USI Math Department awarded IDOE AP Professional Development Grant

The University of Southern Indiana has received a grant from the Indiana Department of Education to support the professional development for AP math courses, improve student scores, elevate educator instructional practice and promote educator retention for Indiana teachers.

"Our grant has two goals," said Dr. Mark Creager, USI Associate Professor of Mathematics, "to create a community of AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics teachers and to promote student success on the AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics exams."

Starting in September, USI will host nine monthly virtual professional development sessions where AP teachers will have opportunities to continue to solve problems from their content domain, evaluate student work and think about ways to incorporate technology in the teaching of that content. Additionally, USI will host a two-day summer institute in June of 2027 where AP teachers will have the opportunity to learn from content experts, mathematics teacher educators and experienced AP teachers. Teachers will receive a $180 stipend for participation in the monthly sessions and a $280 stipend for participation in the summer institute.

USI will also host an engaged student exam success day on campus in April 2027, inviting AP math students from the surrounding areas to participate in an engaged day of test preparation on campus.

"AP teachers are often the only teachers in their building that teach these courses, which means they have few opportunities to collaborate," said Creager. "We hope our community will provide Indiana teachers with that network."

For those interested in participating, please email Creager at macreager@usi.edu with your name, the course you teach and your school.