AP EUROPEAN HISTORY

COURSE DESCRIPTION

TULSA UNIVERSITY

The AP European History course is designed to help students develop an understanding of the principle themes and eras in European History. These themes include; intellectual and cultural history, political and diplomatic history, and social and economic history. In addition the student is expected to demonstrate knowledge of basic chronology as well as important events and trends from the fifteenth though the twentieth century, the Renaissance through the European Union. The student is also expected to develop the ability to analyze primary source documents, recognizing the bias often found within, and the ability to express their understanding of history in a written format.

This Summer Institute is designed for new to, or inexperienced in, teaching AP European History. Teachers will learn to develop their AP course from the basics. They will receive instruction on how to choose a textbook (if they are lucky enough to do so!) and choosing ancillary materials that will help. The teachers will work on developing a calendar that will help finish covering necessary material before the administration of the AP Exam. Teachers will also receive help in developing lessons that they can use in their classrooms, as well as exchanging best practices and ideas. Teachers will also receive Power Point Presentations that they may use in class, as well as looking at other types of presentations that can be used to enhance learning. In addition, attendees will receive guidance in developing lessons based on the use of primary source documents, as well as primary source documents themselves, and instruction on helping students develop the necessary skills to analyze those documents. Teachers will also receive instruction on how to help students write answers to Free Response Questions as well as Document Based Questions. This will include lessons on developing the thesis, and adding factual information as well as analysis to their DBQ and Free Response Essays. They will learn “pointers” for helping their students achieve the highest possible score on the exam.

Teachers attending the Summer Institute will spend time developing multiple choice questions that are similar to those found on the AP Exam and learn how to score those types of tests. They will also receive instruction on how to score the DBQ and have the opportunity to practice this skill with actual AP DBQ’s. They will be able to take with them multiple DBQ’s as well as the rubrics and sample essays. We will also work with actual Free Response AP questions and practice scoring these also, using the actual rubrics. Again, the teachers will receive actual AP questions, along with rubrics and sample essays. Finally teachers will receive instruction on helping the students actually prepare for the AP Exam, as well as guidelines for the review.

Brief personal narrative:

            Name- Robert Wade

            School- Bryan Adams High School, Dallas, TX.

Position- Social Studies Department Chair, Lead SS AP teacher

Qualifications- 30 years teaching experience, 19 years as AP European History teacher, 9 years as a College Board consultant in the Southwest Region, 8 years as a Reader for AP European History, and 5 years as a College Board Summer Institute Lead Consultant.

Family- Married for 32 years; Wife- Karen, and 3 children; Scott, Christina, and Matt

Hobbies- Triathlons, Yoga, and Reading

Updated 1/4/08