Learning and Understanding Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools (2002) / Chapter Skim
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9. Analysis of AP and IB Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development
9. Analysis of AP and IB Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development
Pages 176-184
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From page 176... ...
CURRICULUM Depth Versus Breadth The committee's analysis of the AP and IB programs reveals some fundamental characteristics that are incompatible with a curriculum designed to foster deep conceptual understandings. The first major discrepancy, which applies equally to AP and IB, relates to the "less is more" concept in curriculum design.
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From page 177... ...
Designing AP courses to reflect a typical college course also means that until curricular changes become common in introductory college courses, these changes will not be included in AP. On the other hand, because IB courses are developed differently (see Chapter 4, this volume)
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From page 178... ...
The give and take and varying perspectives of these experts helped create a course that did not simply replicate a typical college course, but reflected current consensus on best practices in mathematics teaching and curriculum design. The collaborative model used to develop AP calculus offers insight into how course development procedures could be modified to improve programs.
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From page 179... ...
Sample syllabi, Internet discussion groups, professional development activities, and other resources provided by the College Board and the IBO are of varying quality, represent limited perspectives on excellent instruction, and do not adequately take into account variability among students and schools. Because both AP and IB courses are designed to prepare students for external, standardized final examinations, instruction in AP and IB classrooms is typically directed toward that goal.
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From page 180... ...
Examination Design and Development As noted earlier (see Chapter 3, this volume) , AP examinations are designed by development committees for each of the disciplines in consultation with statisticians and psychometricians to create examinations that meet accepted standards for technical quality (American Educational research Association [AERAl/Arnerican Psychological Association [APAl/National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME]
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From page 181... ...
Given these desired interpretations, validation studies for the AP and IB assessments should include systematic evaluation of such factors as whether the right skills and knowledge are being measured and in the right balance; whether the cognitive processes required by the test are representative of the ways knowledge is used in the discipline; the extent to which the test measures students' knowledge of the broader construct that is the target of instruction, as opposed to their knowledge of specific test items; whether the scoring guidelines focus on student understanding,; and whether the test scores accurately represent different levels and kinds of understanding. The committee's analyses of the test items and the course syllabi on which the tests are based yielded information about content coverage.
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From page 182... ...
compare performance in advanced-level courses for AP and non-AP students; and Eugene Carson reports on a small study at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University that compared the overall gratle point averages of IB students with those of AP students and students who participated in neither program.5 While these studies may be useful, they do not represent pieces of an integrated research program (see Chapter 10, this volume, for a discussion of these studies)
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From page 183... ...
, the panel finds that many of the workshops did not adequately address substantive issues relevant to teaching calculus. The science panels note that few of the AP workshops, even those that emphasized laboratory experiences, focused on inquiry.7 The panels commend the IBO for its professional development activities related to internal assessments that focus on inquirer.
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From page 184... ...
The committee believes that if programs of advanced study, such as AP and IB, were to place principles of learrlirl~ at the center of their own implicit models, the programs would improve in quality and effectiveness with regard to fostering deep understandings. Program quality would also be enhanced if the programs were to recognize the systemic and mutually interactive nature of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development.
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