Home | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 |Day 5 | Handouts | LOs-EKs
Red = key understandings & official course documents |
Green = important for 1st year AP teachers |
Blue = activities for workshop participants |
Orange = personal perspectives by workshop leader |
Morning Session : Planning Your Course
Lesson 4: AP CSP Curricular Requirements
Key Understandings
-
5.A The curricular requirements ensure that all AP course instructors teach a college-level course.
ALL AP CSP Teachers MUST start the Course Audit Process.
....starting in 2020-21 (and continuing through 2024) : Requirements for all AP CSP teachers.
If you don't feel the need (or prepared) to create your own curriculum for AP CSP and would prefer to use an Endorsed Provider's curriculum (defined in next Lesson), please skip Lesson 4 Participant Activity and move on to Lesson 5. You may start your Course Audit by submitting or adopting a syllabus during this APSI...this approach may take less than 15 minutes...if in doubt, ask for help before Day 4!
Syllabus & Audit Process for AP teachers
-
Delving Deep : Lesson 4 : PowerPoint (24-page pdf) : Step-by-Step Instructions to Complete the AP Course Audit.
-
...technically, the Course Authorization is not required until around January.
Definitions & Insights
-
Syllabus: The syllabus is a course-long plan that includes explicit evidence that each AP curricular requirement is addressed in the course. It is also a document that the teacher submits to the College Board as part of the Audit Process to receive course Authorization
-
Audit Process: A process whereby the College Board -
-
receives an electronic copy of the syllabus from the teacher (requires teacher to have a College Board login) via one of the following approaches:
-
Upload a teacher-generated syllabus - very challenging
-
Adopt the syllabus of another teacher's approved syllabus (need their approved syllabus ID number) - usually usedif 2 or more AP teachers are teaching the same course at the same school.
-
Adopt an Approved Endorsed Provider's syllabus - most new AP CSP teachers take this route.
-
receives an electronically submitted Audit Form from an "AP Coordinator" (usually a school administrator who needs to have a College Board login) and then
has an experienced College Professor review the teacher's submitted syllabus to ensure that their syllabus addresses all of the curricular requirements listed in the official Course & Exam Description (CED).
The audit is an annual process.
However, after the first year's Approval, the school's AP Coordinator can usually renew the course authorization without additional submissions from the teacher.
-
Course Audit Form: This form lists all curricular and resource requirements of the AP course. Through AP Course Audit accounts,the form is completed by the teacher, submitted by the teacher to the school's AP Coordinator for approval, and finalized by the school/district's AP Coordinator to be submitted to the College Board.
-
Authorization: A course with a finalized and submitted Course Audit Form and an approved syllabus is authorized to use the “AP™” designation on student transcripts.
-
Retention of Authorization: a streamlined Audit process for a school's Course Audit Administrator to use when they have received prior Authorization for an AP course. For AP Computer Science, this requires an Attestation that the teacher will include 12 hours of Create Task lab for AP CSP or 20 hours of lab time for AP CSA in their course.
-
-
Approval: Permission given by the school's Course Audit Administrator that assures to the College Board (via the Audit Form) that the school's AP course is being taught accurately.
-
Insight #1: You may create & submit your own syllabus or you submit one of the sample syllabi. See John's Syllabus Online
-
Insight #2: Prior to submitting your syllabus for auditing to the College Board website, a general self-evaluation checklist is on the audit website http://www.collegeboard.com/html/apcourseaudit
Misconceptions
The purpose of the audit is exactly as College Board states...no more, no less. Basically, the College Board's audit purpose is twofold: 1) Provide and verify school administrators and teachers have clear guidelines on curricular resources and, 2) give confidence to colleges and universities that students are being offered a college-level course.
Recommendation : submit your initial course audit materials (Audit form and Syllabus) by September 1st...you will receive faster feedback.
-
John has done numerous course audits:
-
AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science-A, and AP Computer Science-Principles, AP Statistics and one more.
3 have been rejected on first submissions with comments... that were quickly fixed
two have been updated...took all of 5 minutes
-
one doesn't exist and one was pending approval for about a year...feel free to ask why :)
-
Insight into Creating your own "approved" Curriculum and Syllabus
For most new (& often experienced AP Teachers), the time and effort it often takes to create your own AP CSP content and syllabus that has a curriculum that is aligned with AP CSP is impractical. For this reason, the primary content for Lesson 4 is to offer one resource and an "improbably challenge" to any participant to create their own content and syllabus that will "pass" the Audit Process.
