IOAPA for Middle School – Advice From Current Mentors

A recent question on the Belin-Blank Center’s email listserv for gifted education teachers sparked a conversation about various success stories and best practices from experienced IOAPA mentors. With their consent, I have gathered that advice into a blog post so more teachers can benefit from their experiences.

Importance of Frequent Face-to-Face Connection
Several mentors indicated the necessity of face-to-face interaction with students to monitor performance and promote progress. Deann Scearce (Mount Vernon Middle School) indicated that her 7^th and 8^th grade students are scheduled into her classroom every other day for their IOAPA class. IOAPA requires courses to be scheduled as part of students’ regular school day, and recommends that the mentor be available during scheduled work time. Kelley Grothus (Madrid Middle School) schedules her students for 1.5 hours each day (including lunch). She says, “Sometimes we sit together to go through the material or just so they can talk through their quiz prep and have someone listen to them. Through lunch, I make them the teacher and have them explain what they are learning to me.” Marcia Powell (Oelwein Middle School) uses her mentoring time to “have a conversation if [students] are lagging and to encourage them or reward them with smiles, high-fives, or something else.”

In addition, Kelley noted the benefit of developing an online learning community. IOAPA permits schools to register up to 6 students per course, and Kelley uses that to her advantage by offering specific courses each semester (i.e., creative writing one semester, and psychology the next). She reported that “this allows that kids to work together & discuss rather than learn in isolation.” Similarly, Marcia recommends that students “enroll in groups of two or three so they can bounce ideas off of one another.” These opportunities for collaboration with peers, as well as the mentoring component included in the IOAPA model, establish a platform for success in online learning.

Benefits of the Online Curriculum
Our mentors appreciate the benefits of these self-contained online classes. Michelle Kavars (Lewis Central Middle School) touted the fact that “there is no real need to ‘teach’ lessons as there are videos, exercises, self-checks, and quizzes along the way.” Each course is a little different, and includes different instructional modalities specifically designed to address the course content; however, this mix of videos, readings, assignments, and quizzes is common, and content expertise is not necessary for IOAPA mentors as all the necessary content for our middle school courses is taught by the online instructor. Kelley attested that “the content is well-organized, sequenced, & managed for you, allowing me to expose the students to a variety of content that matches their strengths and interests.”

Significance of Purposeful Planning
IOAPA allows schools to make courses available to students based on their unique needs and interests, when doing so in person would be resource-prohibitive. However, as many of our mentors reported, purposeful planning is key to success in online learning. Kelley strives to give her students “an authentic & personal connection to the online content.” Our other mentors indicated similar efforts to overcome skepticism often associated with online learning through intentionally establishing ways to connect with students.

This planning is also essential when determining what IOAPA courses to make available to students. Taking advantage of courses offered in person, even if at another grade level, is valuable; according to Kelley, “when there is an in-person expert to teach [students], we utilize that.” IOAPA prohibits schools from using our online courses to help with scheduling conflicts; schools are only permitted to offer those courses that are not already available to students through the school. In the case of middle school courses, if transportation or other issues prevent students from accessing an appropriately challenging course within their district, IOAPA courses may be used to address those needs. For example, if an 8^th grade student requires geometry, but the course is only available at the high school level, they would be permitted to enroll in the IOAPA Geometry course. We would still recommend prioritizing in-person classes if it is feasible to do so.

When offering IOAPA middle school courses, one of the most frequent conversations you’ll have with parents and administrators will concern credit. It will be essential to discuss with middle school and high school administrators how credit will be assigned for IOAPA middle school classes, which are high school level courses offered out-of-level to younger-than-typical students. You can see our previous blog post on this issue. Deann’s school follows a unique credit policy: Students review their final grade and decide if they want to receive high school credit – with the grade they earned going on their high school transcript and affecting their high school GPA.

Finally, planning cannot end with the current school year. Marcia indicated the importance of considering each student’s course progression through high school, and considering alternative courses that could supplement learning in a content area (i.e., offering online computer science or statistics to a math-talented student, in addition to challenging math curriculum), especially if sufficiently advanced courses in the content area are likely to be unavailable later in the student’s academic career.

Conclusion
Overall, our mentors express satisfaction with the IOAPA program, and we know that this program would not be successful without the tireless work they put in each day to support students. If you’re interested in making these classes available to your students, visit belinblank.org/ioapa. Contact ioapa@belinblank.org with questions, and stay tuned to the blog for more advice from students and mentors this summer.

Register for the AP Teacher Training Institute Soon

With summer just around the corner, now is the time to plan your summer professional development. With so many online and on-campus professional development opportunities available at the Belin-Blank Center, you have many options from which to choose!

If your goal this summer is to expand AP opportunities for students in your schools, consider attending the AP Teacher Training Institute (APTTI) on the University of Iowa campus from June 26-29, 2018. With workshops in Calculus AB, Chemistry, English Language & Composition, English Literature & Composition, Physics, U.S. Government & Politics, and U.S. History, there’s sure to be a subject of interest to you and your students.

The goals of APTTI are to provide the necessary skills and knowledge to implement an AP course in your school. New and experienced teachers alike can benefit from the training provided by our fantastic consultants. AP U.S. Government & Politics teachers should especially consider attending an AP Summer Institute like APTTI this summer, with the upcoming redesign of the course rolling out in 2018-2019. Seats are still available in our AP U.S. Government workshop, but they’re filling up quickly, so register soon!

If you have questions about APTTI, visit belinblank.org/aptti or email aptti@belinblank.org. We can’t wait to see you on the UI campus this summer!

Last-Minute AP Exam Tips

With just over a week until AP Exams begin, high school students across the country are frantically completing their coursework and preparing for the big day. In this blog post, we’ll share a few tips to aid in last-minute studying, as well as some reminders for Exam Day.

Study Tips
A quick internet search of terms including “AP exam,” “study,” “review,” and “tips” yields millions of results. Below are some of the most common tips from AP experts.

• Use practice questions and exams. The types of questions on the AP Exam may be unfamiliar to you, and knowing the material is not necessarily enough to earn a high score on the exam. The College Board offers practice questions on their website, including actual questions from previous years’ exams, and many test prep books and websites have developed their own practice questions.
  • In addition to using these materials to test your knowledge and familiarity with content and question types, you can set up a “mock exam” experience with timing, breaks, etc. so you’re more comfortable on Exam Day.
• Review the Course Description document for details about the exam and the evaluation rubric. Each AP Course has its own Course Description; for example, see the AP English Language Course Description. Each Course Description can be accessed from the relevant subject’s Course page. This document also contains additional practice questions!
  • The Exam description within this document can also help you focus your studying — it’s not important that you know every single fact you learned in class; instead, you’ll want to master the topics that are emphasized on the exam. Especially in the Free Response section, exam readers will be looking for synthesis of big concepts rather than just regurgitation of facts.
• Study selectively. At this point, you definitely don’t have time to review every single topic covered over the course of the year. However, I bet there are topics you feel pretty confident about, as well as areas in which you struggle. For your last-minute studying, focus primarily on those areas of weakness. See this US News article for more tips.

Exam Day Reminders
Just like the ACT or SAT, AP Exams are strictly monitored and there are important rules of which to be aware.

• Know what you can (and cannot) bring into the exam. Carefully review these lists to make sure you are following the rules. Also check out the calculator policy for relevant courses (including most math and science courses).
• Review the Bulletin for AP Students and Parents. Before you can take the AP Exam, you’ll be asked to sign your answer sheet indicating agreement and compliance with the policies and procedures outlined therein. It also gives you an idea of what to expect when you arrive for your exam.
• Eat a good breakfast! Most exams take two to three hours, and they require mental and physical endurance. Prepare yourself the best way possible by fueling your body and mind.
• Answer all the multiple-choice questions. You won’t be penalized for incorrect answers, so it is to your benefit to take a guess if you’re not sure on a question. By answering, you give yourself a chance to get it right — usually a one-in-four or better!

You have worked hard over the past year, and now’s your chance to demonstrate what you’ve learned and possibly earn some college credit in the process. Simply taking the AP Exam is a great experience, and if you take advantage of these tips you’ll set yourself up for success!

IOAPA Fall 2018 Registration Now Open

Registration for Fall 2018 Iowa Online AP Academy courses is now open! We are excited to continue to offer above-level courses to high-ability Iowa students at no cost.

Courses are available in a variety of subjects, including science, math, language arts, social studies, computer science, and Spanish language. See our full course catalog for specific availability.

For high school students (grades 9 through 12), 15 unique AP courses are available. These courses use a College Board-approved curriculum that aligns with the material covered in introductory-level college courses. Students have the opportunity to earn college credit for these courses by earning a qualifying score on the end-of-year AP Exam.

Students in grades 6 through 8 have the opportunity to enroll in high school level courses, including Introduction to Computer Science, Creative Writing, Honors Biology, and Honors Spanish I. Also see our previous blog post on the new math courses available for 2018-2019!

Relevant information and policies can be found on our website (www.belinblank.org.ioapa). It is especially important to take note of the eligibility requirements for schools and students, and to review the Getting Started section prior to registering your school and students. In addition, please keep in mind that these courses are intended for students who would have no other way to take them. They are NOT intended to solve scheduling issues at schools who already offer the course(s) of interest.

If you’re interested in offering on-site AP courses at your school, the AP Teacher Training Institute (APTTI) provides instruction and certification to teach AP courses. This summer’s institute will occur on the University of Iowa campus June 26-29, 2018. We are offering workshops in the following subjects: AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP English Language, AP English Literature, AP Physics, AP US Government, and AP US History. Iowa teachers are eligible for a grant to reduce the cost of attending APTTI. With questions about APTTI, contact aptti@belinblank.org.

For additional information about IOAPA, stay tuned to the blog and follow us on Twitter @belinblankIOAPA. With questions, contact ioapa@belinblank.org.

Encouraging Students to Take AP Exams

Around this time of year, AP teachers across the country frequently hear the following question: “Why should I take the AP Exam?” This blog post will provide some responses to that question, and some tips for AP teachers to encourage their students to take AP Exams.

