AP Physics 2

Dan Carroll

Yorktown High School

Contact Information

• Email daniel.carroll@apsva.us

• Voicemail: 703-228-2800 x 98348

• School Phone: 703-228-5400

• website: – Go to http://apsva.us/yhs , navigate to

“Departments”, then to “science”, find my name, click.

• Or use http://apsva.us/Page/10864

Teacher Information

• National Board Certified Physics Teacher

• Physics teacher at Yorktown – 16 years

• Science teacher in Arlington – 23 years

Course Information

• Covers one semester of College level physics

• Non-calculus based (typical of physics for pre-med and life science majors)

• Fast paced concept-rich curriculum

• Depth of understanding concepts is important

Special Class Considerations

• Students get 2 grades (Class, Lab)• Lab grade: Performance

– Laboratory Notebook 30%– Formal Lab Reports 30%– Lab assessment 20%– Engagement in Lab activities 20%

• Class grade: Achievement– Objectives Based – Objectives are from College Board– Students have multiple opportunities to show

competence– Competence vs Mastery

Strategies for Success

• Class Attendance Policy– Requires personal accountability on the part

of the student– Does not include school field trips or religious

holidays– Students should use on-line resources during

absences– Make-ups are never as valuable as first hand

experience.

Objectives Based Learning / Standards Based Grading

• Fundamentally Different than grading by percentage and averaging scores.

• Learning Objectives are clearly defined and the goal is for students to demonstrate competence/mastery of those objectives.

• Based on work of Marzano, look at marzanoresearch.com or ASCD.org to read more.

Objectives of using Standards Based Grading

• AP Physics 2 is not about having the right answer all of the time.

• Students have to learn to express what they know and should be acknowledged for the level of understanding they express.

• Students will maintain a feeling that it is worth their effort for the entire school year and will not get the feeling that the course has left them behind.

• More advanced students will delve deeper and think longer about complex topics that take some students longer to master.

• Achieving Mastery– Day to day success is the only way to ensure

ultimate success– A grade of a C indicates minimum

competency. There is no standard for a grade of less than a D.

– My objective and the objective of every student is that they should be learning the physics well enough to maintain a B or higher

• A student who is performing at a level lower than a B will be provided with extra assignments to reinforce concepts and build understanding.

• Some credit will be given for completing the assignments, but achieving a B will come from true performance and demonstrated understanding of the learning objectives.

Evaluating Performance

4 – Mastery

3 – Full Competence

2 – Partial Competence

1 – Developing Competence

A Mastery on 90% of objectives and Full Competence on the rest

B+ Full Competence in all objectives and Master on most (75%)

B Full Competence on all objectives and Mastery of at least 25%

C+ Full Competence on all objectives.

C Full Competence on at least 25% of objectives.

D+ Student has shown Partial Competence 50% of objectives

D Student has shown Developing Competence on all objectives

Keep me informed

• Students should stay confident and positive

• Good things often take hard work.

• From what I have seen so far, I believe each of the students is capable of maintaining a B and getting a 3 or above on the AP exam

Last Thoughts

• AP Exam is Thursday, May 7th in the afternoon session.

• Study sessions:– Any day after school– 6th Period Lunch– Students should request additional times as needed

How to get College Credit• Check Collegeboard website

http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/apcreditpolicy/index.jsp

Based on AP exam score