AP Curriculum Development & Design 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which approach to curriculum organization presents concepts in a simplified form early on and revisits them with increasing complexity over time?
- Linear curriculum
- Spiral curriculum (Correct answer)
- Modular curriculum
- Integrated curriculum
Correct answer: Spiral curriculum
Jerome Bruner's spiral curriculum revisits core concepts repeatedly at increasing levels of depth and sophistication.
Question 2: In the context of AP curriculum development, 'horizontal alignment' means:
- Aligning the AP course with college-level expectations
- Coordinating content and skills across different subjects at the same grade level (Correct answer)
- Sequencing units progressively within a single course
- Matching curriculum to standardized test blueprints
Correct answer: Coordinating content and skills across different subjects at the same grade level
Horizontal alignment ensures consistency and coherence of content, skills, and expectations across subjects taught at the same grade level.
Question 3: When an AP teacher uses 'enduring understandings' as curriculum anchors, these are best described as:
- Facts students must memorize for the AP exam
- Big ideas that have lasting value beyond the course (Correct answer)
- Specific skills tested on AP multiple-choice sections
- Daily learning objectives for each lesson
Correct answer: Big ideas that have lasting value beyond the course
Enduring understandings are transferable, big-picture insights that students should retain and apply long after the course ends.
Question 4: A teacher wants to ensure that formative assessments align with AP exam expectations. Which strategy best achieves this?
- Administer only multiple-choice quizzes weekly
- Use AP-style free-response and stimulus-based tasks regularly throughout the unit (Correct answer)
- Grade all work on a 1-100 scale to match exam scoring
- Focus formative assessments exclusively on vocabulary
Correct answer: Use AP-style free-response and stimulus-based tasks regularly throughout the unit
Regularly practicing AP-style tasks (free-response, document-based, stimulus-based) builds the specific skills assessed on the actual exam.
Question 5: Which principle of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) addresses providing students multiple ways to demonstrate their knowledge?
- Multiple means of representation
- Multiple means of action and expression (Correct answer)
- Multiple means of engagement
- Multiple means of assessment validity
Correct answer: Multiple means of action and expression
The UDL principle of multiple means of action and expression allows students to show mastery through varied output formats such as writing, speaking, or creating.
Question 6: In AP curriculum design, a 'performance task' is BEST characterized as:
- A timed multiple-choice test covering recent content
- A complex, authentic assessment requiring application of knowledge and skills (Correct answer)
- A daily exit ticket checking basic comprehension
- A standardized benchmark administered quarterly
Correct answer: A complex, authentic assessment requiring application of knowledge and skills
Performance tasks require students to apply knowledge and skills to realistic, complex situations, demonstrating deep understanding rather than recall.
Question 7: When planning curriculum pacing for an AP course, which factor should most heavily influence the time allocated to each unit?
- The number of pages in the textbook chapter
- The weight and emphasis of topics on the AP exam as indicated in the CED (Correct answer)
- Teacher preference and prior instructional experience
- The availability of technology resources
Correct answer: The weight and emphasis of topics on the AP exam as indicated in the CED
The AP Course and Exam Description specifies the relative weighting of topics on the exam, which should drive pacing decisions to ensure adequate preparation.
AP Curriculum Development & Design 3
Which approach to curriculum organization presents concepts in a simplified form early on and revisits them with increasing complexity over time?