Why Should Students Take The Exam?
First off, AP Exams are the only way to earn college credit for AP courses. This can be a strong motivation for students, as one of the advantages of AP courses is that they provide opportunities to earn college credit while in high school, and achieve ‘advanced placement’ upon entering college.

Second, the experience of taking AP exams is beneficial for students even beyond the exposure to advanced material presented in the course. One study found that students who took one or more AP Exams were more likely to enroll in college than students who did not take any AP exams (Chajewski, Mattern, & Shaw, 2011). Students who took both an AP course and exam outperformed students who took an AP course only with regard to both college achievement and graduation (Hargrove, Godin, & Dodd, 2008). Research findings generally suggest that AP course participation yields benefits beyond non-AP courses, and that AP Exam participation compounds those benefits.

Finally, the AP Exams are a socially appropriate way of “showing off” what you’ve learned, and students who participate and succeed on a high number of AP Exams can earn recognition in addition to college credit. There are several opportunities to earn special recognition, and they are detailed on the AP Awards and Recognition page of the AP Students website.

How Can Teachers Encourage Students Who Are On The Fence?
A personal conversation with students about their goals for taking AP coursework is a good first step. If their goal is to earn credit for college, they must take the exam in order to achieve it. If they entered the class with a different goal, the AP Exam may or may not be necessary. In general, it is recommended that all students who complete an AP course take the corresponding exam.

Some students may be worried about underperforming on the AP Exam. Mentors can discuss these concerns with students and reassure them that tthere is no penalty associated with low AP Exam scores. The exam is separate from the course grade, so course grades will not be negatively impacted by a low AP Exam score, and low scores will not have an impact on college admission decisions. Students can also control how and to whom their AP Exam scores are reported if they are concerned about college admissions.

Some students may be worried that they won’t be prepared for the AP Exam. There are a lot of great resources available to determine readiness for AP Exams. The College Board provides sample questions on their website and many independent publishers offer books aimed at helping with AP Exam preparation. Making these tools available is an excellent way to help students feel prepared and motivated to take the AP Exam.

What Else Should We Know?
For information on 2018 AP Exam dates, ordering, and other details, review our previous blog post. You can also visit the College Board website for relevant school preparation and Exam Day information. As always, feel free to contact ioapa@belinblank.org with questions, and stay tuned to our blog for more AP Exam tips!

References
Chajewski, M., Mattern, K. D., & Shaw, E.J. (2011). Examining the role of Advanced Placement Exam participation in four-year college enrollment. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 30(4), 16-27.
Hargrove, L., Godin, D., & Dodd, B. (2008). College outcomes comparisons by AP and non-AP high school experiences. (College Board Research Report No. 2008-3). New York: The College Board. Retrieved from: http://research.collegeboard.org/rr2008-3.pdf.

AP Exam Reviews Through IOAPA

UPDATE: All of our AP Exam Reviews have now been spoken for. As mentioned below, we had an extremely limited number this year, due to increased enrollments in courses. If schools and/or families would like to purchase the reviews on their own, directly from Apex Learning, we would be happy to send you information about that. Contact ioapa@belinblank.org.

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The Iowa Online AP Academy is pleased to announce that the AP Online Exam Review will again be available to all Iowa AP students and teachers. Students in IOAPA AP classes are automatically set up, and students in your on-site AP classes are eligible to sign up for AP Exam Review.

AP Exam Review is available through Apex Learning for the following 13 AP courses: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Government and Politics, and AP U.S. History.

Significantly fewer AP Exam Reviews are available this year than in years past, due to extremely high interest in our ever-expanding course offerings. In light of these limitations, we ask that schools carefully consider their students’ need for and interest in this modality of support before signing students up for AP Exam Review through Apex. Please make this opportunity available to students who will make use of the support, and especially to students who may lack access to other resources.

The process for schools to register students for AP Exam Review differs from the registration for online AP courses. Please read the following instructions carefully. If you have questions about signing students up for AP Exam Review, you can contact Lori Hudson at ioapa@belinblank.org, 1-800-336-6463, or 319-335-6148.

There are two ways for schools to set up users.

Option 1:
The first option is for the Site Coordinator to create a Classroom through their IOAPA account (use the Classroom Tab). Site Coordinators may then add students to each AP Exam Review subject class they create. To add or edit a Classroom for AP Exam Review, please sign in to http://ioapa.apexvs.com/ApexUI/ and click on the Classroom tab. The Exam Review should be the only class showing. Click on the “Add a Classroom” button on the right and follow the prompts to add the class, select the exam review content, and add students. Add a classroom for each Exam Review content area you want to access.

Do not enroll mentors through this Classroom tab; instead, add them as staff in the Staff Tab. They can then select the Exam Review areas they need.

Option 2, to be used if you will be enrolling 25 or more students:
The second option is for the school to send a completed Excel file (contact ioapa@belinblank.org for template) to Support at Apex Learning. Apex Learning Support staff will register the students for your school if you have more than 25 students per review. Given the limited number of AP Exam Reviews available this year, this option will be very rarely needed.

Option 2 Instructions: List each student on a single line. Indicate which AP Exam Review course(s) by product code the student should be enrolled in. Product codes are listed in the Product Code tab on the bottom of the AP Exam Review File form. If a student wants to be in multiple exam review, list each course on the single line and separate each course product code with a comma. If you have more than 25 users to enroll, please contact the Apex Learning Support team for information on bulk registration/enrollment. Please attach your completed Excel file to an email addressed to support@apexlearning.com. Use the email subject line: IOAPA – {Your School Name} AP Exam Review Student List.

We’re excited to make this resource available to Iowa students! Contact us at ioapa@belinblank.org with any questions.

Expanding IOAPA’s Above-Level Math Pathway

We at the Iowa Online AP Academy are excited to announce the addition of two new courses for the 2018-2019 school year!

Both courses expand the existing above-level math pathway, allowing students to access additional high school math courses during middle school. Our current offerings, Algebra I (Honors) and Geometry (Honors), can now be followed by Algebra II (Honors) and Precalculus (Honors). All courses in this sequence are available for students in grades 6 through 8 who do not have access to a comparable in-person course.

Algebra II (Honors) builds on the concepts addressed in Algebra I, and develops skills necessary for future advanced math courses. Due to the reliance on Algebra I concepts, students are strongly encouraged to complete an Algebra I course or demonstrate mastery of Algebra I concepts prior to enrolling in Algebra II.

Precalculus (Honors) introduces students to concepts that integrate their previous learning with new skills to prepare students for Calculus and beyond. Prior to enrolling in Precalculus, students should successfully complete Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry or demonstrate mastery of relevant concepts.

There are a number of ways in which schools and students can choose to handle the sequencing of these courses.

When planning advanced course sequences for students, it is important to consider what comes before and after the main sequence. For example, if bright students have access to Algebra in 6^th grade, might they also have access to Pre-Algebra during 5^th grade? Additionally, if students are completing a number of high school math courses during middle school, what math courses will they take in high school? Will the courses taken in middle school count toward high school graduation requirements? If not, how will students have access to sufficient math coursework to meet those requirements once they reach high school? Planning is essential to ensure that high ability students continue to learn new things throughout their educational careers.

Registration for fall courses opens the week of March 19. Stay tuned to the blog, our website, and our Twitter for updates. Don’t forget to get started with above-level testing for middle school course eligibility. As always, contact us with questions at ioapa@belinblank.org.

APTTI Registration Is Open!

Attention, educators: Are you interested in expanding your school’s AP offerings and developing an AP culture at your school? Come join us on the University of Iowa campus June 26-30, 2018 to become qualified to teach an AP course.

We will be offering workshops for AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Physics, AP U.S. Government and Politics, and AP U.S. History. Visit our website to learn more.

Registration is now open, and financial assistance is available from the College Board, and for Iowa teachers through an IOAPA grant.

We look forward to seeing you this summer!

 

 

Using Above-Level Testing to Connect Talented Students with Challenging Coursework

As you may know, the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) have teamed up to provide identification and programming services to help Iowa teachers find talented students and develop their abilities. For more on how BESTS and IOAPA work together, check out our IOAPA-BESTS blog roundup.

In order to use this year’s above-level testing scores to inform eligibility for next year’s IOAPA courses, now is the time to being the above-level testing process. There are four basic steps for participation in BESTS.

1. Find the students who are ready for additional challenge; these are the students who will be recommended for participation in BESTS. Typically, students who have earned scores at or above the 90^th percentile on grade-level standardized tests, such as the Iowa Assessments, are strong candidates for above-level testing.
2. Notify the students identified in Step 2 and their families about the opportunity to participate in BESTS.
3. Contact assessment@belinblank.org as soon as possible to set up testing. Note that if you have 7^th-9^th grade students in need of above-level testing, they will be taking the ACT, and there are specific deadlines for registration; visit belinblank.org/talent-search for specific information. I-Excel testing sessions for current 4^th-6^th graders are more flexible to schedule, but it’s still important to reach out soon to ensure that the process can be completed in time for your desired test date(s).
4. Inform students and parents about test results and the recommended course of action following testing.

Through generous grant funding, IOAPA is able to provide FREE above-level testing for Iowa 5^th grade students. Simply mention IOAPA when requesting testing to access this opportunity for your 5^th grade students.

A new research project at the Belin-Blank Center, the Talent Identification and Career Exploration (TICE) project, is currently seeking Iowa middle schools with whom to partner to identify and serve talented underrepresented students. Students at TICE partner schools would receive financial and technical support to test high-ability 6^th graders and offer a career intervention program during 7^th grade. If you are interested in applying to become a TICE school, fill out the online application (https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1QSZO3Zblbhp5op) or contact javits@belinblank.org.

Everything You Need to Know About 2018 AP Exams

With the spring semester well underway, many AP students and teachers are beginning to count down to the big exam. This post will present information about AP Exam logistics, including the schedule, ordering and costs, and exam accommodations. Stay tuned to the blog for a future post on motivating students to take AP Exams.