Hint: John has created his own curriculum for AP CSP, AP Statistics, AP CSA, AP Calculus AB and BC. He has also completed and passed 5 Audits over the past 20+ years. He has "failed" 3 of them on his first attempts. At a minimum, it has taken over 40 hours to structure a single course that has an aligned AP curriculum.
If you would like to the challenge of creating your own curriculum for AP CSP, please feel free to let John know as the discussion is beyond the scope of this week's APSI.
Resource at AP Central to identify the requirements to create your own aligned curriculum for AP CSP.
Lesson 4: Participant Activity : [pages 27 - 28]
Learning Goals: (i.e. Can AP CSP teachers ...)
-
Identify curricular requirements that are met in a sample syllabus or in a provider syllabus.
Knowledge Statements: (i.e. Are AP CSP teachers aware that...)
There are specific curricular requirements for AP CSP. Participants must include specific evidence in their syllabus to meet each requirement.
-
AP CSP has AP Endorsed Providers who have approved syllabi ready to adopt for any teacher who is using their curriculum.
Option to Read and Complete - Workshop Handbook: Lesson 4: page 27 - 28
Or start planning on your course audit by either:
Selecting an Endorsed Provider
Claim identical as another Teacher and ask the teacher for their Approved Syllabus Number (usually teachers within the same school/district)
-
Create your own Syllabus but talk to John first.
Adopt a Sample Syllabus from College Board (via APCentral)
Lesson 5: Finding Resources and AP Endorsed Providers
Key Understandings
-
5.B Professional networking can provide teachers with opportunities to discuss teaching strategies, share resources, and connect with each other.
The College Board recognizes that many (if not most) teachers of AP CSP are not content specialists and need significant support to teach their students. Endorsed Providers are organizations that have Computer Science experts who take the AP CSP course and design their own online courses for you to use.
-
The 20 Endorsed Providers each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
-
You may investigate and decide which, if any, are appropriate for your situation.
-
Each are funded differently and may need attendance at summer (or in-school) workshops of their own.
-
for these reasons, John will avoid biasing you toward one or another Endorsed Provider
AP CSP Resources : Endorsed by College Board - online support
Resources for Teachers :
College Board - AP CSP Course Website
AP CSP Course Home Page
-
Course Audit [requires free Professional Login Account...all teachers must go through the AP CSP Audit process every year. However, some years, your AP Coordinator (administrator) can merely re-authorize you as the course teacher.
-
The Exam - with Scoring of Sample Students by Chief Reader
-
Performance Tasks - with updated samples using new Scoring Guidelines and Notes - scroll down page
-
Reports :
-
Chief Reader's Report
-
AP Scoring Reports
-
Instructional Planning Reports
-
College Board - Professional Development Opportunities
-
Workshops - 1 Day
-
Summer Institutes - 4 Days
-
AP Readings
-
AP Mentoring : online video chat with your choice of mentor and up to 3 other mentees, 12 hour-long sessions throughout year, non-free (< $900)
-
AP CSP Community [requires free Professional Login Account] online forum to ask questions of many experienced AP teachers...moderated and may receive responses from College Board employees.
-
AP Classroom [requires teacher to have an approved audit & administrative assigned course]
-
AP Daily Videos
-
AP Daily Instructors (high school) & collegiate-level professor lectures
Other Items
-
Question Bank & Online Practice Quizz generation and progress checks
-
Unit Guides (or Topic Guides for AP CSP) & Practice Tests
-
-
Online Supports for:
-
Student Personalized AP Exam Labels - speeds up Exam-Day preparation
-
Webinars and more
-
Free Pedagogy - Lessons/Projects
-
Projects - CyberSecurity from Learning List
-
Unit - Peeking at JavaScript
-
Unit - Intro to Robotics (Robolab software)
-
Lesson - Artificial Intelligence Overview
-
Lessons - Computer & Internet
-
Lessons - Ethical Use of Computer
Independent Endorsed Providers or "Course-in-a-Can"
-
See AP Central : Classroom Resources (list below is not complete)
Free (or Grant-funded) Online Courses with Teacher Training support
-
Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) [aka CS10 at UC Berkeley] - using SNAP! block-based visual learning [drag-n-drop], exploratory & collaborative approach...TRY THIS!!!
