Jorge Zamora
Jorge began his teaching career in 2002 at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where he has remained a dedicated educator. With over two decades of experience, he has taught all levels of Spanish, from introductory courses to AP Spanish Language and Culture. For the past 19 years, he has focused extensively on AP instruction and has served as an AP Reader since 2016. In his time at the AP Reading, he has held leadership roles as a Reader, Table Leader, and Question Leader, contributing to benchmark selection, sample scoring, and other key responsibilities.
Beyond the classroom, he is an experienced presenter at local, national, and international conferences, where he shares his expertise in AP Spanish pedagogy and the integration of technology in world language instruction. He has contributed to several Spanish-language textbooks and educational publications and remains committed to advancing language education through innovation and collaboration.
Jorge holds a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Northern Illinois University and an M.A. in Educational Technology from Concordia University Chicago. He also holds a Bilingual/ESL Endorsement through Saint Francis University which helps him further support multilingual learners.
As an AP Consultant for the College Board for the past eight years, he has led numerous in-person and virtual workshops. He is known for his dynamic, engaging style and his practical, resource-rich sessions that leave both new and experienced educators feeling confident and equipped to succeed in their AP Spanish classrooms.
Outside of education, Jorge is an avid soccer coach for both boys' and girls’ teams and has also coached volleyball and track and field. He enjoys reading in both Spanish and English, staying active, playing video games, and spending quality time with his family, especially his two young children.
Beyond the classroom, he is an experienced presenter at local, national, and international conferences, where he shares his expertise in AP Spanish pedagogy and the integration of technology in world language instruction. He has contributed to several Spanish-language textbooks and educational publications and remains committed to advancing language education through innovation and collaboration.
Jorge holds a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Northern Illinois University and an M.A. in Educational Technology from Concordia University Chicago. He also holds a Bilingual/ESL Endorsement through Saint Francis University which helps him further support multilingual learners.
As an AP Consultant for the College Board for the past eight years, he has led numerous in-person and virtual workshops. He is known for his dynamic, engaging style and his practical, resource-rich sessions that leave both new and experienced educators feeling confident and equipped to succeed in their AP Spanish classrooms.
Outside of education, Jorge is an avid soccer coach for both boys' and girls’ teams and has also coached volleyball and track and field. He enjoys reading in both Spanish and English, staying active, playing video games, and spending quality time with his family, especially his two young children.
Course Description
This AP Spanish Language and Culture Summer Institute is designed to help teachers successfully navigate the redesigned AP course and exam launching for the 2026–27 school year.
Participants will explore the new six-unit course framework, updated skill categories, revised multiple-choice and free-response tasks, and the new Project Presentation and Project Q&A components. Through hands-on activities, collaborative planning, and analysis of instructional strategies, teachers will develop lessons, assessments, and pacing guides aligned to the new expectations.
The institute will also address equity and access, culturally sustaining pedagogy, AI integration, AP Classroom resources, and best practices for preparing students for success on the redesigned digital exam.
AP Spanish Language & Culture APSI – 4-Day Draft Agenda (2026–2027 Redesign)
4 Day Online | 8:00–4:00pm Local Time
DAY 1 – Monday
Welcome, Orientation, and Understanding the NEW Course Framework Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm)
Interpretive Communication & Multiple-Choice Mastery
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm)
Overview of the the FRQs
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm)
● Create a model mini-project for your own course (adapted from any AP unit) ● Draft Q&A practice questions
● Reflect: Where will the project live in your yearly pacing?
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm)
● Build or refine a mini-unit or lesson for your presentations
● Finalize your instructional artifact (lesson, unit, project component)
Synchronous (2:00–4:00pm)
● Participant presentations (unit or lesson aligned to new framework) or best practices ● Final Q&A + “What I’m implementing next year” roundtable
● Evaluations + closing
Participants will explore the new six-unit course framework, updated skill categories, revised multiple-choice and free-response tasks, and the new Project Presentation and Project Q&A components. Through hands-on activities, collaborative planning, and analysis of instructional strategies, teachers will develop lessons, assessments, and pacing guides aligned to the new expectations.
The institute will also address equity and access, culturally sustaining pedagogy, AI integration, AP Classroom resources, and best practices for preparing students for success on the redesigned digital exam.