The Schedule

A full AP Exam schedule is available on the College Board website. A summary of exam dates for IOAPA courses is presented below. All morning exams begin at 8:00am, and all afternoon exams begin at 12:00pm unless otherwise indicated.

AP Biology: Monday, May 14 – Morning
AP Calculus AB: Tuesday, May 15 – Morning
AP Chemistry: Monday, May 7 – Morning
AP Computer Science A: Tuesday, May 15 – Afternoon
AP Computer Science Principles: Friday, May 11 – Afternoon
AP English Language and Composition: Wednesday, May 16 – Morning
AP English Literature and Composition: Wednesday, May 9 – Morning
AP Environmental Science: Thursday, May 10 – Afternoon
AP Macroeconomics: Wednesday, May 16 – Afternoon
AP Microeconomics: Friday, May 18 – Morning
AP Psychology: Monday, May 7 – Afternoon
AP Spanish Language and Culture: Tuesday, May 8 – Morning
AP Statistics: Thursday, May 17 – Afternoon
AP US Government and Politics: Thursday, May 10 – Morning
AP US History: Friday, May 11 – Morning

Exam Ordering and Costs

Students (generally with advice from teachers, parents, school counselors, or other school personnel) are responsible for deciding whether to take AP Exam(s) for the courses in which they enrolled. Schools are responsible for ordering those exams from the College Board for all students who indicate intent to complete exams. The priority deadline for ordering AP Exams is March 30^th. All AP Exams must be ordered no later than April 20, 2018. Orders placed after April 13, 2018, will incur late fees. More information about specific procedures for ordering exams is available from the College Board.

Different states and schools handle exam fees differently. In general, for 2018 exams most students will pay the school $94 per exam. The College Board offers reduced-fee exams for students with financial need; these students generally pay the school $53 per exam. Further information can be found on the College Board website. Additional financial assistance may be available through federal and state funding. Federal funding for AP Exams has changed with the authorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act, with funds previously devoted to the AP Test Fee Program now being consolidated into a new Title IV, Part A block grant. Districts and/or states can use these funds to subsidize exam fees for economically disadvantaged students; check with your school to find out what assistance is available in your district.

Exam Accommodations

Students with disabilities who wish to take AP Exams with accommodations must submit a request to the College Board’s Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). This process changed slightly last year, and you can visit our previous post on this topic for more details. For 2018 exams, requests for accommodations must be made by February 23.

As the AP Exams approach, keep an eye on our blog and our Twitter (@belinblankIOAPA) for helpful tips!

 

Getting Started With IOAPA Edhesive Courses

Early in the semester, it can be challenging to know how best to get started with IOAPA courses. We’ve put together step-by-step instructions to help anyone who may be struggling to get started. We’d also recommend saving this post for future reference, as it will be useful at the start of each semester.

1. Register your students through IOAPA.
2. Look for an email from Edhesive containing specific instructions on setting up your Teacher account and familiarizing yourself with the course materials.
   1. NOTE: If the person who registered the students is not the person who will be mentoring the course, send an email to info@edhesive.com and CC ioapa@belinblank.org explaining the situation. Be sure to include your name, email, and school name. If you know the Section Token assigned to the course(s) you intend to mentor, include that as well.
3. After you have created and logged into your Teacher account, visit the Help section and click through the Support materials. You may especially want to look at the suggestions regarding course pacing in the “Customizing YOUR Course” section.
   1. We strongly recommend viewing all the support materials, as they are full of information that will maximize your students’ success with Edhesive courses.
4. Visit the Teacher Forum and set up your Piazza account. See this post for more information on using the Teacher Forum.
5. Send the step-by-step instructions for enrolling AND the Section Token (both included in the original email from Edhesive) to the registered students so they can enroll themselves in your section of the course.
6. Verify with students that they are enrolled and can access the course. Return to your Edhesive teacher account and visit the gradebook to ensure that you can see enrolled students’ progress.

Don’t hesitate to contact us at ioapa@belinblank.org with questions. Other useful sources of information related to IOAPA Computer Science courses include the Edhesive Teacher Forum, the Edhesive blog, our IOAPA Twitter account (@belinblankIOAPA), and the Edhesive Twitter account (@TeamEdhesive). Keep following our blog to stay up to date on all things IOAPA!

 

Financial Assistance for AP Summer Institutes

Though nothing about the current weather suggests that it’s time to start thinking about summer, the quickly-approaching deadlines for the College Board AP Summer Institute scholarships suggest otherwise.

Each year, the College Board offers a number of scholarships to support teachers in attending an Advanced Placement Summer Institute (APSI). AP Summer Institutes provide subject-specific training for teachers who are interested in teaching an AP course. Summer Institutes can also support current teachers of AP courses seeking to further develop their skills, or gain familiarity with a redesigned version of the course (such as the 2018-2019 redesign of AP US Government and Politics). There are APSIs all around the country, including a College Board-approved APSI on the University of Iowa campus (AP Teacher Training Institute; www.belinblank.org/aptti).

Scholarships offered by the College Board include the AP Fellows Program for teachers at schools serving minority or low-income students, the AP Rural Fellows Program for teachers at rural schools, the AP Redesign Scholarship for teachers of the AP US Government and Politics course, and the AP Capstone Scholarship for teachers of the AP Capstone course. Additional details and application materials are available on the College Board’s website.

The deadline to apply for these scholarships is February 15, 2018, so if you’re considering attending an AP Summer Institute, apply today!

The AP Teacher Training Institute (APTTI) also offers a grant for Iowa teachers to defray the cost of tuition. See our website for more details.

Making Objective Decisions about Students Taking Advanced Courses

As 2017 comes to a close, you may be starting to think about planning for next year. Maybe you have students who have already mastered the classroom curriculum, and you’re not sure how to keep them challenged and engaged. Perhaps your district is trying to identify students who are ready for additional challenge. Or maybe you have students interested in taking advanced courses, but you’re not sure if they would qualify, or what classes they should take. Above-level testing can help with all of these issues.

Looking back on this year, one of our most exciting developments has been the partnership between the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS), our above-level testing program. We’ve rounded up some of the posts we’ve shared over the past several months for use in implementing BESTS and IOAPA for your high ability students.

The Best-Kept Secret in Gifted Education: Above-Level Testing — This post offers an excellent overview of the theory and research behind above-level testing.

Helping Iowa Teachers Discover Students Who Are Ready for Advanced Online Courses — This post summarizes the connection between BESTS and IOAPA and provides steps for implementation.

I’m Ready to Set Up I-Excel Testing for This Year: Where Do I Start? — Specific steps for setting up I-Excel are included in this post.

My 4th-6th Grade Students are Taking I-Excel Soon: How Do I Help Them Get Ready? — Guidelines for preparing students for an above-level test are discussed.

Have Your 7th-9th Graders Registered to Take the ACT? — This post includes useful information about using the ACT as an above-level test for 7th through 9th grade students. Current information about fees, test session dates, and registration deadlines can be found at www.belinblank.org/talent-search.

Discovering Talented Students: Using Content-Area Scores for IOAPA Eligibility — Specific guidelines for determining eligibility for IOAPA courses are presented here.

Making Sense of Test Scores — This post provides an overview of IDEAL Solutions® for STEM Acceleration.

We hope these posts are useful as you begin preparing to implement BESTS and IOAPA for the 2018-2019 school year. Feel free to visit belinblank.org/talent-search and belinblank.org/ioapa for more information on the programs, or email assessment@belinblank.org or ioapa@belinblank.org with additional questions.

Scholarships and Programs for IOAPA Students

While the end of the year is often a time for looking back on the year that’s passed, it’s also a time for looking and planning ahead for the summer and the coming year. We’ve rounded up some relevant programs and scholarships for IOAPA students, from incoming sixth graders to college-bound seniors. Please note that inclusion on this list does not indicate an endorsement by the Belin-Blank Center or the University of Iowa.

Summer Programs for IOAPA Students

• Belin-Blank Center Summer Programs: The Belin-Blank Center has a wide variety of residential opportunities for students in grades 6 through 11, including advanced courses in areas of interest, advanced research opportunities, and immersive residencies in art and writing. Information regarding these programs is available at belinblank.org/summer, and nomination materials for most programs will become available shortly.
• Residential Summer Programs Across the Country: The Davidson Institute compiled a list of residential summer programs for high ability students all over the country. View the list here.
• Summer Day Camps Across the Country: The Davidson Institute has also compiled a list of day camps for high ability students arranged by state. This list is available here.

Scholarships Relevant to IOAPA Students

• Scholarships for Gifted Students: The Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page has a section devoted to college scholarships, some of which are relevant to high ability students. In addition, the Davidson Institute has lists of scholarships for younger gifted students and older gifted students for attending summer enrichment programs or recognizing achievements.
• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarships: The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has many ways to meet the needs of high ability students, including scholarships for students in middle school and high school. The College Scholarship application period has ended for this year, but will be available again next September.
• Scholarships for Rural Students: There are a number of scholarships specifically for rural students. Some opportunities include the Hagan Scholarship Foundation, the Foundation for Rural Service, and the America’s Farmers: Grow Ag Leaders scholarship.

Additional programs and scholarships may be available through local companies, schools, and universities. It’s never too early to plan for the future – hopefully this list will help jump start your planning!

ICYMI – When IOAPA Staff are Stretched Thin

As you begin to wrap up one semester and plan for the next, we hope this information, originally published in January 2016, will be useful!

In many rural schools, staff take on multiple roles in order to provide a wealth of experiences to their students. However, this often means that teachers are stretched thin in terms of time and resources available for working with students. In many instances, gifted education programs are hardest hit. Gifted coordinators in rural areas often work with students at all grade levels and may not interact with their students every day given the many tasks they have to complete. For our IOAPA schools, this sometimes presents challenges in terms of monitoring student progress, assessing for concerns or difficulties with courses or technology, and working to build relationships where students can ask for help. How can IOAPA coordinators make their program successful despite these constraints?

