AP AP Professional Development & Collaboration 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: 'Instructional rounds' in AP professional development are best described as:
- Formal evaluations conducted by school principals
- Structured peer classroom visits focused on observing and discussing a common instructional problem (Correct answer)
- Rounds of AP exam grading conducted by classroom teachers
- A sequence of lessons taught in rotation among AP teachers
Correct answer: Structured peer classroom visits focused on observing and discussing a common instructional problem
Instructional rounds involve structured classroom visits where AP teachers collaboratively observe and discuss a shared instructional challenge to improve practice.
Question 2: Which is a key component of effective AP teacher mentoring programs?
- Mentor teachers completing lesson plans on behalf of new teachers
- Regular structured conversations focused on reflective practice and student learning (Correct answer)
- Evaluating new AP teachers against standardized rubrics only
- Assigning mentors randomly without consideration of subject expertise
Correct answer: Regular structured conversations focused on reflective practice and student learning
Effective AP mentoring programs center on structured, reflective conversations that help new teachers grow through guided inquiry into their own practice.
Question 3: How does 'lesson study' support AP teacher professional development?
- By having one teacher write all lessons for the entire AP department
- By engaging a team of teachers in collaboratively planning, teaching, observing, and refining a lesson (Correct answer)
- By replacing formal PD days with independent self-directed study
- By digitizing all AP lessons for broad online distribution
Correct answer: By engaging a team of teachers in collaboratively planning, teaching, observing, and refining a lesson
Lesson study is a collaborative PD cycle where AP teachers jointly develop, teach, observe, and refine a lesson to deepen their shared instructional expertise.
Question 4: What is a key benefit of AP teachers participating in 'AP Reading' (the annual AP exam scoring event)?
- It provides teachers with a paid summer vacation activity
- It deepens teachers' understanding of scoring criteria and common student misconceptions (Correct answer)
- It replaces the need for course-specific professional development
- It allows teachers to change scores for students from their own school
Correct answer: It deepens teachers' understanding of scoring criteria and common student misconceptions
Participating in AP Reading helps teachers understand how responses are scored and identify common student errors to inform their classroom instruction.
Question 5: Which practice best exemplifies 'job-embedded professional development' for AP teachers?
- Attending a one-time off-site conference on AP strategies
- Collaboratively analyzing AP student work samples during a regular department meeting (Correct answer)
- Watching online PD videos independently at home during summer
- Reading research articles without applying findings to classroom practice
Correct answer: Collaboratively analyzing AP student work samples during a regular department meeting
Job-embedded PD integrates learning directly into teachers' daily practice, such as analyzing student work with AP colleagues to inform immediate instructional decisions.
Question 6: When AP teachers engage in 'action research,' they are primarily:
- Reporting instructional issues to school administrators
- Systematically investigating their own classroom practices to improve student outcomes (Correct answer)
- Conducting laboratory experiments for science AP courses
- Publishing peer-reviewed academic research in journals
Correct answer: Systematically investigating their own classroom practices to improve student outcomes
Action research in AP teaching involves teachers systematically studying their own practice through cycles of inquiry, reflection, and instructional adjustment.
AP AP Professional Development & Collaboration 2
'Instructional rounds' in AP professional development are best described as: