Fitchburg State University has been hosting the AP Summer Institutes for over 10 years. These Teacher Training Institutes, which are fully endorsed by the College Board*, are designed to support all aspects of AP courses, including AP methodology, curriculum, class assignments and examinations as well as providing strategies for teaching AP. This year, we are also hosting a series of guest speaker blog posts featuring experts in the area of Advanced Placement to further support teachers as they develop their AP courses.
Dick Brunelle, our instructor for the AP Economics Institute, would like to share these 3 important tips on teaching AP courses with you:
“The most important first step in teaching AP courses is to get organized before the school year starts.
Make sure to:
- Know what topics are covered on the exam.
- Focus your syllabus on these topics.
- Plan you course pacing around these topics. (how many days on each topic)
I would suggest you have an entire semester planned out before school starts. It may seem silly, but I believe that knowing what you will teach is more important initially then knowing the material. You are a teacher and you are smart. You can learn the material as you prepare individual lessons.
The best way to get started is to go to a week-long workshop where you can learn a great deal about the content of the AP exam.”
Dick Br
unelle holds an MBA from Babson College, an M.Ed. from Northeastern University, and a B.A. from Framingham State University. He is the Executive Director of the Economic Education Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting high school economic programs by providing professional development and support to high school teachers. Dick taught AP Economics at Ashland High School, where he also was the chair of the Social Studies Department before retiring from that position. Dick has been conducting economic institutes throughout the U.S. and Canada for more than ten years, and he served for 5 years on the Test Development Committee for AP Economics. 