• Develop a learning plan with your students. Although most students benefit from clear goals and plans to accomplish them, a learning plan or contract may be particularly useful for IOAPA coordinators filling multiple roles. The learning plan can be used not only to address content or course-specific goals, but also to ask for student input on how you as a site coordinator can best support them and help them meet their goals. Through development of a learning plan with your students, coordinators can know what student goals are for the course as well as strategies that might be useful for success.
• Plan for check-in daily (even if not face to face). Although online courses encourage students to work independently, it is often still helpful to know that the site coordinators and mentors at their school are available for support. For teachers who many not interact with their students daily, checking in using technology or planning for a regular status update from your students can help you keep tabs on students who may be struggling.
• Find someone to support your students on-site while they work. If you aren’t available on-site for your IOAPA students’ courses due to scheduling conflicts, make sure that they have someone available to supervise and ensure they are working on their IOAPA coursework. This can range from arranging for students to sit with other teachers during prep periods or study halls or finding teachers to act as mentors (more on that below).
• Plan for time when students can ask questions. Another key part of supporting your students is ensuring availability for answering questions and providing support even if you do not interact with them regularly. Site coordinators might implement time before or after school for answering questions for their students on a regular basis. Another tool IOAPA site coordinators might use is setting up progress meetings at set points throughout the semester. Progress meetings will allow for face-to-face contact with your students and will help you identify areas in which they might need additional support.
• Ask an on-site teacher to act as a mentor. Participation in IOAPA requires the establishment of a designated site coordinator and mentor to provide on-site support to your IOAPA students. Although many schools choose to have only one person in these roles, such as the TAG Coordinator, schools can choose to designate a separate mentor or mentors for their IOAPA students. The TAG Coordinator would then take on responsibilities related to the IOAPA site coordinator position while the on-the-ground work would become part of the IOAPA mentor’s duties. For IOAPA site coordinators who fill multiple roles, this can be a good way for a staff member on-site to build a relationship with your IOAPA students and aid in navigating any challenges that students might experience. We recommend considering mentors for your students who:
  • Are available in some way during your IOAPA student’s class time (this might include having students work independently in the classroom while the mentor teaches so that the mentor can check in on them)
  • Are trusted by the mentee. The student may have already developed a relationship with them from previous courses or activities, which can create a system of accountability.
  • Can contribute meaningfully to their IOAPA course due to shared experiences with the student. Although it is not a requirement that a mentor be an expert in the course subject, mentors who can relate personally to the student as well as aid in learning course material can be beneficial when students are feeling struck.
  • Provide feedback with high expectations and belief in abilities. Mentors often act as one of the primary encouragers to their students—by knowing that the mentors are part of their support network, students may be more likely to persist when coursework becomes challenging.

Other ideas and sources of support for IOAPA site coordinators and mentors can be found in the IOAPA Handbook or through participation in the IOAPA Mentor Network. For more about the IOAPA model, visit our website at belinblank.org/ioapa.

Computer Science Education in Iowa

At the end of April, then-Governor Branstad signed Senate File 274 into law, establishing goals for expanding computer science education opportunities for Iowa students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Read more about the bill here. These goals include: offering at least one CS course in each high school and offering basic and exploratory computer science instruction in each elementary and middle school.

The bill also created a work group to make recommendations for meeting these goals by July 1, 2019. The Computer Science Education Work Group released their final report last week. The report includes detailed recommendations for using CS courses to satisfy graduation requirements, integrating CS courses into a career and technical education (CTE) pathway, ensuring equitable access by offering courses in a number of settings, developing a scope and sequence for CS education, and using the CS professional development fund to meet goals. It will be exciting to see these recommendations turn into actions to expand CS education access to all students in Iowa.

Through the Iowa Online AP Academy, high-ability Iowa students in 6th through 12th grades can access above-level CS coursework, and teachers can take advantage of professional development opportunities. Registration for our spring-semester Introduction to Computer Science course for students in 6th-9th grades is available now; visit our website for more on courses and registration.

Course Resources for IOAPA Mentors

The Iowa Online AP Academy consistently strives to provide the best possible support for our mentors, and we are proud to partner with course vendors who share that goal. Both Apex and Edhesive provide extensive resources to facilitate the use of the course platforms and to promote best practices in online learning. Some of these resources, including a new webinar series for AP Computer Science A, will be described below.

Edhesive
For our computer science mentors, several course functionalities have been discussed in some detail in previous blog posts, like this one and this one. Edhesive has curated course-specific Support sections, available to each coach (a.k.a. mentor) through their Edhesive dashboard. Support materials in this section include information about teaching in blended classrooms, specific information about course tools such as Code Runner, and resources to guide course pacing to facilitate on-time completion of the material.

In addition to these materials, Edhesive recently presented a series of webinars for AP Computer Science A coaches. The three webinars in this series discuss: getting started with AP CSA; tips, tricks, and tools for using Canvas; and suggestions for maximizing use of the forums. These webinars were recorded, and can be viewed by AP Computer Science A mentors by visiting the Help section (as indicated in the screenshot below) and scrolling to the last module.

Apex Learning
For the rest of our mentors, Apex Learning offers several methods for obtaining support. In Help Home, which can be accessed from the mentor dashboard, mentors will find Getting Started guides for staff and students, which present information on using the course platform. In addition, there are course-specific syllabi and guides to provide an overview of course content and aid in pacing. Finally, in the Help Home section, mentors can find answers to many “How To” questions concerning the course platform.

Another useful support resource through Apex is the Educator Academy. In this section, you can find video modules and webinars on using different features of the course site, as well as program resources to inform implementation of online learning options at the school level. Some aspects of implementation are guided by participation through IOAPA, but examination of these resources may help guide decisions about school-level policies and practices around IOAPA courses specifically, and online learning in general. In addition, the Educator Academy includes a Community feature in which all teachers of Apex courses can read and pose questions for other teachers and Apex staff.

We hope the support resources highlighted here can be of assistance. We also have a wealth of support resources on our website, www.belinblank.org/ioapa. Visit the Support Materials section to view the Handbook, our infographics, and other resources for selecting and implementing IOAPA courses. Don’t forget, spring registration for IOAPA opened this week, and classes will fill up quickly. Get the registration process started today!

Discovering Talented Students: Using Content-Area Scores for IOAPA Eligibility

The partnership between the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) is a great way to connect talented students with appropriate assessment and educational opportunities.

Eligibility for IOAPA middle school courses is determined through use of grade-level (Iowa Assessments) and above-level (I-Excel or ACT) assessments. BESTS recommends nominating students who earn scores at or above the 95^th percentile on grade-level standardized tests for above-level testing. (If your school uses eITP, check out this great tool for an easy way to find these students!)

Scores at or above the 50^th percentile on an above-level test are indicative of a need for additional challenge, such as that provided by IOAPA courses. For further discussion of above-level testing and using the scores, check out our past blog posts, especially this one and this one. Above-level assessments can provide individual domain scores specific to each content area measured, and an overall composite score reflecting performance across areas.

IOAPA recommends using content-area scores, rather than overall scores, to ensure that advanced learning opportunities are available to all talented students in their area(s) of strength. I-Excel and ACT both yield scores in Science, Mathematics, English, and Reading. ACT also includes a Writing section that yields its own score. The table below details the relevant content area score(s) for each of our IOAPA middle school courses.

In addition to the guidelines in the table above, consideration of course prerequisites can be useful when debating in what subject area(s) students should qualify. This information is available from the IOAPA course catalog by clicking “Learn more.” under the course(s) of interest.

For additional information on BESTS, visit www.belinblank.org/talent-search or email assessment@belinblank.org. For further information on IOAPA, visit www.belinblank.org/ioapa or email ioapa@belinblank.org.

Why IOAPA?

As we approach the beginning of spring registration, students might be wondering why they should consider taking AP courses in general, and IOAPA courses specifically. Here are just a few reasons we feel strongly about making online advanced learning opportunities available for students.

• IOAPA courses extend opportunities not available in person. For many students in Iowa, geography and school resources can too often dictate the opportunities to which they have access. IOAPA reduces these influences by providing free, online courses and AP Exam Reviews, and partnering with schools to make in-person support and AP Exams available.
• IOAPA courses allow for flexibility in learning. IOAPA courses are scheduled into students’ regular school day, which increases opportunities for accessing support and likelihood of completing the work. However, the courses are independent, which allows students to set their own goals and priorities and complete the work on their terms. This flexibility and independence enables students to practice and develop skills beyond those taught in the coursework.
• Online courses offer unique challenges. In addition to the rigor of above-level courses, IOAPA students learn how to navigate a virtual learning environment, manage time with other commitments, and advocate for their educational needs. IOAPA is a great learning environment for online courses because it provides students with additional support as they become familiar with the process of online learning. As enrollment in online courses increases, early experiences with the nuances of online coursework prepare students for this unique learning situation.
• AP courses are nationally recognized. Because AP courses are administered by The College Board, class standards are consistent regardless of where or how you complete the course. Receiving AP exam credit demonstrates a certain level of proficiency that colleges and universities can then use to determine placement. Also, it’s easy to determine how credits might transfer regardless of where you attend college using the database managed by The College Board.
• Colleges like AP. Researchers in higher education have found relationships between AP participation and achievement, readiness, and college degree attainment. Reporting a commitment to academic challenge like taking AP courses early on reflects positively on students’ drive to succeed post-high school.

If these reasons have been convincing, head over to our website, www.belinblank.org/ioapa for more information, including the course catalog and registration procedures. Spring registration opens November 1, 2017.

IOAPA 2016 Annual Report

Each year, IOAPA staff develop a report demonstrating the progress we’ve made toward our goal of making advanced learning opportunities available for all Iowa students. If you’re curious about what we achieved in 2016-2017, check out this infographic for an overview. You can also find many more details in the public annual report posted on our website.

Helping Iowa Teachers Discover Students Who Are Ready For Advanced Online Courses

The Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) are working together to help schools provide a defensible, objective, research-based method of selecting students for above-level coursework. The above-level tests administered through BESTS can yield essential information for determining whether a student is ready for additional challenge, such as that provided by an IOAPA course.