-
Code.org - daily lessons, videos, tutorials [drag-n-drop], assessments and more...TRY THIS!!
-
CodeHS.com - Comprehensive 6-12 grades online teaching platform for CS. Free for single-teacher to district-wide curriculum and PD.
-
CS Matters - Maryland's AP CSP curriculum incorporates a focus on active, inquiry-based learning. The overarching theme of the course is data. Six units are Python-based.
-
Edhesive - partnered with UTeach Institute at U of Texas. Paid one-stop classroom solution for students with a teacher. 40 hours of PD is self-paced. Project-based and authentic problem solving [pseudo-code based]. Lesson plans and pacing guides with scaffolding and student support.
-
Mobile CSP - using App Inventor [drag-n-drop] for Android devices, full curriculum. 50 hours of P
-
Free Course Content that is guided by Teacher [usually requires paid PD for teacher]
-
Project Lead The Way (PLTW) - full K-12 STEM program, uses Python
-
Location and Student-specific Teacher Support
-
CodeTrain - presents provincial-specific support for teachers in Canada. Focused on Processing and the Java computer languages
-
AccessCSforAll- developed by University of Washington using Quorum computer language along with Code.org curriculum. Specifically desgined to address Neurodivergent Learners.
-
Other (possibly non-Free)
-
AIQ’s AP Computer Science Principles - curriculum has a comprehensive set of tools and hands-on activities. Throughout the course, students will learn using Python programming language.
-
Apple with Swift : Five days training, teaching materials, meals during training, and online support throughout the school y
-
CodeCombat.com/apcsp - Coding Game using Python & JavaScript. Self-paced course with support from a leader.
-
CS50 - Harvard University's AP CSP curriculum in 8 units. Uses Python & JavaScript [Scratch]
-
Hello World - turn-key classroom solution applying virtual reality and using Python along with CoBlocks, a block-based programming language based on Javascript, students explore and create highly engaging virtual worlds
-
Microsoft MakeCode - free and web-based. The curriculum includes game-based learning using the MakeCode Arcade platform and visual block-based programming environment, with JavaScript and Python
-
Popfizz - project-based learning using Python. Students learn through step-by-step tutorials, create a series of projects ranging from a simple calculator to data visualization charts. Educators have access to professional development and instructional resources to deliver the course.
-
Project STEM - from University of Texas at Austin. Utilizes Scratch and Python. Includes 40 hours self-paced PD
-
NJCTL - New Jersey Center for Teaching & Learning. Uses text-based Python. Activities are designed to get students coding on the first day and have interactive & imbedded practice and assessments. Designed to support a social constructivist learning environment, NJCTL materials make learning engaging and accessible to every student. Materials are also fully editable so teachers can tailor them to meet any individual needs
-
Tynker - Python-based. Full year course curriculum with automatic grading and virtual training for teachers.
-
Zulama - Carnegie Mellon's AP CSP course, developed by faculty at Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University, provides engaging game design projects to teach students the same programming languages. PD for teachers is self-paced and online.
Resources for Students :
AP CSP Student Website :
AP CSP Student Website :
-
Future careers and college majors
-
Enrollment requirements [usually complete Algebra 1]
-
Exam scores, fees and reductions
-
Practice for Exam
-
Sample activities
-
FAQs
-
Early in Course:
-
Teacher creates Electronic Professional Login (EPL) and creates a AP Digital Portfolio Class Setup which generates a Class ID.
-
Student creates login and signs on to teacher's class using the class ID. Teacher then "enrolls" student into their course.
-
Student indicates intent to take the end-of-course exam. This generates a student "AP Number" which will be needed for Performance Task submissions.
-
-
March (approx)
-
AP Coordinator orders the AP CSP Exams and receives a list of student names and AP Numbers.
-
AP Coordinator provides students with their "AP Number." Students must enter their AP Number for their AP Digital Portfolio to confirm that they are planning on taking the Written Exam.
-
Students who fail to enter their AP Number will not have their Performance Tasks scored.
-
-
15 April : suggested Draft/Final online submissions of Create and Performance Task
-
Draft submissions cannot be reviewed by teacher
-
Final submissions should be checked by teacher ONLY for:
-
Plagiarism (have evidence)
-
Corrupt file (return to student)
-
Wrong file (return to student)
-
-
-
College Board's Schedule (note: CB publish next year's dates after AP Reading is finished)
-
traditionally : 30 April (midnight EST): last day to submit Final Create Task
-
during pandemic, this has changed each year.
