TOM TUTOR
Tom Tutor is a Math Education Specialist with 23 years of classroom experience including tenures in South Africa on a Fulbright Exchange and Turkey as head of mathematics at Robert College, Istanbul. He earned a B.A. in Mathematics and English from the University of Mississippi and a M.Ed. from the University of Maine. With experience as a AP Calculus Reader for many years, Tom has been active in professional development as a state appointed mentor for AP Calculus teachers in Maine, leader of Advanced Placement Summer Institutes from Canada to the American Virgin Islands and presenter of Pre-AP and AP workshops in Germany, Canada and all across the U.S..
Tom resides on an island off the coast of Maine where he and his wife raised three sons and now enjoys traveling, reading, golf, working on the woodpile, and refining how we teach mathematics.
"I strive to teach deep connected mathematical concepts to adolescents and fellow teachers."
Tom can be contacted at tomtutor1951@gmail.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION
AP CALCULUS AB
Are you anxious about teaching AP Calculus AB for the first time? Have you taught for a few years but need new ideas to invigorate your classroom? Join us for a week with like-minded motivated teachers for insight into new College Board AP Calculus teacher resources including Unit Guides, Personal Progress Checks, and an extensive Question Bank as part of a comprehensive look at College Board online resources and Curriculum Framework.
During the week we will explore both the AP Calculus AB curriculum and innovative teaching strategies with the goal of providing you with a deep understanding of the concepts of calculus, how they dovetail and reinforce each other, and best teaching practices to convey the important concepts to your students. Details and timeline of the College Board audit process will be shared with first-year teachers. Each participant will develop a detailed lesson plan or year-long instructional plan to better prepare for the coming year. We will mix periods of whole group discussion with small group work where you will have an opportunity to work with another teacher, solving calculus problems, analyzing student work and investigating the AP program and syllabus.
Calculus content will include rules for differentiation, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, applications of integration, separable differential equations, slope fields, Euler’s Method, l’Hôpital’s Rule, and various approximation techniques for both differentiation and integration. Calculator activities will focus on the TI-84 but may be used on other platforms. Multiple choice and free response questions from past AP exams will be thoroughly analyzed as well as scoring guidelines to help you prepare your students for success on the AP exam.
This course will be presented online. Your day will consist of instructor presentations and demonstrations, work with peers in breakout rooms, independent asynchronous work and participant presentations, with the intent to breakup your screen time into an invigorating blend of modalities.
AGENDA:
Monday: Derivatives
Session 1
Introductions, daily schedule, format, materials
CED, Handbook, Zoom basics, DropBox
Difficult to teach topics
Unit Guides, activity
General description and format of exam
Justifications, Global tips, Reader’s Advice
Session 2
Justification activity, HB p207
Recognize/use the definition of derivatives
TANIMATE program
Differentiation rules; derivatives on calculator
AP Classroom, particle motion, parametrics
FRQ ’16 #2, a&b only, Scoring guide & samples
Lunch
Session 3
Audit resources
Discovering Derivatives investigation
Session 4
Handbook p11, FRQ ’17 #4
MCQ from Course & Exam Description (CED), plan
After hours entertainment
FRQ ’22 #6 a&b only, FRQ ’17 #5 a-c, PE ’16 MCQ 2,4,8,13,18,19,25,29,82,85,86,87,88
Tuesday: FTC
Session 1
Equity and access to AP
Riemann Sums, MCQ ’08, #10, RIEMANN program
FTC intro, MVT, IVT, Average value
FRQ ’07 #5, ’13 #3
Session 2
AP Classroom, Question Bank, released items
Accumulation, AP FRQ ’15 #1, ’17 #2
Lunch
Session 3
MC #16, Derive formula for volume of sphere
Volumes, 3-d drawing, Calculus in Motion ’13 #5
FRQ ’14 #2 & ’15 #2,
Session 4
AP Calculus texts, Vital source access
AP Central Community/Audit/Reader/released items; Web resources
MCQ PE ’16, 1,5,7,9,10,12,23,26,30,80,81,84
After hours entertainment
AP Classroom videos, FRQ ’22 #6 c&d, ’14 #2, download Sp. Focus FTC
Wednesday: Functions
without Explicit Definitions
Session 1
Piece-wise defined functions & derivatives ʻ84
Solve system of equations w/ matrix
MCQ ’08 #6, 25
FRQ ’12 #4
Session 2
AP FRQ ’07 #3, ’17 #6, Student Samples
Exam description MCQ #12, 14, 15, 19
FRQ ’08 #2
Lunch
Session 3
AP FRQ ’09 #6, ’10 #5; develop Scoring Guide
MCQ PE 2016 p11, 6, 11, 14, 15, 21, 77, 79, 89,90
Session 4
Instructional Strategies activity
Graph analysis activity
Instructional Approaches Activity, Design template
More online resources
After hours entertainment
Piece-wise, PE #15, FRQ ’22 #3, POI sketch
Thursday: Differential
Equations
Session 1
Slope Fields, graphing on ’84; Euler’s Method
Session 2
Spreadsheet solution
Separation of variable solution, partial fractions
AP FRQ 2010 #6, part c; FTC proof
Lunch
Session 3
AP FRQ ’13 #6, ’15 #4 Student samples
MCQ from PE ’16, #3, 16, 17, 20, 22; FRQ #4
Session 4
L’Hôpital’s Rule
Scope and Sequence, Pacing, CED p20
Lesson plans, summer packet
Error analysis activity, HB p210
FRQ trends
Calculus in Twenty Minutes
Are you anxious about teaching AP Calculus AB for the first time? Have you taught for a few years but need new ideas to invigorate your classroom? Join us for a week with like-minded motivated teachers for insight into new College Board AP Calculus teacher resources including Unit Guides, Personal Progress Checks, and an extensive Question Bank as part of a comprehensive look at College Board online resources and Curriculum Framework.