Why above-level testing? Scores from grade level tests demonstrate that students have mastered grade-level material, but they don’t tell us how much additional challenge the students need. Above-level tests can help us identify the extent and types of challenge each student requires. See our previous post for more details on how above-level testing works.

Students in grades 4-6 participate in BESTS by taking I-Excel, and this test can be administered by teachers to one or more students in their schools whenever is convenient for them. This is available to Iowa fifth grade students for free, and the cost for students in other grades is very reasonable. Students in grades 7-9 are recommended to take the ACT, and signing up through BESTS will provide detailed interpretation of test scores and information about programs and resources relevant to high ability students.

There are four basic steps to follow for participation in BESTS:

1. Choose the semester for which you want to enroll students in IOAPA courses and begin registering for BESTS. For courses beginning in Spring 2018, begin the BESTS process by October. For courses beginning in Fall 2018, begin the BESTS process no later than January 2018.
2. Find the students who are ready for additional challenge; these are the students who will be recommended for participation in BESTS. Typically, students who have earned scores at or above the 90^th percentile on grade-level standardized tests, such as the Iowa Assessments, are strong candidates for above-level testing.
3. Notify the students identified in Step 2 and their families about the opportunity to participate in BESTS, and work with the Belin-Blank Center to arrange assessment sessions for interested students.
4. Inform students and parents about test results and the recommended course of action.

Curious about bringing BESTS to your students? Visit www.belinblank.org/talent-search for more information, and a video about talent search and above-level testing. When you’re ready to set up testing, email assessment@belinblank.org.

 

Non-Academic Supports for IOAPA Students

By this point in the semester, IOAPA students are likely familiar with the expectations of their above-level courses. Students may be feeling a little overwhelmed by a level of challenge they may never have experienced before. They may start to question their abilities, or they may be hesitant to submit projects or assignments until they’re sure there are no mistakes. These can be difficult issues to help students overcome, and it is hard to know how to best support students with these emotional struggles. Many experts have written on these topics, and below are some blog posts and resources to share or discuss with IOAPA students who are in need of non-academic supports.

For students who are expressing hesitation about continuing their coursework because it is challenging, this blog post from Byrdseed could spark a conversation about the benefits of challenge for our brains, just like for our muscles.

“Imposter syndrome” is a common challenge for bright students, especially when they’re being exposed to a new level of challenge for the first time. In fact, it’s so common that Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page has a whole section of blogs and books about the phenomenon. (I would especially recommend this article and this blog post.) Helping students learn to challenge these thoughts now will benefit them throughout their education and careers.

An additional challenge that arises among gifted students is perfectionism. The National Association for Gifted Children published this article that includes a distinction between healthy and unhealthy manifestations of perfectionism, as well as some tips for parents and teachers to help students manage it.

Growth mindset resources can also inform the ways in which teachers and parents change their own behavior to support students through these emotional challenges. For example, the praise students receive can influence their self-perceptions; when students consistently hear, “You’re so smart,” it can open the door for self-doubt and perfectionism. Mindset Kit offers an excellent brief lesson on using process-praise.

The challenge of IOAPA classes is incredibly beneficial for high ability students in many ways. It can also result in some new struggles for these students, especially when they’ve never encountered this type of challenge before. It is our hope that these resources will be useful in understanding and meeting students’ emotional needs.

Using Edhesive – The Forums

During the inaugural year of IOAPA’s partnership with Edhesive, we extended access to Computer Science courses to more than 100 students across Iowa. We will continue to expand computer science education across the state, and continue to work to maximize student and mentor success. This “Using Edhesive” blog series will highlight Edhesive features that we feel are especially important for IOAPA students and mentors. Whether you’re brand new to Edhesive, or already have a year under your belt, this information will be useful for all IOAPA Computer Science mentors and their students.

One of the most common questions we get about Edhesive is: “How do I get content questions answered?” Unlike our Apex courses, where each course is assigned a specific instructor, Edhesive courses are developed by a team of instructors and facilitated by the on-site mentors. Therefore, there is no assigned instructor for the Edhesive courses.

However, Edhesive offers online forums for teachers and students to ask and answer questions about course access, content, and logistics. The forums are course specific, so you will be connected to teachers or students across the country participating in your computer science course, whether it’s AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, or Introduction to Computer Science. Additionally, the student and teacher forums are separate; IOAPA mentors have access to both forums, while students can only access the Student Forum.

The forums are monitored seven days a week by Edhesive staff and teaching assistants who can provide support for both content and technical issues. Before we offer some tips for making the most of these forums, watch this short video to learn the basics of navigating and using it: Using the Edhesive Teacher Forum.

As promised, here are some tips for using the forum, based on Edhesive instructor input and IOAPA mentor feedback.

Ask questions! Just as you would email a question to an Apex instructor, you can post your question on the forum to get answers from Edhesive instructors (and other mentors/AP teachers). Plus, other teachers can benefit from the answer to your question, too! I know what you’re thinking: “What if my question is silly, or has a very simple solution? Everyone else on the forum will judge me.” Well, as I’m sure you have told your students over and over, there are no stupid questions. Our IOAPA mentors, just like our IOAPA students, are resourceful and independent; however, your time is valuable and it’s not realistic to expect to be able to solve every problem that arises without help. Posting a question on the forum is guaranteed to receive an answer, often within a couple of hours at most.

Ask anonymously or individually. If you’re still not sure about posting on the forum, there are a couple of options. If you don’t want your name attached to your question, you can post anonymously. The question would still be posted to the entire forum, it just would not include your name. If you have specific questions about your course or your students, Edhesive staff may ask you to follow up via email to get more details, but this can be a good way to get those “silly” questions addressed without any fear of judgment. You can also post your question to the instructors only, so it functions basically like an email to an instructor would. If there is a particular instructor with whom you wish to correspond, you can send it to them only, or you could send it to the whole Edhesive support team.

Keep up with the pinned messages. Edhesive staff will periodically “pin” answers to frequently asked questions to the top of the discussion list so they’re easy to find. If you have a question about how to access teacher materials or how to unlock tests or assignments, check the pinned messages – the answer is probably available there.

As always, please feel free to contact us by email at ioapa@belinblank.org — but for content questions, we’ll probably refer you to the forums. Also see last week’s post about general Edhesive resources. Keep up with IOAPA and Edhesive on Twitter: @TeamEdhesive and @belinblankIOAPA.

Using Edhesive – Overview

During the inaugural year of IOAPA’s partnership with Edhesive, we extended access to Computer Science courses to more than 100 students across Iowa. We will continue to expand computer science education across the state, and continue to work to maximize student and mentor success. This “Using Edhesive” blog series will highlight Edhesive features that we feel are especially important for IOAPA students and mentors. Whether you’re brand new to Edhesive, or already have a year under your belt, this information will be useful for all IOAPA Computer Science mentors and their students.

Edhesive and IOAPA share a fundamental belief: That online learning works best when students are supported by local teachers. You know these individuals as “mentors,” but in Edhesive materials you may see the term “coach.” Both terms refer to the same person: the onsite teacher responsible for supporting IOAPA students.

IOAPA “Mentor” = Edhesive “Coach”

Edhesive provides a number of professional development and other resources to support coaches. Online PD is available for Introduction to Computer Science and AP Computer Science Principles. In addition, an extensive Help section (accessed from your course dashboard) provides articles and videos about the course curriculum, setting up your online “classroom”, and using Edhesive features. One such feature, the teacher and student forums, will be addressed in a future blog post in this series. The Help information is specific to each course, so it can help guide your planning and your Edhesive experience.

Each Edhesive course also includes extensive resources for supporting students, including pacing guides and teacher packets with lesson plans and supplemental worksheets relevant to the course content. It is important for mentors to view these teacher packets, as students do not have access to them unless provided by their mentor. Note: Several IOAPA mentors mentioned using these materials for additional practice prior to quizzes or exams, especially in the AP courses. Additionally, mentors suggested using online exams for students to practice, as they can be repeated, and then using the provided offline exams for the students’ grades. This does require some additional figuring of the students’ grades at the end of the semester, but some mentors felt this was beneficial for students.

To keep up with Edhesive on social media, follow @TeamEdhesive on Twitter. You can also follow IOAPA on Twitter using @belinblankIOAPA. With specific questions about IOAPA or Edhesive, email us at ioapa@belinblank.org. Finally, stay tuned to the blog for more tips on using Edhesive!

Important Dates and Deadlines

We know there are a lot of dates and deadlines related to IOAPA and AP courses. Keep this post handy as a convenient reminder of the most important dates for the 2017-2018 school year.

• September 15, 2017: Last day to drop IOAPA courses without being assessed a $350 drop fee. (Note: Per the IOAPA drop policy, these fees are waived for students in middle school and computer science courses.)
• October 1, 2017: Preferred date by which AP Computer Science Principles teachers should submit AP Course Audit materials to ensure access to the Digital Portfolio. Visit the College Board website for more information on the AP Course Audit as it applies to AP Computer Science Principles.
• October 15, 2017: Preferred date by which AP Course Audit materials should be submitted for previously authorized courses to be renewed for the 2017-2018 school year.
• November 1, 2017: IOAPA spring registration opens. Mark this date in bright red, as we expect spring enrollment to fill quickly!
• December 15, 2017: IOAPA fall classes end.
• January 8, 2018: IOAPA spring courses begin.
• January 26, 2018: Last day to drop IOAPA spring high school courses without being assessed a $350 drop fee.
• January 31, 2018: Deadline for submission of AP Course Audit materials for new courses (i.e., courses that have not been offered by your school prior to 2017-2018).
• February 23, 2018: Deadline for submitting testing accommodations requests for students with disabilities who plan to take AP Exams. See our post about the changes to this process that took effect in January 2017.
• March 30, 2018: Priority deadline to order 2018 AP Exams.
• April 30, 2018: Deadline for submitting Performance Tasks for AP Computer Science Principles students.
• May 7-18, 2018: AP Exams are administered. A complete schedule of exam dates is available on the College Board website.