-
Create Task submission may be due 1 week prior to Written Exam , 11:59pm EDT
-
-
traditionally : early May for 2 hours Multiple Choice Exam:
-
Approved Textbook List (see AP Central's Course website)
List of other "unofficial" websites used by other teachers/organizations
-
Online Sites for Equity, Access, Inclusion, & Diversity :
-
2021 : 60 Minutes story about racial bias in facial recognition : left out the Black women who pioneered the research
-
Implicit Bias Quizzes : Univ. of Virginia research group
-
Picture a Scientist : Nova on PBS explores discrimination against women in science
-
NCWIT : National Center for Women in Technology
-
Equitable CS Teaching Practices Wakelet : more ideas on EAID
-
2017 : Margaret Hamilton...NASA's First Software Engineer (Apollo 11)
-
AccessCSforALL : Univ. of Washingtons efforts to address Special Needs and Disabilities in CS
-
-
Online student sharing & support sites :
Padlet.com : note sharing site.
Google Docs : editable document sharing site.
Dropbox.com : file sharing site... do not "download or install" as this will use your hard drive for sharing.
Google Drive : file sharing site.
-
Zoom - free online video conferencing (45min time limit)
-
Prezi Video presentations https://prezi.com/video/
Online Create support sites :
Planning Code
MindMeister ( mindmeister.com ) – Create flowcharts and manage projects; online tool is free and easy to use to coordinate moving many people in one direction
Recording Program Runs
Animoto – turn still images into a video, add text and modify
Audacity - edit sound files, requires download and install
Screen-Cast-O-Matic - create a video of something you are doing on your computer; requires a download
Languages seen during scoring :
-
CodingRooms - Able to watch all students live code, can inteact with their shells, can push out code to their shell.
-
App Inventor – for your Android phone
Alice - code to create a story in a 3D environment
EarSketch - make music with your code
Java in BlueJ - great for students who took APCS A in a prior year
Java in Greenfoot - use java to make games
Karel - teach Karel the Robot to move
Pencil Code - use block-based and text language to create art, music and/or stories
Processing - learn to code in context of visual arts
Python - a language to code between systems
R and RStudio - a language for statisticians to play with data
Scratch - create characters and narrate their behavior with code
Snap! - extension of Scratch, allows class creation.
-
Online Explore support sites (for historical purposes):
refer to Create tab for Animoto, Audacity, MindMeister, Screencast-O-Matic
Creating Artifacts:
Canva - create flyers and beautiful combinations of images.
ClipArt - snippets of art being shared for public use.
FreeSound - snippets of sound being shared for public use.
Wikimedia Commons - general search site for public use.
Desomos - Free. Beautiful. Math. Plotter and tools for investigation.
Google books NGram Viewer - search books for words and names appearances.
Interactivate - creative tools applying math and science
Latex to HTML conversion tool - change equation to latex for html
Padlet - group think/posting site - ask a question and collect people's thoughts
Pixlr - picture editing software to edit and add special effects to an image; download and install.
Tagul - create interesting word clouds
Vimeo - video editing online, no downloads
Research :
ACM Tech News - timely information for IT professionals.
-
IEEE Spectrum - timely information for electrical & computer engineering professionals
Google Scholar - access research articles to "stand on the shoulder of giants."
Google Search Commands - you can communicate more directly to google if you use more than words
National Public Radio - tech segment of public radio
Science Daily - latest research news in science, technology, engineering, and math.
2018 - Recommendations from CSP Teachers
Art Simon, Lowell High School, San Francisco [taken from AP CSP Community]
-
Form a team of up to 4 students and compete in the HSCTF hacking competition
-
Learn about making websites at Code Academy's html and css course
-
Learn more Python on the Code Academy and/or codingbat
-
Watch a video to learn how to build a CAT5 or CAT6 cable, then build your own
-
Read XKCD cartoons...adult content!
-
Taking AP Java next year? Take a free online Java course:
-
Learn to code music in Ruby with Sonic Pi with this free eBook
-
Write computer programs to solve math problems at Project Euler
-
Learn Unity, a 3d environment for programming games and 3d graphics.
-
Program an Arduino or a Raspberry Pi using Processing.
