handling the AP* Audit requirements and staying on track with an approved syllabus
- Getting started right by hitting the ground running to set a proper pace with teaching techniques that keep the students interested
- Teaching topics that you have difficulty understanding yourself
- Building an AP* Computer Science Program and selecting students for AP* Computer Science
- Teaching AP* Computer Science with or without PreAP* Computer Science
- Teaching effectively with hands-on lab lectures
- Using timed reading quizzes to motivate completion of reading assignments
WHAT TO BRING AND HOW TO PREPARE
Teachers are requested to bring a laptop to the institute for efficiency, but must have access to a computer at night to work on hands-on assignment. Participants need to go to www.schram.org at least several weeks prior to the start of the institute to download preparation materials. Experienced teachers are also requested to bring examples of proven teaching strategies to share with other teachers.
LEAD CONSULTANT
Leon Schram teaches PreAP* Computer Science and AP* Computer Science at John Paul II high School in Plano, Texas. He has taught AP* Computer Science for 28 years and has been a CollegeBoard consultant since 1985, presenting one-day conferences, two-day conferences, and one-week AP* Summer Institutes. He served four years on the AP* Computer Science Test Development Committee and was an AP* Exam reader for ten years. Leon Schram has received the Ross Perot Excellence in Teaching Award, The Texas Computer Educator of the Year Award, The CollegeBoard AP* Special Recognition Award, and was selected for the Global Who's Who 2009 Top educator. He has published five editions of Preparation for the AP* Computer Science Examination and also published Student Friendly Pascal, Exposure C++ for AP* Computer Science, Exposure Java for AP* Computer Science, and 1st Exposure for Introductory Computer Science. Leon Schram is married 44 years to Isolde Schram with four children and nine grandchildren.
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