Important College Board deadlines can be found on the AP Central website, and important IOAPA dates can be found on our website. Follow IOAPA on Twitter @belinblankIOAPA for reminders about deadlines, as well as other useful information to support mentors and students.

Visual Guide to IOAPA Middle School Courses

We are excited to share the new IOAPA Middle School Course infographic using data and feedback from 2016-2017 IOAPA students and mentors! This, along with our high school infographic and other useful information, can be found on our website, on the Support Materials page. Use this information to guide registration decisions for fall (before August 17th) and spring (opening November 1).

Visual Guide to IOAPA High School Courses

We are excited to share the new IOAPA High School Course infographic using data and feedback from 2016-2017 IOAPA students and mentors! This, along with our middle school infographic and other useful information, can be found on our website, on the Support Materials page. Use this information to guide registration decisions for fall (before August 17th) and spring (opening November 1).

I Signed Up For IOAPA – Now What?

It’s almost back-to-school time again, and many teachers and students are beginning to prepare for the upcoming year. Whether you registered for IOAPA courses before you left for summer break, or plan to do so before August 17th, you might be wondering about next steps for getting started with IOAPA. Here are a few things to expect or consider.

Important Dates

• If you have not already completed the registration process, be sure to do so by August 17th so that you can get into the course(s) you want.
• Look for course vendor access information to arrive in your email inbox sometime during the week of August 21st. Be sure to keep an eye on your “junk” or “spam” folder, too, because sometimes they accidentally get sorted there.
• Classes officially begin on August 28th. If you don’t have login information yet, don’t panic – the first week of class is something of an orientation period, and students can easily catch up if they need to.
• Keep an eye out for an email from IOAPA at the beginning of the semester with pertinent details for the upcoming year. You may need to add ioapa@belinblank.org to your whitelisted email addresses to ensure that you receive correspondence from IOAPA throughout the year.
• The last day to drop a course without a fee is September 15th. For more information about our drop policies, check out the IOAPA handbook on our website.

Other Considerations

• Remember to obtain textbooks for your courses if needed. Recommended books for Apex courses can be found by clicking “Learn more” on the relevant course(s) from the IOAPA course catalog. Edhesive courses do not require textbooks.
• Familiarize yourself with the course vendor’s system once you get your login information. For mentors, it will be useful to know how to view student progress, access answer keys, and proctor exams. Students will need to know how to access their course materials, submit assignments, and communicate with course instructors. Both vendors offer support guides and videos on the course websites. Additional support is available from Apex at support.apexlearning.com and from Edhesive at edhesive.com/coach.
• For mentors and students in computer science courses, keep an eye on our blog for a “Using Edhesive” blog series over the coming weeks.

As always, visit our website for information about courses, support materials, and more. If you have additional questions, email ioapa@belinblank.org. Have a great start to the semester!

 

What Makes An Ideal IOAPA Mentor?

Mentors are an essential component of the IOAPA model, playing a significant role in the success of their students. Anyone can be an effective mentor, but there are a few characteristics and actions that stand out as especially important for enhancing student success.

• Being available: It can be incredibly difficult to manage student and teacher schedules to allow for daily face-to-face meetings between students and mentors. IOAPA policy requires that courses be scheduled into students’ regular school day, but we recognize that a mentor may not be available 100% of the time that students are working on their courses. By making an effort to be available to students through email, frequent planned check-ins, and any other way deemed appropriate for students’ needs, mentors can help students overcome challenges as they arise while still allowing students to be independent.
• Building positive relationships with students: Regardless of how easily accessible mentors are, students must be willing to reach out and ask for help from them in order for mentoring to be successful. Students who experience positive relationships with their mentor, especially early in the school year, will be more likely to seek help when needed, and the support and encouragement provided by the mentor will be more positively received.
• Seeking support: Just as IOAPA students require support to succeed in their courses, IOAPA mentors can benefit from support at times – be it emotional support, logistical help, or content assistance. The mentor support network (more information available in the IOAPA Handbook) can be a source for all areas; more experienced mentors can provide suggestions for overcoming challenges, or empathize regarding difficult situations. Other sources of support include staff in your building(s), course instructors, the IOAPA website, and the support forums available through Edhesive for computer science courses.
• Encouraging positive and healthy work habits: For many bright students, participation in IOAPA may be one of the first times they are experiencing challenging academic coursework. Mentors can help students develop coping strategies for dealing with frustration, perfectionism, and other issues that arise. Mentors can also model healthy habits, including taking breaks and engaging in self-care. These non-academic supports will be equally, if not more, necessary than content help for IOAPA students’ success.

For more on the policies and requirements for offering IOAPA courses, visit www.belinblank.org/ioapa. If you have specific questions, email ioapa@belinblank.org.

Top Five Reasons to Consider AP

As we begin to approach the start of a new school year, some students may still be deciding whether an AP course is right for them. Here are some reasons to consider AP courses.

5.   Experience college-level work while still in high school. AP students learn what it takes to be successful in college. Taking AP courses can help students develop the time management & study skills, as well as the confidence in their abilities, that will facilitate success once they reach college.

4.   Strengthen college applications. A College Board study found that many colleges and universities look favorably on students with AP experience. Because AP courses are audited and approved by the College Board, post-secondary institutions are familiar with the level of rigor and can assess how the knowledge and skills emphasized in the AP course compare to their own course offerings.

3.   Earn college credit. Many colleges and universities provide college credits for earning a qualifying score on AP Exams. Search for specific schools’ credit policies at https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/search-credit-policies.

2.   Skip the “101”s. In addition to earning credits for AP, students who achieve high AP Exam scores in high school often find themselves placed into higher level coursework once they reach college. This means that while their peers are sitting through Math 101, AP students can use the time to take higher level courses or electives.

1.   It’s a challenge! AP courses go beyond the basics, giving students access to greater breadth and depth of content while moving through material at a faster pace. This can be the perfect fit for students who need more than a general education class can provide.

If you or your students want more information about AP, check out https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/exploreap! For more on our IOAPA courses, visit www.belinblank.org/ioapa.

APTTI 2017 Recap

We had such a great week of AP training at the end of June!

More than 100 teachers participated in 8 AP workshops in science, technology, math, language arts, and history. They are now certified by the College Board to teach those courses in their schools!

They also got to take home some AP materials to get them started in their courses!

Interested in becoming an AP teacher? Keep an eye on our website (belinblank.org/aptti) and the blog for details on next year’s APTTI. If you’re curious about other ways to offer AP courses to your students, visit belinblank.org/ioapa.

New for 2017-2018: Environmental Science Classes

We are thrilled to present IOAPA’s newest offerings, available now for Fall 2017 registration: AP Environmental Science for high school students and Environmental Science for middle schoolers.

High school students can register for AP Environmental Science to learn about the natural world, identify environmental problems, and examine solutions for resolving and preventing them (College Board). Suggested prerequisites include two years of lab science courses (one year each of life science and physical science) and one year of algebra. This is a two-semester, lab science course, and required materials can be found here. Learn more about this course from Apex Learning.

Students in 6th through 8th grade can enroll in Environmental Science to explore the biosphere, the environment in which organisms live on Earth. This is a two-semester course, and there are no recommended prerequisites. This course includes a lab component, and students and mentors can choose to complete “dry” labs, which do not require additional materials, or “hands-on” labs, which require materials listed here.

For more information and to see all of our course offerings, visit belinblank.org/ioapa.

More Summer Opportunities For IOAPA Students and Mentors

We know our IOAPA students and mentors are always looking for ways to keep busy and to keep improving their skills. We wanted to offer a few more options of relevant opportunities and events through the Belin-Blank Center.

IOAPA Students
Junior Scholars Institute: One-week, residential summer program on the University of Iowa campus for students in grades 6 through 8. Several classes remain open for enrollment for this summer (June 18-23)! JSI is a self-nomination program open to all students regardless of participation in their school’s talented and gifted program. Students select one advanced level course to take for the week. This year’s course topics include mixed media art, Wonder Woman, engineering, and Robot Theater, among others. Visit the JSI website for more information.

National Scholars Institute: One-week, residential summer program on the University of Iowa campus for students in grades 9 through 11. Much like JSI, NSI is a self-nomination program, so all interested students in grades 9-11 are encouraged to apply! Enrollment is still open for several courses. This summer’s course topics include 3D design and printing, engineering, visual arts, and data science. There are two NSI sessions, and students select one advanced level course per session. Students may choose to participate in one or both sessions. NSI Session 1 occurs July 9-14, 2017, and Session 2 runs July 16-21, 2017. Visit the NSI website for more information.

To see all the Belin-Blank Center summer opportunities for students, visit belinblank.org/summer.

IOAPA Mentors
AP Teacher Training Institute: One-week program for teachers seeking certification to teach an AP course at their school. This is an especially great opportunity for schools that have offered IOAPA courses in the past, but now wish to expand their on-campus AP offerings. Enrollment is still open for most of our courses, including AP Computer Science, AP English Language and Composition, and AP Physics. To learn more, see last week’s blog post or visit belinblank.org/aptti.

Professional Development: The Belin-Blank Center offers extensive professional development opportunities for teachers in gifted education, with both in-person and online coursework options throughout the summer and during the academic year. IOAPA mentors may be interested in looking into the Chautauqua series, which includes 6 separate workshops over two weeks (June 19 – June 24 and June 26 – July 1, 2017). Additional information about PD opportunities and coursework can be found at belinblank.org/educators.

Four Weeks Until APTTI 2017

In four short weeks, we will be welcoming teachers to the University of Iowa campus for a week of AP training and fun. There is still time to register and join us!

All workshops remain open for registration. We are especially excited to offer an AP Computer Science A workshop to aid in local efforts to expand access to computer science instruction for all students. To see all the available workshops, learn about our consultants, and register, visit our website.

If you teach in Iowa, you may be eligible for a grant to help defray the cost of attending. A limited number of grants are available, so check it out and apply today! Pre-service teachers currently studying at the University of Iowa are also eligible to attend APTTI at a reduced rate. Email aptti@belinblank.org for more information about these options.