-
Make your own 2048 game
-
Learn data visualizations
-
Use a Makey Makey
-
Program a Parallax Arduino robot. The Parallax robots have an excellent and easy to follow guide
-
The Tinkercad tutorials are self-guided and you could print your project on the 3d printer
John Meinzen, Edwardsville High School, Edwardsville, IL
-
Programming Photorealistic Graphics using PovRay...Friedrich A. Lohmueller. Example sinewaves in 3D
-
Algorithmic Practice at codingbat.com : Java and Python. Create a Teacher login to view student progress.
-
Learn Command Line Linux via Wargames
-
Nifty program assignments from Stanford...I like 2012's Guitar Heroine
-
Princeton's Computer Science online textbook and course for a "flipped" classroom
-
Programming progressively more difficult math problems at Project Euler
Other AP Teacher Favorites
-
abstractingCS.com - Gina McCarley and Jill Westerlund teach virtual classrooms for both AP CSA and AP CSP in Alabama. Their $130 (or thereabouts) online "course-in-a-can" are aimed at "beginner" AP teachers with a focus on student fun and engagement.
-
AP CSP Test Prep book by D & S Marketing Systems, Inc. offers multiple choice questions.
2017 - Recommendations from CSP Teachers
-
csunplugged.org - student CS activities and videos in the classroom that don't require computers
-
www.bitsbook.com/excerpts - Blown to Bits book
-
bakerfranke.github.io/apml/ - automatically converts between AP CSP pseudo-block-code and markup...good for creating test problems.
-
www.youtube.com/user/derekbanas - searchable overview of CS topics such as "Python in One Video"
-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERp8420ucGs - short intro to Public Key and Symetric Key encryption
-
academo.org/demos/logic-gate-simulator/ - simple Binary Logic Circuit simulator
-
www.free-online-calculator-use.com/binary-to-decimal-converter.html - overview of decimal-to-binary conversion
-
rosettacode.org/wiki/Rosetta_Code - common algorithms implemented in mulitiple languages
-
www.toptal.com/developers/sorting-algorithms - sorting animations demonstrations
-
www.netacad.com/about-networking-academy/packet-tracer/ - Cisco Packet Tracer simulation ( IP addressing) [must install software...advanced networking]
-
marvin.cs.uidaho.edu/Teaching/CS112/terms.pdf - definitions of common CS terms (not necessarily AP CSP aligned)
-
-
Course Design at EHS :
-
Assessments :
-
Create Task - search the Curriculum Framework using JavaScript
-
Experienced Programmers Only - improve the JavaScript by adding boolean operators!
-
-
Explore Task (historical purposes) - read IEEE Spectrum and/or ACM TechNews flagship magazines
-
Written Exam - multiple choice only
-
Write your own Exam...actually have students write questions from the EKs]
-
CB-Provided Documents :
-
2017 CED : 22 Questions in official Curriculum Framework [#9 is mine ;)]
-
Two Practice Exams (2016 & 2017) at Audit website as Secure Documents - DO NOT ALLOW OUT OF CLASSROOM
-
Recommendations :
-
one Exam for in-class score/practice in late March - students to evaluate "gaps" of EK's
-
second Exam for a 2-hour Mock Test in early May - final chance to re-teach EK's
-
Be aware of unofficial multiple choice resources...some may be too simplistic (i.e. re-wording of EK's) while other's may be inconsistent with LO's.
-
-
-
Lesson 5: Participant Activity : [pages 29 - 30]
Learning Goals: (i.e. Can AP CSP teachers ...)
-
Join the Online AP Teacher Community for CSP.
-
Identify supports available to teachers of AP CSP.
-
Locate opportunities for professional development.
Knowledge Statements: (i.e. Are AP CSP teachers aware that...)
College Board provides AP CSP teachers with additional support through a variety of networking tools, resources, and professional development opportunities.
AP CSP has several AP endorsed providers who offer a complete curriculum that is 100% aligned to the course content, professional development for teachers, and an approved syllabus for their teachers to adopt.
Read and Complete - Workshop Handbook: Lesson 5: page 29 - 30
Afternoon Session : Unit Planning and Instructional Approaches
Lesson 6: Unit Planning
Key Understandings
-
2.A Sequencing, pacing, and scaffolding are essential for building students’ understanding and their ability to transfer and apply knowledge and skills to new contexts.
-
2.C The needs of all willing and academically prepared students should be considered when planning, sequencing, pacing, and scaffolding the course.
-
2.D AP endorsed providers have carefully unpacked the AP CSP big ideas and skills into units or modules where the content and skills are scaffolded for students.
