Honors College Advanced Placement Summer Institute Teaches the Teachers

Russell Cothren

Andy Philpot, who teaches English, journalism and creative writing at Mena High School, participated in the APSI field trip to Crystal Bridges.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Last week 372 junior high and high school teachers gathered on the U of A campus to sharpen their teaching skills at the Honors College's 17th annual Advanced Placement Summer Institute.

"Participation has grown by more than one-third in the last five years, which speaks to the quality of the conference," said Noah Pittman, an assistant dean of the Honors College who directs the institute. "We're starting to get more out-of-state teachers as our national profile grows."

Master teachers drawn from across the U.S. emphasize hands-on classroom activities to engage students. In Marc Reif's physics class, for example, teachers used tin pie plates, Styrofoam cups, straws, and tinfoil to build an electrophorus - a contraption invented more than 200 years ago that allows students to safely produce and manipulate electrostatic charges.

History and English teachers traveled to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, where they were charged with finding works that would relate to books and events taught in class.

Katie Filina, who teaches AP English Literature and Language at Barton Lexa High School, near Helena, was taken with Kerry James Marshall's painting Our Town, which depicts two African American children fleeing a suburban idyll.

"I teach in the Delta -- this one could be useful to me," Filina said. "I'm interested in what lies underneath here."

The workshop lasts just five days, but Pittman and various Honors College staff members work year-round to make it work. The investment is worth the effort, Pittman said: "AP courses are one of the best ways to prepare students for the rigors of the Honors College, so training more teachers helps us grow our pool of applicants. It's also a great opportunity to showcase our campus, our faculty and our student successes, and creates goodwill ambassadors among the teachers who attend."

The annual workshop has had a major impact on the quality of instruction in Arkansas and beyond.

"We are teaching teachers creative ways to help students learn and become excited about the classroom experience," said Lynda Coon, dean of the Honors College. "The increase in the number of AP classes in Arkansas the last several years has been touted nationally, and we are part of making that happen."

Indeed, the College Board reports that the number of Arkansas high school graduates who took an Advanced Placement exam more than quadrupled from 2003 to 2013, placing Arkansas in the forefront in expanding AP participation. And the number of Advanced Placement hours accepted by the University over the past nine years has more than doubled, from 5,767 hours in 2005 to more than 14,334 hours in 2014.

By invigorating teachers and sharing new ideas with them, the five-day workshop has a long-term impact on students and their futures. "Each of these teachers prepare and influence an average of 150 students in their classrooms each year," Pittman pointed out.

Participating teachers were enthusiastic about the conference.

"It was, by far, the best APSI (pre-AP) that I have attended! I gleaned so much from everyone … I look forward to using many of the things I learned," wrote Amanda Chaney, a pre-AP English teacher at Barton High School.

Lynn Knowles, a master teacher for the pre-AP High School English course, wrote: "In five years of doing APSI's, the APSI at the University of Arkansas is the most professional I've experienced. Noah Pittman and his crew work really hard to provide everything instructors and participants need … That preparatory work allows me as a presenter to spend my prep time working on the lessons and activities I want to use with my participants."