This course provides teachers with an overview of the basic structure and content necessary for an AP course in Government and Politics: United States. The instructor will focus on the development of learning activities, and teaching strategies for use with each of the big ideas, learning objectives, essential knowledge, disciplinary practices, and reasoning processes included in the redesigned curriculum framework. Emphasis will be placed on the use of multiple resources in the teaching of the course as well as preparing students for the redesigned AP examination format. An analysis of AP examination questions will be included as well as a review of the standards for the grading of the exam. A major portion of the course is devoted to the development of units for an AP U.S. Government and Politics course by participants, including the learning activities and resources necessary for the implementation of such a course. This course is suitable for teachers new to AP U. S. Government and Politics as well as those experienced in the teaching of the course.

 Teachers with experience in teaching this AP Course will review a variety of approaches to course structure, and they will gain numerous teaching strategies to add to their toolboxes. Teachers new to this AP Course will learn about the course requirements as well as various curriculum strategies and teaching techniques that will assist them in offering their students a successful AP US Government and Politics course. Participants should have the textbook they will be using in their course (if that is known), and any other materials they may be using, available and accessible during the course. They should also have a copy of their 2022-2023 school calendar for planning purposes. These will be used as they work to develop units and lesson plans aligned to the curriculum requirements in the Course and Exam Description.

At the conclusion of this course participants will be able to:

• Design, plan and implement an AP U.S. Government and Politics course.
• Develop a familiarity with the components and content of the Course and Exam Description (CED) binder and make connections to the Curricular Requirements.
• Develop a curriculum, including activities and assessments, for all units, topics and skills of the course.
• Implement various instructional strategies and tools to teach the content and skills in  the Course and Exam Description and to prepare students for the AP Exam.
• Devise or revise a syllabus to align with course requirements.
• Make equitable access and attention to diversity and inclusion a guiding principle in designing instruction.
• Develop a familiarity with and utilize AP Classroom and AP Daily.
• Leverage the data in AP Classroom and interpret data within the Instructional Planning Report to identify student strengths and weaknesses and reflect on implications for instruction

Day 1
Course Introduction

• Introductory Activity
• Diversity & Inclusion and Equity & Access
• Introduction to Curricular Requirements and Syllabus Development
• The Practice of Political Science: Disciplinary Practices and Reasoning Processes
• The Redesigned Exam Format

The Course and Exam Description (CED)

• Course and Exam Description Binder

                 – Understanding the AP US Government Course              
                 – Understanding the Unit Guides
                 – Spiraling and Scaffolding

• Applied Learning: The Political Science Research or Applied Civics Project

Day 2
AP Classroom & AP Daily

• Overview of AP Classroom
• Using Personal Progress Checks (PPCs)
• Using the Progress Dashboard
• Using the Question Bank (Including Practice Exams)
• Using AP Daily

Instructional Resources

• The National Constitution Center’s Interactive Constitution
• Other Resources from the National Constitution Center
• Street Law Resources
• AP Central and the AP Teacher Community
• Selection of Texts and Other Resources

Day 3

Strategies and Pedagogical Tools

• Tour of Instructional Approaches     
• Reading and Analyzing Required Documents
• Analyzing and interpreting Visuals
• Connecting and Applying Concepts
• Analyzing Quantitative Data
• Analyzing and Comparing Supreme Court Cases
• Writing an Argument Essay Like a Political Scientist

Developing Unit Guides

• Introduction to Planning and Developing Unit Guides
• Planning and Developing Curriculum for Selected Units

Day 4
The AP Exam 

• Preparing Students for the Multiple-Choice and Free Response Questions
• Scoring the Exam

Unit Guides Presentations

• Participant Sharing Session of Unit Guides for Units 1 – 5

 Assess and Reflect

• Reflecting on Implications to Inform Future Instruction:  Using the IPR (Instructional Planning Report) to identify student strengths and weaknesses.
• Final Questions
• Evaluations and Closure

Maria Schmidt was the Supervisor of Social Studies K-12 for the Westfield Public Schools in Westfield, N.J. She taught social studies at Westfield High School and authored the curriculum and initiated the law-related education courses and AP United States Government and Politics course there. She is an attorney, former adjunct professor of education at Seton Hall University, former trustee of the NJ State Bar Foundation and member of its Law-Related Education Committee. Dr. Schmidt has served as a Reader, Table Leader, and Question Leader at the annual scoring of the AP Government and Politics examination and currently serves as a consultant for the College Board, leading AP workshops and summer institutes throughout the United States. She has authored teacher’s guides for the teaching of the AP US Government and Politics course and, over the past several years, has worked with college textbook publishers in developing AP US Government and Politics teaching ancillaries for use with their U. S. Government and Politics textbooks and has reviewed and edited AP US Government and Politics test preparation materials.