Academic credit and Iowa Licensure Renewal Units are available. These can be applied to a gifted education endorsement, graduate degree, and/or licensure renewal, depending upon the credit option you pursue. Visit our Credit Opportunities page to learn more about the available options and find out how to sign up. We encourage you to complete some or all of the credit application and registration process before arriving on campus. Visit our website for details regarding who to contact with questions. 

We look forward to having you on campus this summer! Share your experiences on Twitter using #APTTI2017.

Summer Activities for IOAPA Students

The end of the school year is upon us! Summer is a time for fun and relaxation, but some IOAPA students may also be searching for intellectually stimulating activities to occupy their free time. Here are some ideas:

Participate in summer enrichment activities such as Blast (Iowa City, Ankeny, and Waukee; open to students through 6th grade), Summer of Learning (West Des Moines Community Schools; opportunities for all grades), or Summer Enriched & Accelerated Learning (Sioux City; open to high-ability students entering grades 1 through 9). Your school or Area Education Agency may have more ideas of local opportunities.

Engage in volunteer opportunities in your community. Volunteer work can strengthen college and job applications, and it has social and psychological benefits for both the volunteers and the people and communities they serve.

Read for fun, read the news, read alone or with friends or family. Reading helps expand your vocabulary and build your analytical skills. The Iowa Reading Research Center offers resources for promoting literacy development and Hoagies Gifted Education Page offers reading lists for gifted students. Public libraries often offer summer reading programs for students of all ages.

Learn something new like a skill you’ve always wanted to master. There are free online tutorials for almost anything, and it’s a great way to challenge your brain to operate in a different way.

How do you plan to spend your summer? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @belinblankIOAPA!

 

2017 Iowa AP Index

This time of year in Iowa signals the arrival of warmer weather, graduation, and the publication of the Iowa AP Index. Every year since 2005, the Belin-Blank Center has recognized Iowa high schools for providing Advanced Placement opportunities to Iowa students.

The Iowa AP Index for a given high school is the ratio of AP exams taken by students (any grade) divided by the number of its graduating seniors. A high AP Index is an indication that a school has developed a culture that is supportive of student participation in AP courses and exams. For more on how the Index is calculated, visit the About the Index page. The 2017 statewide AP Index for all public schools in Iowa is .63, and reflects a .03-point increase in statewide AP participation compared to 2016.

For the 9th consecutive year, George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids is the top-ranked school with an AP Index of 3.31. Rounding out the top 5 are John F. Kennedy High School (Cedar Rapids, 3.03), Valley Lutheran High School (Cedar Falls, 3.00), Roosevelt High School (Des Moines, 2.86), and West Senior High School (Iowa City, 2.42). Visit the AP Index website to learn more view the full list.

Are you curious about how to increase AP participation in your school? Check out our previous post on developing an AP culture and check out the College Board’s resources to start and grow AP. IOAPA can help expand access to AP, especially for rural schools that cannot support in-person AP courses. Visit belinblank.org/ioapa to learn more.

Join Us For APTTI 2017

Do you want to learn how to teach an AP class? Join us at the AP Teacher Training Institute this summer, June 27-30, 2017, on the University of Iowa campus. This 4-day institute provides comprehensive preparation for developing and teaching an AP course. We are offering 8 classes: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science A, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Physics 1, and AP US History. You can read letters from our instructors, check out the syllabi, and review the institute schedule on our website.

Iowa teachers are eligible for a grant from the Iowa Online AP Academy to attend APTTI at a reduced cost. Visit our Financial Assistance page for more information.

For an additional fee, attendees can also earn academic credit and/or Iowa Licensure Renewal Units. Registration for these options is separate from APTTI registration. Further information is available here.

We had a lot of fun last summer, and we’re looking forward to another great institute! To join us, please visit our Registration page. If you have questions, contact us at aptti@belinblank.org. We can’t wait to see you this summer!

Is IOAPA Right for Me?

With IOAPA registration opening this week, we wanted to offer some final considerations for students and mentors considering IOAPA courses. The sections below are broken down into considerations for students and considerations for mentors.

• Time: IOAPA courses require more time than typical grade-level courses, because the content is more advanced and students may need time to adjust to the online nature of the course. When considering enrolling in an IOAPA course, students should consider the other demands on their time, including other courses, extracurricular activities, sports, jobs, and anything else they might be involved in. It would be reasonable to expect to spend 5-10 hours per week on an IOAPA course. Will that be possible in your schedule?
• Independence/Self-Motivation: IOAPA students must be capable of working independently and motivating themselves. Our classes are different from those typically offered in middle and high school, because instead of receiving whole-class instruction, IOAPA students independently access their course materials whenever they choose. This flexibility can be great for many students, but it requires self-motivation to avoid procrastination. If you’re not sure whether you have sufficient skills in these areas, talk to your IOAPA mentor about what they might look like.
• Eligibility – High School: High school IOAPA students must be able to handle the academic rigor of college-level courses. Each course in our Course Catalog offers suggested prerequisites and/or pre-tests, and these may be used to determine eligibility for individual students.
• Eligibility – Middle School: IOAPA has more specific eligibility guidelines for middle school students. Students must participate in an above-level test (I-Excel for 6th graders, ACT for 7th and 8th graders) and obtain a score at or above the 50th percentile. Additionally, it is very important that the student performs well on grade-level standardized assessments (such as the Iowa Assessments), with scores at or above the 95th percentile in the course content area. Other considerations for eligibility include prior exposure to relevant coursework to provide sufficient background knowledge and skills, and scores well above average on any other standardized tests students may have taken, such as the CogAT or an IQ test.

• Time/Scheduling: As an IOAPA mentor, you will need dedicated time to meet with students, answer their questions, proctor exams, and support them in overcoming any challenges they face. Previous mentors have suggested that routine, face-to-face meetings with students are extremely beneficial. Do you have time in your week to provide that support to students?
• Student Relationships: Research on mentoring suggests that the relationship between the student and mentor is a key to success. Do you have existing positive relationships with the prospective IOAPA students? If not, do you think you will be able to develop positive relationships early in the year?
• Content Knowledge: In most cases, mentors are not responsible for teaching course material or answering questions about course content. However, some understanding of basic content will be beneficial in answering students’ questions or providing them with resources. In our computer science courses, content knowledge is especially beneficial, and it is required for our AP Computer Science Principles course, which does require the mentor to provide instruction.
• School Eligibility: This consideration is for both mentors and site coordinators. IOAPA requires that IOAPA courses are scheduled into the students’ regular school day, and that schools provide a designated time and space within the school building for students to work on their course(s). In addition, the school must provide lab space and equipment for science courses (if applicable), and the necessary technology and textbooks for all courses. The school must be an accredited school in the state of Iowa, the course must not be offered through the school district (or at the student’s grade level, in the case of middle school courses), and the school must not enroll more than 6 students per course. For more information relevant to site coordinators and mentors, please see our Site Coordinator and Mentor Handbook.

Still not sure if IOAPA is right for you? Click around our website to get more information about the courses we offer, the supports we provide, and the requirements for enrolling. If you have additional questions, contact us at ioapa@belinblank.org.

Support Materials for IOAPA

IOAPA mentors, site coordinators, schools, and students often have questions about IOAPA’s policies and procedures, or are looking for guidance regarding student eligibility or course selection. We’ve compiled answers to many of these questions on the “Support Materials” section of our website. Presented below is a sampling of the information you’ll find.

• IOAPA Handbook: All policies related to IOAPA can be found in the handbook. In addition, the handbook offers information about supporting IOAPA students, seeking additional help, and a Student Readiness Checklist. This is essential information for new IOAPA mentors, and a useful reference for all mentors and site coordinators.
• Middle School Questions: Answers to common questions about IOAPA for middle school can be found in our collection of blog posts, linked directly from this page. There is some especially useful information from previous mentors about how to solve logistical challenges, such as assigning credit.
• Info Night Presentation: This resource can be used to share information about IOAPA with school personnel, parents, and students who might be interested in offering and/or enrolling in IOAPA courses. Now is a great time to consider hosting an Info Night, while parents and students have time to consider signing up for fall courses before the end of the school year.
• Infographics: Also on this page, you’ll find infographics presenting course data and recommendations. These can be used to inform course selection for students. In some cases, such as the computer science course graphics, they also offer tips for mentors.

To find this information, navigate to www.belinblank.org/ioapa and click on the Support Materials link. Still have IOAPA questions? Get in touch with us at ioapa@belinblank.org.

Reflections on First Semester of Computer Science with Edhesive

We are excited to share a collection of data and advice based on student and teacher experiences with IOAPA’s Edhesive Computer Science courses in the Fall 2016 semester. Similar to previous semesters, we have compiled the information into an easy-to-understand infographic format. This information will be especially useful for students and mentors considering the options for enrollment in IOAPA courses in 2017-2018 and beyond. See our middle school and high school infographics for guidance regarding our other courses.

Introducing And Increasing Computer Science Education In Schools

There are innumerable benefits to offering computer science instruction in K-12 schools. This policy statement from the Association for Computing Machinery makes a compelling case in favor of increasing CS opportunities for students. The question now concerns how to go about expanding those opportunities. Below are a few resources to aid in bringing CS education into schools.

General Resources: LeadCS.org offers tools to answer questions facing district and school leaders who are working to expand CS in their schools and districts. Code.org contains a wealth of information regarding CS advocacy, methods of teaching CS, and opportunities for students to employ both in and out of school.

Preparing Teachers: The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) provides community and professional development opportunities. Advanced Placement training for a CS course through an AP Summer Institute (like our Advanced Placement Teacher Training Institute) is another way for teachers to gain skills and confidence in teaching computer science.

Offering Courses: There are a wide variety of options for CS instruction that can be implemented by teachers with varying levels of CS content knowledge. One such option is our Iowa Online AP Academy. We offer a high-school level Introduction to CS course for middle school students, and both AP Computer Science courses for high school students through our partnership with Edhesive. Additionally, Code.org offers courses through their Code Studio, and they compiled a list of 3rd party resources offering courses and/or programs at elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Check out the IOAPA website for more on our courses, and the APTTI website to find out how to join us this summer.