-
3.A Teachers need a deep understanding of content and its applications in order to adapt their instructional strategies or endorsed provider curriculum to address the different needs of students.
-
3.C Students need multiple opportunities, in different settings or modes, to practice skills in order to develop mastery over time.
Personal Advice as You start to design YOUR course this week
-
Actionable Advice (keeping Lists)
-
List - Software (select a Programming Language) and Hardware Needs
-
for yourself, students, and IT personnel
include primary resource links and cost (if any)
-
-
List - Network and Computer Needs for student work at home
-
videos ( and audio?) need high speed internet
see CB Equity and Access Policy...it's a teacher habit!
-
-
List - Prioritized websites of other teachers/organizations...see next tab for some ideas
[or start with a student self-paced or "course-in-a-can" options...some may cost $]
-
General Planning Advice
-
KISS Principle - Keep It Simple and focused on Students...let the students do the investigations!
-
RE-USE what you already have...
...if you do Web Design then add JavaScript
...if you don't have enough time this year, start with one of the "Course-in-a-Can" option listed above or grab projects/assignments from other teachers [use the AP Community!] or have your students show you!
-
When you have 12 hours, try a Create Performance Task on your own. You probably won't be able to a "great" job your first time so plan for a humbling experience and multi-year effort!
-
So challenge your students to explore, critique, and do better than you (be a "lazy" teacher), and then share!
Students LOVE bonus points for showing up the teacher...but do it as part of your classroom design ["Gold Star"] and don't use it too often.
-
Course Plan and Performance Task Resources given to students in John's Course:
-
Create Performance Plan including:
-
condensed requirements for students
-
MS Word Template for students with side markup/comments (specifications):
-
classroom and AP scoring,
-
AP rubric/guidelines (updated yearly)
-
decision ruling and scoring notes...updated almost yearly
-
commentary from Readers/Chief Reader
-
-
Official Scoring Guidelines (rubrics)
-
Create Performance Task - circle verbs, underline nouns in the Task Directions column
-
or just [give photocopy to students]
Lesson 6: Participant Activity : [pages 31 - 41]
Learning Goals: (i.e. Can AP CSP teachers ...)
-
Plan instruction that builds skills across multiple unit topics and makes connections among multiple enduring understandings.
-
Explain how topics will interact with and complement one another.
-
Begin developing a semester or yearlong plan for teaching AP Computer Science Principles or adopt an endorsed provider curriculum to do so.
Knowledge Statements: (i.e. Are AP CSP teachers aware that...)
AP CSP has several AP endorsed providers who offer a complete curriculum that is 100% aligned to the course content, professional development for teachers, and an approved syllabus for their teachers to adopt.
-
Students should be progressively challenged, just beyond where they are, to apply their knowledge and skills in different contexts to deepen their understanding.
-
Understanding is earned over time.
-
Building a yearlong course plan requires careful consideration in order to ensure teachers will have enough time to sequence instruction.
Read and Complete [as much as you can!]- Workshop Handbook: Lesson 6: page 31 - 41
Misconception Issues :
-
Often, teachers assign tasks without teaching the skills to complete the task...frustration is often a sign of this aspect of creating computation artifacts.
-
Modeling Tasks helps
-
Start with a very simple task...then see where it leads.
-
Breaking Tasks down, scaffolding, and feedback on "safe" practice tasks minimizes frustration and maximizes skill development.
-
Lesson 6 & 7 : Participant Activity : Beginner's Create Performance Task with Instructional Approach
Instructions:
-
Review the Create Task Requirements and make notes or ask questions to help clarify the Create Performance Task expectations
Create Performance Task : online submission (ideally before 1May), 30% of AP CSP score
-
(PC) Final Program Code (Independently or Collaboratively)
-
(V) Video displaying running of student program and demonstrates functionality student developed (created independently)
-
(IWR) Independently Written Response [750 word limit for combined written parts exclusive of Program Code] in 18 different boxes. Collaboration is NOT allowed.
- i. Describe overall purpose. Why did YOU write the whole program?
- ii. Describe functionality of program demonstrated in video. How does the program work as seen in your video?
- iii. Describe input & output of program demonstrated in video
- i. Code segment that shows how data have been stored in the list
- ii. A second code segment that show the data in the same list being used as part of fulfilling the programs purpose.
- iii. Identify the name of the list.