During the week we will explore both the AP Calculus AB curriculum and innovative teaching strategies with the goal of providing you with a deep understanding of the concepts of calculus, how they dovetail and reinforce each other, and best teaching practices to convey the important concepts to your students. Details and timeline of the College Board audit process will be shared with first-year teachers. Each participant will develop a detailed lesson plan or year-long instructional plan to better prepare for the coming year. We will mix periods of whole group discussion with small group work where you will have an opportunity to work with another teacher, solving calculus problems, analyzing student work and investigating the AP program and syllabus.
Calculus content will include rules for differentiation, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, applications of integration, separable differential equations, slope fields, Euler’s Method, l’Hôpital’s Rule, and various approximation techniques for both differentiation and integration. Calculator activities will focus on the TI-84 but may be used on other platforms. Multiple choice and free response questions from past AP exams will be thoroughly analyzed as well as scoring guidelines to help you prepare your students for success on the AP exam.
This course will be presented online. Your day will consist of instructor presentations and demonstrations, work with peers in breakout rooms, independent asynchronous work and participant presentations, with the intent to breakup your screen time into an invigorating blend of modalities.
AGENDA:
Monday: Derivatives
Session 1
Introductions, daily schedule, format, materials
CED, Handbook, Zoom basics, DropBox
Difficult to teach topics
Unit Guides, activity
General description and format of exam
Justifications, Global tips, Reader’s Advice
Session 2
Justification activity, HB p207
Recognize/use the definition of derivatives
TANIMATE program
Differentiation rules; derivatives on calculator
AP Classroom, particle motion, parametrics
FRQ ’16 #2, a&b only, Scoring guide & samples
Lunch
Session 3
Audit resources
Discovering Derivatives investigation
Session 4
Handbook p11, FRQ ’17 #4
MCQ from Course & Exam Description (CED), plan
After hours entertainment
FRQ ’22 #6 a&b only, FRQ ’17 #5 a-c, PE ’16 MCQ 2,4,8,13,18,19,25,29,82,85,86,87,88
Tuesday: FTC
Session 1
Equity and access to AP
Riemann Sums, MCQ ’08, #10, RIEMANN program
FTC intro, MVT, IVT, Average value
FRQ ’07 #5, ’13 #3
Session 2
AP Classroom, Question Bank, released items
Accumulation, AP FRQ ’15 #1, ’17 #2
Lunch
Session 3
MC #16, Derive formula for volume of sphere
Volumes, 3-d drawing, Calculus in Motion ’13 #5
FRQ ’14 #2 & ’15 #2,
Session 4
AP Calculus texts, Vital source access
AP Central Community/Audit/Reader/released items; Web resources
MCQ PE ’16, 1,5,7,9,10,12,23,26,30,80,81,84
After hours entertainment
AP Classroom videos, FRQ ’22 #6 c&d, ’14 #2, download Sp. Focus FTC
Wednesday: Functions
without Explicit Definitions
Session 1
Piece-wise defined functions & derivatives ʻ84
Solve system of equations w/ matrix
MCQ ’08 #6, 25
FRQ ’12 #4
Session 2
AP FRQ ’07 #3, ’17 #6, Student Samples
Exam description MCQ #12, 14, 15, 19
FRQ ’08 #2
Lunch
Session 3
AP FRQ ’09 #6, ’10 #5; develop Scoring Guide
MCQ PE 2016 p11, 6, 11, 14, 15, 21, 77, 79, 89,90
Session 4
Instructional Strategies activity
Graph analysis activity
Instructional Approaches Activity, Design template
More online resources
After hours entertainment
Piece-wise, PE #15, FRQ ’22 #3, POI sketch
Thursday: Differential
Equations
Session 1
Slope Fields, graphing on ’84; Euler’s Method
Session 2
Spreadsheet solution
Separation of variable solution, partial fractions
AP FRQ 2010 #6, part c; FTC proof
Lunch
Session 3
AP FRQ ’13 #6, ’15 #4 Student samples
MCQ from PE ’16, #3, 16, 17, 20, 22; FRQ #4
Session 4
L’Hôpital’s Rule
Scope and Sequence, Pacing, CED p20
Lesson plans, summer packet
Error analysis activity, HB p210
FRQ trends
Calculus in Twenty Minutes