Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Karen B. Kamin
Committee Member
Paul Borthwick
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic rigor, Advanced Placement, AP courses, AP enrollment, AP program, classroom observations, College Board, college preparation, content-area teachers, critical thinking, curriculum, Drop Everything and Read, elementary school, higher order thinking, interviews, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, professional development, Project CRISS, project-based learning, reading skills, school-created programs, student-owned strategies, Southwest Miami High School, teacher training, vertical teaming, writing skills
Abstract
The College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program is a curriculum initiative for students in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. In 2001, the College Board stated that students need to be exposed to pre-AP initiatives as early as elementary school and higher order thinking, reading, and writing skills need to be emphasized across the curriculum through the vertical teaming concept.
The unduplicated AP enrollment at Southwest Miami High School was 247 in 1998-99, 306 in 1990-00, 273 in 2000-01, 386 in 2001-02, and 387 in 2002-03. A professional development plan for teachers was needed to promote academic rigor and access to AP and also to increase enrollment in the AP program at Southwest Miami High School by at least 5% for the 2003-04 school year.
As a result of the applied dissertation strategies, 30 content-area teachers who were trained in C. M. Santa, L. T. Havens, and E. M. Maycumber’s (1996) Creating Independence Through Student-Owned Strategies (Project CRISS) in October of 2002 used at least 3 CRISS strategies in their classrooms to teach reading, writing, and critical-thinking skills. Also, these teachers were able to describe at least 3 benefits of the AP program and identify 3 indicators that are used to recommend students for AP courses.
By conducting classroom observations and interviews, the writer of this report determined that, in addition to using the CRISS strategies they were taught, the 30 content-area teachers were also using the school-created Drop Everything and Read program and project-based learning activities. All objectives of the applied dissertation were met; enrollment in AP courses increased by 7% for the 2003-04 school year.