AP Spanish Language & Culture APSI – 4-Day Draft Agenda (2026–2027 Redesign)
4 Day Online | 8:00–4:00pm Local Time
DAY 1 – Monday
Welcome, Orientation, and Understanding the NEW Course Framework Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
- Welcome, introductions & building community
- Overview of APSI expectations
- Warm-up: cultural headline, short interpretive activity, how WE begin our class ● What changed? New AP Spanish Language & Culture Framework overview
- 6 Units + Recommended Instructional Contexts
- ap-spanish-language-preview-course
- ○ New Skills Categories 1–3 (Interpretive, Interpersonal/Presentational, Cultural Understanding)
- New task types & their placement across the course
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
- he New Exam Overview (MCQs)
- Listening + Reading structure (55 questions, 11 sets; new Listening-first order) ○ Understanding the 5 Listening task types & 4–5 Reading task types
- Implications for instruction & curriculum design
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm)
- Activity: Explore the new Course Framework (skills + units)
- Task: Draft or revise your unit overview for Units 1–2 (Families/Communities + Language/Culture)
- Optional: Begin reflecting on how to integrate cultural products/practices/perspectives
- Equity and Access in the AP Classroom (heritage learners, ELs, pathway alignment) ● Whole-group debrief of asynchronous work
Interpretive Communication & Multiple-Choice Mastery
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
- Warm-up interpretive mini-task: audio → chart synthesis
- Deep dive: Interpretive Communication Skills (1.A, 1.B, 1.C)
- Strategies for audio & text comprehension
- How to teach students to read charts, patterns, and data
- MCQ Listening:
- ○ Audio + Chart
- ○ Audio Report
- ○ Instructional Guidance
- ○ Interview
- ○ Presentation
- ○ Modeling & practice
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
- MCQ Reading task types:
- Articles
- Article + Chart
- Literary Text
- Promotional Material
- Selecting + adapting authentic texts for AP level
- Group practice: scoring, analyzing distractors, teaching inferencing
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm)
- Build a mini interpretive task aligned to any of the 6 units
- Optional challenge: create a dual-skill interpretive task (audio → reading)
- Work on pacing guide incorporating new interpretive demands
- Review teacher-created interpretive activities
- Discussion:
- How interpretive work supports the FRQs
- Scaffolding for diverse learners
Overview of the the FRQs
- ■ Project Presentation (3 min)
- ■ Project Q&A (4 recorded questions)
- ■ Argumentative Essay (largely unchanged)
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
- Warm-up interpersonal exchange
- Skill Category 2 (Interpersonal & Presentational)—new emphases on: ○ Register
- ○ Cultural expressions
- ○ Self-monitoring and comprehensibility (2.B.2–2.B.4)
- Teaching Interpersonal Speaking via project-related Q&A
- Strategies for building fluency & spontaneous speech
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
- The New Project Presentation (20% of score)
- What students receive months before the exam (topic, sources)
- Teaching research skills (2.C.2), synthesis (2.C.4), cultural analysis (3.A)
- How to coach students to prepare a 3-minute presentation
- Developing the “Personalized Project Reference” sheet
- What students receive months before the exam (topic, sources)
- The Project Q&A (15%)
- Practice responding to unseen Q&A prompts
- Techniques for spontaneous, organized answers
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm)
● Create a model mini-project for your own course (adapted from any AP unit) ● Draft Q&A practice questions
● Reflect: Where will the project live in your yearly pacing?
- Synchronous (2:00–4:00pm)
- Group share-outs of project drafts
- Coaching & feedback session
- ● AP Classroom (Parts 1 and 2): Using topic questions + progress checks to support interpersonal/presentational skills
- DAY 4 – Thursday
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
- Warm-up debate or claim + evidence mini-task
- Argumentative Essay (15%)
- Overview (largely unchanged)
- Structure, transitions, citing sources (2.C.5)
- Teaching synthesis + cultural integration
- Scoring student samples
- How interpretive skills feed the essay task
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
- Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in the redesigned exam
- Helping students understand products/practices/perspectives (Skill Category 3)
- Tech & AI integration: ChatGPT, Flip, Edpuzzle, video feedback tools, etc.
- Vertical alignment: supporting levels 1–4 with new expectations
- Preparing students for digital exam delivery (Bluebook updates)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm)
● Build or refine a mini-unit or lesson for your presentations
● Finalize your instructional artifact (lesson, unit, project component)
Synchronous (2:00–4:00pm)
● Participant presentations (unit or lesson aligned to new framework) or best practices ● Final Q&A + “What I’m implementing next year” roundtable
● Evaluations + closing