Professional Development Spotlight: Finding My AP Lit “Sea Legs” in San Diego

AP by the Sea, held on the picturesque campus of University of San Diego, is a 4-day-long instructional session for teachers of College Board’s AP courses. There are multiple courses offered, but I was there to attend the AP Literature and Composition course facilitated by Susan Barber. Over the course of the week, Susan walked my cohort through various readings and assignments, as if we were her students. And just like the ideal student, we fully engaged with our facilitator and each other to have an unforgettable educational experience in 4 short days.
Susan provided us with tips, tools, and how to modify the assignment for our own classroom needs.

I attended last year’s AP Summer Institute a few short weeks after joining the Darlington team. While the foundational information presented at both sessions was the same, my experience from one year to the next was vastly different. Last year’s session was a whirlwind of unfamiliar curriculum, AP-specific language, and teaching strategies thrown at me in 3.5 days. The feeling was intensely overwhelming, and the thought of asking questions was terrifying; I did not know what I did not know. I spent the school year praying that I was “doing it right” and that the students would perform to expectations on the AP Exam in May. 

AP by the Sea was a different experience. This time around, I was prepared. I spent the school year actively enmeshed in the course. I’d also spent 8 hours a day for 7 days, reading and grading the AP Exams in June. I now thoroughly understood the AP Lit rubric and its application; I was ready to exchange ideas and assignments and learn new strategies and techniques to enhance my students’ classroom experiences.

Susan ran the session casually, which dictated the vibe of our classroom for the week. There was a lot of modeling of assignments, completing small vignettes of larger assignments, then coming together in groups to discuss how we could implement the activity into our lesson plans. A small but impactful activity that I am looking forward to using this year involves a short daily prompt for students to respond to. It could be responding to a reading or something as simple as providing a list of their top 5 favorite songs with short explanations. The instructor calls for each student’s answer, using this strategy to take roll daily. This assignment allows the class to begin right away and provides student engagement while the instructor completes a “housekeeping” task. This allows for everyone in class to get in the habit of speaking in class and for everyone to get to know each other better, just as it did for my AP by the Sea cohort.

Class was held between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.; afterward we would be encouraged to explore San Diego, a city rich with history that celebrates both its Mexican and Spanish Colonial beginnings. A stroll through Old Town reveals restaurants, markets, and cute shops for souvenirs. Visiting bustling La Jolla beach brought a unique chance to swim with protected sea lions and to experience breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. With quaint little Italian trattorias, authentic Mexican restaurants, and seaside eateries, San Diego is a foodie’s dream destination, and I was happy to try them all.

The AP by the Sea experience provided so many classroom AP Lit specific instructional strategies that will enhance both my students and my classroom experience for years to come. I have always loved teaching literature, helping students discover new texts, and witnessing the delightful discovery of writers they may never have been exposed to before. Now that I feel more confident and better equipped in the AP classroom, this enthusiasm combined with the preparedness I now feel is sure to usher in a dynamic school year in my AP Literature classroom. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to attend AP by the Sea. The wealth of knowledge, new colleagues and the opportunity to learn from Susan Barber was an invaluable experience. These types of professional development opportunities are what helps Darlington faculty provide outstanding classroom settings that result in students who are engaged and excited about learning, have richer discussions, and develop stronger analytical skills. I look forward to discovering how these new ideas will help foster my students' love for literature this year.