This year, due to a combination of expected and unexpected shifts, various teachers are making their debut in Advanced Placement teaching. Students enrolled in subjects such as AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP English Language and Composition, and AP Environmental Science (APES) have been expressing mixed reactions to these changes, but the perspective of teachers involved is also important to consider.
For teachers, there are many challenges inherent in adapting to the pace and style of the AP curriculum. Ms. Koehler’s Living Earth classes were replaced with AP Environmental Science to accommodate Ms. Lee’s maternity leave. According to her, “AP classes have more tests, which means more grading,” involving a significant increase in time commitment. Ms. Tai, who began teaching AP Calc AB as part of a series of changes following the retirement of the former AP Calc BC teacher, Ms. Lin, also emphasized the aggressive workload, stating, “I don’t have a teacher’s edition [of the textbook], and I’m not familiar with the resources online… I have to go through the problems, the solutions, and prepare the testing material, so it takes lots of time.”
Ms. Howell, one of Irvington’s assistant principals, explained that the district offers paid workshops for teachers transitioning to teaching AP, adding that “during the school year, if [teachers] are interested in going through similar training, smaller sections instead of two weeks, they can attend a day’s refresh of units to prep them for the AP curriculum.”
However, these workshops are not always adequate support for teachers who wish to uphold a high standard of teaching. Ms. Tai, who narrowly overcame registration issues to attend the workshop for AP Calculus over the summer, reported that “the workshop was helpful in a way, but it did not cover lots of the stuff for me. I need to be familiar with all of the resources that the College Board would offer to new teachers, but I wasn’t able to get that.” She also explained, “the main thing that they advised us to do was to prep the student for the AP test. But my intention is that this course also prepares them to go to college, not just for the test itself. I know that when students perform well on the test itself, they might not be able to get to know the material.” The prioritization of thoroughness while teaching, though a widely admired quality in Irvington’s AP teachers, exacerbates the issue of time.
Concerns regarding the lack of adequate preparation are highlighted in the experiences of Ms. Koehler and Ms. Kaur. Unlike the other teachers, their switch to teaching AP was unexpected and sudden — Ms. Koehler, for example, shared, “I found out on Friday during the first week of school that I was going to be teaching [APES] the following Monday. So I only had a weekend…This year is already very difficult for me, being a new mom and trying to balance all this stuff.”
As this is her first year teaching the subject, familiarizing herself with the material is not an easy endeavor. Ms. Koehler echoed Ms. Tai’s difficulties with getting to know resources and curriculum, stressing that “the learning curve is difficult, since it’s a new subject. There are topics in APES that are ones that I’m comfortable with, but that’s not the unit that I’m on right now.”
There is no easily implementable solution to these struggles. When asked about what form of support she thinks the district is obligated to provide to teachers subject to switches like these, Ms. Koehler replied, “It’s one of those things that we could say, ‘We want support,’ but I don’t know what that support would look like.” Fortunately, though, one resource both Ms. Tai and Ms. Koehler, and likely other new AP teachers, have found to help reduce the strain of the transition is the materials of teachers experienced in the subject. Ms. Koehler clarified, “Ms. Lee, who had taught APES before, was able to share some labs and worksheets with me, but that was her doing.” Similarly, Ms. Tai shared, “I constantly go to Ms. Chung, since she’s taught [AP Calc AB] before.”
While a new set of teachers has entered the realm of some AP classes, doing so takes an effort that should not be underestimated. For many of these teachers, the amount of notice given is the most important shortcoming in their transition to teaching AP, particularly because support provided to teachers by the district and school, through College Board-specific training, leaves something to be desired. The soaring student demand for AP classes and declining numbers of AP faculty have presented a uniquely challenging scheduling situation this year, but with the support of their colleagues, teachers are rising to the challenge.