- iv. Describe what the data contained in the list represents.
- v. Explain how the selected list manages complexity by explaining why program could not be written, or how it would be written differently, if the list was not used.
-
i. Code segment developed by student that :
- defines procedure's name and return type (if necessary)
- Contains and uses one or more parameters that have an effect on the fuunctionality of the procedure
- Implements an algorithm that includes sequencing, selection, and iteration.
- ii. A second code segment that shows where the procedure is called.
- iii. [with part iv] Describe in general what identified procedure does and how it contributes to the overall functionality
- iv [with part iii] Explain in detailed steps how the algorithm implemented in the procedure works. Explanation must be detailed enough for someone else to recreate it.
- i. Describes two calls to the procedure identified in written response
3c. Each call must pass a different argument(s) that causes a
different segment of code in the algorithm to execute.
- First call:
- Second call:
- ii.Describes what condition(s) is being tested by each call to the
procedure.
- Condition(s) tested by the first call:
- Condition(s) tested by the second call:
- iii. Identifies the result of each call.
- Result of the first call:
- Result of the second call:
Part 3a. Provide a written response. Approx. 150 words combined in 3 subparts
Part 3b. Paste two program code segments that contains a list (or other collection type) being used to manage complexity. Approx. . 200 words combined in 5 subparts, exclusive of Code
Part 3c. Paste two program code segments that contains a procedure that implements an algorithm and a call to that procedure. Approx. 200 words combined in 4 subparts, exclusive of Code
Part 3d. Provide a written response. Approx. 200 words combined in 3 subparts.
-
-
Iteration 1 : PB&J Create Task focused on Algorithm with Spiral and Scaffolds ...identify use of UbD this week.
The Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Algorithm : Individual "creative" solution to a problem.
-
On a piece of paper, describe in English (or any human-based language) at least 7 steps that someone could follow to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (PB&J). Assume the person following your list of instructions is as "dumb" as a computer.
-
After your student's sequence of instructions are written down, encourage a re-writing and refining using Computer Science terms such as "select" "if", "iterate", "list", and "sequence"
Note: In some contexts, food can be a culturally sensitive topic. If PB&J is offensive to you or someone you know--especially your students--please let John know...any simple food recipe that students are familiar with and enjoy will work pedagogically for learning about algorithmic development and learning the Create Task.
-
-
Overview of One Sample : searching AP Central
Find the most recent AP CSP Reading Sample on AP Central : AP CSP : Exam Menu... note that the format may not be the same is specified in most-recent CED
-
Review the Sample A : Video and Written Response ...you may need to scroll down
Read the Student's Score
-
Read the Chief Reader's Scoring Commentary
repeat as needed by students...John does this at leat 4 times throughout the spring semester
-
Lesson 7: Reviewing the Instructional Approaches
Key Understandings
-
3.B Utilizing effective instructional strategies, like debriefing, helps develop the course skills and content knowledge.
Lesson 7: Participant Activity : [pages 45 - 46]
Learning Goals: (i.e. Can AP CSP teachers ...)
-
Use the Instructional Approaches to develop teaching strategies for the course content and skills.
-
Apply an instructional strategy when approaching course content and skills.
-
Deliver instruction that is engaging to all students, particularly underrepresented minorities and female students.
Knowledge Statements: (i.e. Are AP CSP teachers aware that...)
-
Instructional strategies may be used to develop and deepen student understanding.
Teachers need a deep understanding of content and skills in order to adapt their instructional strategies to address the different needs of students.
Targeted instructional strategies help students master the skills used in the course and should be aligned with the learning objectives of the lesson.
Multiple instructional strategies should be used throughout the course in order to reach and challenge all learners.
In Lesson 7, we will focus on two Instructional Strategies:
-
Use one Multiple-Choice Sample Question to help learn an Instructional Approach :
-
Turn to page 182 : Investigate Sample Question 18 & identify the corresponding Learning Objective (see Page 183).
-
Turn to page 132 read the Definition, Purpose, and Example of the first Strategy called "Code tracing"
-
Select one other Instructional Strategy that is unfamiliar to you and read the Definition, Purpose, and Example of that Instructional Strategy.
-
Discuss or record what you have learned (or not understood).
