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8. Analysis of the AP and IB Programs Based on Learning Research
Pages 154-175

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From page 154...
... Although the analysis is often critical, the committee recognizes that these advanced programs challenge some of the nation's most talented and highly motivated students and some of its most capable and creative high school teachers to accomplish more than is generally expected of a high school education. Both programs have provided models of high expectations for students and of recognized and valued external assessments of student achievement.
From page 155...
... . 2The College Board and the IBO provided the committee with a considerable range of program materials, such as mission statements; course outlines; teacher guides; sample syllabi; released examinations; scoring rubrics; and research results from studies conducted under the auspices of their researchers, as well as by independent researchers.
From page 156...
... The content that is expected to be taught and ultimately assessed in the final examinations for many of the AP and IB HL science courses is quite broad. According to the findings of the biology, physics, and chemistry panels, most teachers, especially AP teachers, find they have insufficient time for more than superficial coverage of some topics before moving on to others.
From page 157...
... However, the biology, chemistry, and physics panels emphasize that this commitment is largely unrealized in the programs' assessments. Although the science panels find that the examinations do not adequately assess depth of conceptual understanding and place disproportionate emphasis on recall, the panels are encouraged by the fact that the College Board is moving toward making improvements in this area.
From page 158...
... There is likewise careful attention to developing the main concepts of differentiation arid integration, including several interpretations of and applications for each. Examinations and Conceptual Learning The AP and IB examinations could be improved if they required students to demonstrate a deeper level of conceptual understanding to earn passing grades.
From page 159...
... The science panels call for final assessments that are better tests of conceptual understanding, with less emphasis on students' ability to remember discrete facts, formulas, and procedures. The inclusion of novel tasks that require the application of key principles could encourage teachers to focus on students' development of conceptual understanding and ability to make interdisciplinary connections.
From page 160...
... Prerequisites Both the AP and IB programs provide fairly detailed information about the necessary prerequisite knowledge and skills in mathematics.5 However, neither the College Board nor the IBO clearly specifies the comperencies students must master in advance in the sciences. In both mathematics and the sciences, the College Board suggests (but does not require)
From page 161...
... However, identifying the full range of prerequisite content knowledge, conceptual understanding, and skills is a complex task requiring the combined efforts of experts from the science disciplines, cognitive psychologists, master teachers, and staff from the advanced study programs. The committee believes that the benefits for student learning are well worth the effort.
From page 162...
... If these ideas are learned poorly or not at all in previous coursework, the calculus teacher must devote valuable instructional time to their development, or some students will experience difficulty. The science panels argue that a syllabus for a year-long advanced course that also sewes as an introduction to the discipline allows too little time for students to develop the depth of conceptual understanding that should be the fundamental goal of advanced science courses.
From page 163...
... While the AP physics examination now does this to some extent, the mathematics panel notes that AP calculus examinations miss opportunities to include questions that address common student misconceptions, such as those that arise in attempting to understand the derivative, slope fields, and Unctions. One effective strategy for identifying student misconceptions, especially those that endure after instruction, is the use of curriculum-embedded (formative)
From page 164...
... This strategy may be useful for predicting students' performance on the AP or IB examinations or providing practice with the test format and item types, but it is of little use as a tool for identifying misconceptions or appraising students' conceptual understanding because the test items are not designed for this purpose. AP and IB teachers also would benefit from professional development opportunities directed toward improving their knowledge of common misconceptions and assisting them with the development of activities or formative assessments that could be used to detect and address those misconceptions.
From page 165...
... Although the AP course outlines and professional development programs for mathematics and science teachers currently pay little explicit attention to metacognition, the teachers"guides suggest that teachers help students develop skills that are important components of metacognitive strategies. For example, according to the teacher's guide for AP chemistry (Mulling, 1994, p.
From page 166...
... AP or IB teachers who creatively mix pedagogical approaches with sensitivity to the profile of learners in particular classes are likely to reach a broad range of students with varying learning modes and may motivate more students as well. The IB program guides for the experimental sciences recognize the importance of this tenet by indicating that there is no single best approach to teaching IB courses and that teachers should provide a variety of ways of acquiring information that can be accepted or rejected by each student, allowing different routes through the material (IBO, 2001a, 2001b, 2001c, p.
From page 167...
... The internal assessment that is part of all of the IB experimental science courses and the portfolio that is part of the IB mathematics courses are examples of how large-scale assessment can incorporate the results of different types of measures into a final evaluation of student achievement. However, the scores earned on the internal assessment and the portfolio are not reported separately, but are combined with scores earned on the written final examination and contribute only a fraction of the student's total score.
From page 168...
... These factors include students' positive beliefs about their own competence, their expectations for success or failure, their sense of control over the outcomes, their belief that others think they are competent, their belief that support of various kinds is available if they need it, and a strong sense that what they have learned before is adequate preparation for the challenges they will face in AP or IB. The IBO's Middle Years Programme and the College Board's Vertical Teams, Equity 2000, and Pathways Programs are designed to help students believe they can be successful in AP and IB courses.
From page 169...
... These rewards include, for example, a potential advantage in the college admission process at competitive colleges, opportunities for academic recognition, the possibility of earning college credit, and the possibility of placing out of introductory college courses.~3 Most students, however, are motivated by a combination of internal and external factors. Some students take these courses because their parents want them to do so.
From page 170...
... Motivation and the Final Examination It is interesting to note that a far larger percentage of IB than AP students take the final examinations.ii The IBO promotes the idea that IB courses prepare students for success in college and in real life. The examinations, students are told, are an integral part of the course and are the best way for them to demonstrate to themselves and others that they have achieved competence.
From page 171...
... The panels note approvingly that the internal assessment criteria for IB experimental science courses require teachers to structure the classroom and laboratory environments so that students have opportunities to acquire and develop skills in working with a team. It is likely that both the AP and IB programs could make more deliberate use of interactions in promoting students' understanding of science and mathematics through such strategies as 171
From page 172...
... The IB program recognizes this: "Students need to be exposed repeatedly to the application of basic concepts to new situations. This can be done through examples used in the classroom, by homework assignments which provide a variety of appropriate situations requiring skills beyond recall of information, and by tests and examinations which use questions similar to those used in the IB examination" (IBO, 1999a, p.
From page 173...
... The laboratory components of AP and IB science courses can provide excellent opportunities for teachers to situate learning in activities that reflect the kinds of thinking and problem solving in which scientists engage. The physics panel revotes that experimental work in advanced courses should provide experience with the ways scientists use experiments, both for gatherin'~ data to build theoretical models and for exploring the applicability of these models to new situations.
From page 174...
... The biology and physics panels concur. The mathematics panel, while appreciative of the portfolio component of the IB mathematics courses, does not believe the portfolio alone eliminates the need to include on the final examinations questions that require students to use their knowledge and skills to solve real and unfamiliar problems.
From page 175...
... The discussion in that chapter considers the extent to which these elements of the AP and IB programs nurture deep conceptual understanding among students- the committee's view of the primary goal for advanced study.


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