AP+Annual+Conference+2009+San+Antonio+TX

I attended the AP Annual National Conference from July 15-19 in San Antonio, Texas. The first day of the conference was devoted to "Pre-Conference Workshops" relating to individual subject areas. The 8 hour workshop is a summary class on each individual AP subject. My presenter for AP Music Theory was Melissa Fox, an instructor at Emory College, who has also taught AP Music Theory. She serves on both test development and reading committees and as a resource person for the College Board. The 8 hour Pre-Conference workshop was a great overview for the beginning AP teacher AND a process by which the experienced teacher can pinpoint strategies for improvement and free and accessible resources.

The Opening Plenary session featured speaker, Firoozeh Dumas, author of //Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian.// The Closing Plenary Session featured Gwen Ifill of //Washington Week// and //The News Hour with Jim Lehrer//. She spoke about current political/social issues in light of her research for her new book, //The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama//. The question and answer session following her speech was moving, inspirational and intriguing.

Other meaningful sessions I attended were: //Results from the 2009 Music Theory Exam Administration//, //M&M's (Music and Movies) of AP World History// and //An Aural Skills Plan for AP Music Theory.//

The Pre-Conference AP Music Theory intensive provided an wonderful array of free resources available online, a clarification of specific test-taking strategies and materials provided exclusively to summer institute participants.. The presenter of the Saturday aural skills session was a participant in the Pre-Conference session. His materials are all available online and the personal contact was immensely helpful. The AP World History session provided a detailed outline and access to a DVD for Music and Movie examples pertaining to World History topics. This information will be helpful in the incorporation of more global influences in the 9th grade World Civilizations/Humanities curriculum.

On a personal note, ran into James Monk on the escalators and had a brief and fun "say hello to everyone" encounter. He's doing well.