Gail Kaplan, professor of mathematics, directs the program.
Towson University is using a grant from The College Board to help local teachers prepare to teach Advanced Placement calculus, according to a story by WBAL-TV 11. The university is the first in the nation to receive this type of grant.
Now in its second year, the program prepares teachers in regional counties to more effectively teach the challenging AP subject, which in turn will lead to higher exam scores and more passing students. One of last year’s participants watched his number of passing students rise from 10 to 80 percent—in just one year.
“I kind of knew that I had a strong group and knew that my assessments were getting strong,” Brent Hopkins, a Baltimore County teacher, told WBAL. “I was pleasantly surprised.”
The program is led by Gail Kaplan, a Towson University mathematics professor.
“We have chosen five mentor teachers to help mentor our new teachers and also help mentor other AP calculus teachers in their county so that this can be sustainable,” she explained to WBAL.
Nancy Grasmick, the Towson University presidential scholar for innovation in teacher and leader education, was a key proponent of the program and worked to obtain The College Board grant that makes the program possible.
“Unless teachers teach this Advanced Placement calculus with fidelity, the students are not going to be able to pass the national test and will not get the credit that is often accepted by institutions of higher education,” Grasmick told WBAL.
See the WBAL story and video here.
