Teaching AP Calculus – The Book

I am happy to announce that the third edition of my book Teaching AP Calculus is now available.

Teaching AP Calculus - Third Edition

Teaching AP Calculus is a summer institute in book form. The third edition is one-third longer than the previous edition and contains more insights, thoughts, hints, and ideas that you will not find in textbooks. There are references to actual AP Calculus exam questions to help you understand how the concepts are actually tested. New teachers will find a place to begin, and experienced AP teachers will find a wealth of new ideas. Whether this is your first year or your twenty-fifth, there is something here for you.

The book has 295 pages of information with 23 chapters in three sections, plus 4 appendices and an index.

Section I The first section of Teaching AP Calculus is about what you should know to get started teaching an AP calculus course. It will tell you where to find resources. The Philosophy and Goals are explained. There is a chapter on finding and recruiting students, pacing and planning the year. A chapter is devoted to technology, especially the use of graphing calculators; this is an important part of the course. The last chapter in the section talks about the prerequisites and things students should know before they start AP calculus.

Section 2 The middle section of Teaching AP Calculus is the longest. In it all of the topics that should be included in the AB and BC courses are discussed: limits, derivatives and their applications, definite integrals and their applications, differential equations, and the additional topics of parametric and polar equations, and power series that are tested on only the BC exam.

These chapters present ideas about how to present the topics. The chapters include some classroom activities. The last chapter is concerned with the writing that students must do on the exams: how to justify and explain their answers.

Margin references lead the reader to actual AP Calculus exam questions on all the important concepts.

Section 3 The last section of Teaching AP Calculus is about the AP exams. Here you will learn how the exams are made up and graded. You will learn how to read the scoring standards. The “type” questions on the exams are each discussed in detail along with what your students should know about them. The final chapter is for you and especially your students. It has lots of information and hints on how to do well on the AP calculus exams.

Teaching AP Calculus may be ordered online at http://www.dsmarketing.com/teapca.html. The website includes sample sections from the book and downloads of calculator programs mentioned in the book.

I hope both new and experienced teachers will find Teaching AP Calculus useful  and informative.

AP Summer Institute leaders: To obtain complimentary examination copy of Teaching AP Calculus, third edition, to show your participants email info@dsmarketing.com. Please include your full name, complete shipping address with zip code, and the location and date of your APSI. 

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May

Only a few days until the AP Calculus Exams!

Time to get psyched-up!

Here is some final advice to your students about How, not only to Survive the AP Calculus exam, but to prevail …

And a previous post on Getting Ready for the Exam with last-minute advice.

Good Luck to all your students – but you’ve done a good job so luck won’t really be necessary.


 

Looking forward to the summer, I am leading two BC Calculus Advanced Placement Summer Institutes. Here is the information:

AP Summer Institute at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas

TCU pix

  • For experienced BC teachers
  • Monday June 15 to Thursday June 18, 2015 from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
  • Information and registration: ap.tcu.edu.
  • TCU’s Office of Extended Education
    Telephone: 817.257.7132
    Fax: 817.257.7134

 

 

AP Summer Institute at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado

Metro in Denver

  • For new and experienced BC teachers
  • Tuesday July 14 to Friday July 17, 2015 from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
  • At the Metropolitan State University, 890 Auraria Parkway, Denver, 80204
  • Information and registration:  http://www.coloradoedinitiative.org/2015-apsi/
  • The Colorado Education Initiative
    1660 Lincoln Street, Suite 2000
    Denver, CO 80264
    (303) 736-6477 | (866) 611-7509 (f)
    info@coloradoedinitiative.org