-
Complete Lesson 7 : Review of Instructional Approaches [page 45-46]...but first
-
CED pages 132-139 : Review the "structure" of the Instructional Strategies
-
p. 132 is "Programming & Problem Solving"
-
p. 135 is "Cooperative Learning"
-
p. 138 is "Making Connections"
-
-
CED pages. 140-151 : Review the "structure" of the Practice->Skills standards and the applied Instructional Stragegies, Task/Questions & Sample Activities
Considerations and Examples :
-
Consider teaching techniques such as scoffolding ["easier" assignments that grow naturally to generate more complex assignments]
-
Consider how students will design and develop a Create task [Students MUST do the Create Task WITHOUT YOUR HELP]
-
software development life-cycle or engineering design process:
-
identify problem -> plan -> design/tools -> create/implement -> evaluate/test -> document/analysis
-
-
educational design process:
-
plan -> implement -> reflect -> revise
-
-
Examples of effective and ineffective Instructional Approaches :
-
Long lectures - ineffective unless student attention spans are "trained" appropriately and can already work independently [or homework is "easy/basic/simplistic"]
-
Handouts - Scoring Guidelines & Timelines specifying Software Development Process, Sample work followed by Examples (repeated throughout course]
-
-
Examples of Computational Tools used by John [scaffolding with minimal teacher instruction]
-
Encodings - students learn about basic encodings then create their own ciphers or encodings of their own names
Activity : Binary & Encodings EK2.1.1 C, D, E, & G
Each requires 1 printed sheet & 1 blank sheet: Modeling Strategy
-
Encoding - Binary Representation of a Number - Encode your Birth Month in Binary
-
Encoding - Binary Representation of a Character - Encode Your Name in Binary
-
Level 1 - Using 5 bits to encode the letters of the alphabet using: 'a'=00000 to 'z'=11001=25
Example: "john" = 9 14 6 13 in decimal = 01001 01110 00110 01101 in binary
-
Level 2 - Using the ASCII/ANSI code of 8 bits = 1 byte = 1 character to encode typewritten characters
Example: "john" = 106 111 104 110 in decimal = 01101010 01101111 01101000 01101110
-
Level 3 - Using the Unicode to Latin1 to encode character code sets (requires Hexadecimal)
Example: "john" = 6a 6f 68 6e in Hexadecimal
-
-
Encoding - Binary Representation of Color - Encode Your Name as a Color
-
Level 1 - Encode "purple" as an Red-Green-Blue (RGB) value in binary (note: 8 bits = 1 primary color, 24 bits total)
-
Level 2 - Use your ASCII/ANSI 8-bit, binary-encoded name to discover "your colors." Use 3 bytes (3 characters) per RGB color (1 byte = 1 character)
Example: "john" = 6a 6f 68
-
Level 3 - Use website CSS color values to specify the color of your name (requires Hexadecimal)
-
Other Number Encodings Worksheets
-
-
3D Visualizations - using PovRay for photorealistic programming using raytracing
-
Javascript+HTML5 - basic webpages to advanced interactive websites (including JQuery)
-
Robocode - design and program tanks in a 2D environment using Java - great for basic and advanced trigonometry
-
At the end of Day 2, can you... [if not, ask John!]
Lesson 4 : AP Curricular Requirements
-
Complete the following statement: "The curricular requirements ensure that the AP instructor teaches a ..."?
-
Explain what an AP CSP Syllabus contains?
-
Explain what you must do for the Audit Process and to get your course Approved?
-
Decide if you will either develop your own syllabus or adopt an Endorsed Providers's syllabus?
-
Explain the following terms & concepts: digital activation, alignment to CED, scaffolding, and spiraling?
Lesson 5 : Finding Resources & AP Endorsed Providers
-
Identify the one item that is not part of professional networking opportunities: discuss teaching strategies, share resources, define & understand content
-
List the main resources/headings available on AP Central course home page?
-
Identify and find links on AP Central all of the Endorsed Providers websites?
-
Explain the following resource terms: official, endorsed, approved, and recommended?
-
Explain EAID?
Hint: Equity, Access, Inclusion, Diversity
Lesson 6 : Unit Planning
-
Identify the Key Understandings Codes (i.e. Numbers and Letters) for Lesson 6?
-
Identify the key features of an Advanced Placement course?
-
List the following in order specified by Understanding-by-Design (UbD) : course plans (lesson & unit), assessment, standards (content & practice)
Lesson 7 : Instructional Approaches
-
Explain at least 2 Instructional Approaches that you have used or are familiar with?
-
Identify at least 3 new Instructional Approaches you are willing to learn or try?