Best Practices for IOAPA Mentors

Mentors are a key component of the Iowa Online AP Academy model. These individuals may or may not have expertise in the content areas their students are studying, and in most of our courses, mentors are not expected to provide instruction on the course content. (The mentor’s role for AP Computer Science Principles is slightly different; future posts will address this, or you can contact IOAPA staff with questions.) Instead, IOAPA mentors provide support and encouragement for students, assist them in determining where and how to seek help, and monitor progress in course materials and intervene when necessary.

What should I do to be an effective mentor?

• Build positive relationships with students. According to the University of Minnesota’s mentoring model, checking in with students frequently can promote strong relationships.
  • One study cited in a research synthesis found that “facilitators that are directly working with students day by day are key to the success of the program” and that the physical presence of mentors can motivate students to engage (cited in Borup & Drysdale, 2014).
• Connect students with resources. Mentors are not expected to have all the answers for students’ questions, but helping them determine where to find support, or how to ask for help, can be beneficial. Check out our blog post on supporting struggling students for more info.
  • This may include serving as a “communication link” between students and their course instructors (Borup & Drysdale, 2014).
• Communicate with other mentors. Whether for emotional support or professional guidance, your fellow IOAPA mentors are a great resource for new and veteran mentors alike. Check out the IOAPA mentor support network information in the IOAPA Handbook.
• Encourage healthy work habits. We all need occasional reminders to take breaks and prioritize, and IOAPA students are no exception. Mentors can help students set priorities, schedule time for relaxation, and promote stress management. The University Counseling Service at the University of Iowa developed a list of stress management strategies that may be useful.

Do you have suggestions for other IOAPA mentors? Share them with us in the comments or on Twitter using #IOAPA. Also, look out for our mentor survey at the end of the semester to share your thoughts!

AP Exam Reviews Available

Attention: All Iowa high school students taking AP classes.

Now Available: Online AP Exam Reviews for AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Government and Politics, and AP U.S. History.

How Do I Get It? IOAPA students enrolled in the courses listed above for the spring semester are automatically set up. Students in on-site AP classes can be signed up by their schools. (Students cannot register themselves for the exam reviews.) Information about registering can be found by visiting our website.

How Should I Study?

Everyone knows that studying is an important part of academic success. Not all study methods yield equal benefits, though. So, what study techniques should IOAPA students employ to get the most bang for their academic buck? This article from Scientific American Mind reviewed the literature, and we’ll sum it up here.

The Top Two

1. Self-testing: Practice tests helped improve learning across subjects, and retention lasts longer than other study methods. It works even if the format of the practice test differs from the real one.
2. Distributed practice: In other words, don’t cram! Research suggests that spreading your study sessions out over time is more beneficial. Tell your IOAPA students — don’t put off your studying for finals or the AP Exam until days or weeks before. Avoid the tendency to procrastinate!

What else works?

Three other techniques were found to be useful, but less robust: elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, and interleaved practice. These methods may be less varied in their applications and/or less practical to employ, but still yield benefits for students.

What doesn’t work?

Five techniques under analysis were found to be of low overall utility: summarization, highlighting, keyword mnemonics, imagery use, and rereading. Research demonstrated that these methods were only effective for individuals with certain prerequisite skills, for certain content areas or task demands, or that they were generally ineffective.  For example, summarizing can be useful for older students (undergraduates, mostly) or students who have been trained how to effectively summarize, but does not yield positive results for students who lack those skills. Highlighting/underlining, on the other hand, yielded few benefits beyond those of simply reading.

The findings presented in this summary and in the article linked above come from the following study: Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., and Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58.

Another discussion of this article was shared by one of the authors here.

APTTI Registration Opening January 30

While the snowflakes are flying in Iowa City, think warm thoughts and start making plans to attend this year’s AP Teacher Training Institute (APTTI)! Registration opens Monday, January 30. The institute runs from June 27^th to 30^th on the University of Iowa campus. This year, we are offering workshops in AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science A, AP English Language & Composition, AP English Literature & Composition, AP Physics 1, and AP US History. (If there’s a course you’d like to see us offer in the future, send the course name to Katie Schabilion at katherine-schabilion@uiowa.edu and we’ll consider adding it in future years.)

Who says teachers can’t have fun, too? Last year’s APTTI included social media giveaways, Twitter competition between science workshops, and a whole lot of learning. Who knows what might happen in 2017!

Financial assistance is available through IOAPA and through the College Board. College Board scholarship application materials must be submitted by February 15, so don’t wait too long! For more on funding opportunities, visit our website.

To learn more about our workshops, instructors, and schedule, and to register for APTTI 2017, visit www.belinblank.org/aptti. We’d love to see you there!

IOAPA Spring Dates and Deadlines

Welcome back to another semester of IOAPA! As we all get settled back in for the semester, we wanted to share some important dates and deadlines relevant to IOAPA students and teachers.

• January 27, 2017: Last day to drop IOAPA courses without a fee.
• January 31, 2017: Last day to add online/distance learning courses (including IOAPA courses) to your school’s Course Audit.
• February 17, 2017: Last day to submit disability documentation for students with disabilities seeking accommodations for AP Exams. See this recent post for more on that process.
• Mid-Spring: Registration for AP Exam Review through IOAPA opens. See our website for more information on available courses and registration.
• April 14, 2017: Last day to order AP Exams.
• May 1-15, 2017: AP Exams occur. See the AP Exam Dates page for specific information about your courses.
• May 6, 2017: IOAPA spring courses end.

Stay tuned for more information about AP Exams, including study strategies and our AP Exam Reviews (available to all Iowa students taking AP courses). 

End of the Semester Celebrations

We have made it to the end of another great IOAPA semester! Now is the time to rest, recover, and celebrate accomplishments. Whether your student is new to IOAPA this year, or has participated before, accepting the challenge of above-level coursework and putting forth the effort required to complete it is a huge achievement, and deserves to be recognized.

These celebrations do not have to be large-scale. Something as simple as a note to the student or a message to parents about how hard their child has worked this semester can encourage students to continue seeking the challenge that IOAPA provides and working to achieve success. Note that while getting a high grade is valuable and important, many students benefit more from hearing specific praise about things within their control, like their behavior and effort, than from vague compliments about their grade or their “smarts.”

Often, students taking IOAPA courses are experiencing work that is more challenging than anything else they have encountered. It’s important to talk with students about how they handled any challenges they faced, and how we can support them moving forward. Recognizing their accomplishments is one way to support students on their educational journey.

Don’t forget to celebrate your own hard work, too! Our students couldn’t succeed without the support of the important adults in their lives. Thank you for providing that support!

Accommodations for AP Exams

If you have IOAPA students who receive accommodations at school through an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 plan and are planning to take AP exams, now is the time to start thinking about requesting accommodations through the College Board. The deadline for submitting requests is February 17th, 2017, because the approval process could take up to 7 weeks. (Ugh.)

Good news! The College Board is making this process a lot simpler beginning in January 2017, which means that many students with existing school-based testing accommodations will be automatically approved for AP exam (and other College Board test) accommodations this year. Check out their press release or this Education Week blog post for more information. The tests to which this applies include: all AP® exams, the PSAT™ 10 and PSAT/NMSQT®, and the SAT® and SAT Subject Tests™. In the future, the College Board is also planning to expand accommodations for English learners.

This change also means that now is a great time to consider reevaluating students’ existing accommodations to ensure that they are still appropriate.

To find out more about eligibility, requesting accommodations, and steps to take after approval, visit the College Board Services for Students with Disabilities website. According to their website, most students work with their school counselors to submit these requests, but now is the time to start discussing the process at your school so that everyone is prepared to submit requests after returning from winter break.

Stay tuned for more on motivating students to take AP exams and preparing for exams. Are there other topics you’d like us to blog about? Let us know! Email us at kristin-flanary@uiowa.edu and/or katherine-schabilion@uiowa.edu.

Computer Science Education Week!

Next week (December 5-11, 2016) is Computer Science Education Week (CSEd Week)!

One way to get involved is through Hour of Code. You may have heard of it through our presentation at ITAG, our Twitter, or some other means. Last year, 590,000 Iowans tried an hour of code (or more!), and this year Code Iowa is in its third year of a partnership with Code.org to generate more interest and participation in Iowa. Visit the Hour of Code website to learn more about how to teach an Hour of Code, how to promote your event, and to find activities to fill your Hour of Code and beyond! You can also register your event and find local volunteers who can inspire your students by visiting your classroom in-person or remotely. Share pictures of your event using #CodeIowa or @IowaSTEM (and share them with the Belin-Blank Center using @belinblank)! By participating in Hour of Code, your school and/or organization can become “Certified Code Iowa Partners” and gain access to free CS trainings in 2017. Find out more at www.iowastem.gov/CodeIowa.

So you have a plan for your Hour of Code; how else can you participate in CSEd Week?

• Advocate for computer science education in your school or district. Don’t forget, IOAPA offers CS courses for students in grades 6-12!
• Check out the National Center for Women & Information Technology’s tips for getting girls involved in computer science.
• Share the importance of CS education with parents, educators, administrators, and community partners. This article discusses reasons to teach kids tech skills.
• Visit the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council website to learn more about Code Iowa and other STEM initiatives in Iowa.

What are your plans for CSEd Week? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @kflanaryIOAPA

APTTI 2017 – Save the Date!

We are so excited to announce the dates for next year’s Advanced Placement Teacher Training Institute! APTTI 2017 will take place on the University of Iowa campus June 27th-June 30th, 2017. Registration for the institute is coming soon.

APTTI is a College Board-endorsed AP Summer Institute that provides teachers comprehensive preparation for developing and teaching an AP course. 2017 courses include AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science A, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Physics 1, and AP US History.

For more information, visit our website (belinblank.org/aptti) and check back to the blog for updates on registration and course availability. We hope to see you this summer!