Taught by Jorge Zamora
Overview
Designed for teachers implementing the redesigned AP® Spanish Language & Culture course and digital exam beginning in 2026–2027.
Focus areas include the new course framework, integrated skill development, project-based communication, cultural understanding, equitable access, and instructional alignment.
Agenda
Monday, Day 1
Understanding the Redesigned Course Framework
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
Welcome, Community Building & Course Orientation
- Welcome, introductions, and APSI norms
- Community-building interpretive warm-up:
- cultural headline
- short audio/text synthesis task
- debriefing instructional choices
- APSI goals and participant outcomes
- Overview of the redesigned AP® Spanish Language & Culture course
- Why the redesign?
- Major instructional shifts from the previous framework
- From thematic instruction → contextualized communication
- Introduction to:
- 6 Course Units
- Recommended Instructional Contexts
- Skill Categories 1–3
- Integrated communication model
- Cultural Understanding as a central component of instruction
Break (9:30–9:45am)
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
Understanding the Redesigned Exam & Digital Testing Experience
- Redesigned exam overview
- Digital Bluebook delivery
- New weighting and structure
- Relationship between course design and assessment
- Interpretive Communication overview
- Listening-first sequencing
- New listening and reading task types
- Multimodal comprehension
- AP® Classroom integration
- Topic Questions
- Progress Checks
- Question banks
- Formative vs summative use
- Discussion:
- How the redesign impacts curriculum, pacing, and assessment
Lunch (11:00–11:30am)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm) - Course Design & Reflection
Participants will:
- Explore the redesigned Course & Exam Description
- Analyze the 6-unit sequence and instructional contexts
- Identify instructional shifts in their own programs
- Begin revising or drafting Units 1–2
- Reflect on:
- integrating products/practices/perspectives
- spiraling communication skills
- moving beyond isolated grammar instruction
- Optional: Redesign an “old AP® activity” to align with the new framework
Synchronous (2:00–4:00pm)
Equity, Access & Instructional Shifts
- Equity and access in AP® Spanish
- heritage speakers
- multilingual learners
- pathway alignment
- asset-based instructional practices
- Supporting linguistic diversity and register awareness
- Whole-group debrief of unit reflections
- Collaborative discussion:
- What instructional practices need to shift most?
Tuesday, Day 2
Interpretive Communication & Multimodal Comprehension
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
Building Interpretive Proficiency
- Interpretive warm-up:
- audio + visual/chart synthesis
- Deep dive into Skill Category 1
- Interpretive Listening
- Interpretive Reading
- Interpretive Cultural Analysis
- Strategies for:
- listening without transcripts
- reading authentic texts
- analyzing charts and visual data
- identifying perspectives and audience
- Listening task types:
- Audio + Chart
- Audio Report
- Interview
- Presentation
- Instructional Guidance
- Modeling interpretive instructional routines
Break (9:30–9:45am)
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
Reading Comprehension & Digital Literacy
- Reading task types:
- Articles
- Literary Texts
- Promotional Materials
- Article + Chart combinations
- Teaching inferencing and evidence-based interpretation
- Selecting and adapting authentic sources
- Teaching interpretive stamina in digital environments
- Understanding distractors and skill alignment
- Cultural Understanding within interpretive tasks
Lunch (11:00–11:30pm)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm) - Designing Interpretive Tasks
Participants will:
- Create a mini interpretive task aligned to one of the 6 units
- Design scaffolds for diverse learners
- Develop a dual-skill interpretive sequence (optional)
- Begin incorporating interpretive work into yearly pacing
Synchronous (2:00–4:00pm)
Connecting Interpretive Skills to Productive Communication
- Participant share-outs and peer feedback
- Discussion:
- how interpretive input supports speaking and writing
- scaffolding toward spontaneous communication
- preparing students for project-based communication
- Calibration and analysis of sample student responses
Wednesday, Day 3
Interpersonal & Presentational Communication in the Project-Based Course
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
Interpersonal Communication & Spontaneous Speaking
- Interpersonal warm-up exchange
- Skill Category 2 overview
- interpersonal communication
- presentational communication
- comprehensibility and self-monitoring
- register and audience awareness
- Strategies for:
- spontaneous speaking
- circumlocution
- fluency development
- culturally appropriate communication
- Fishbowl modeling and live interpersonal practice
Break (9:30–9:45am)
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
The New Project Presentation & Q&A
- Understanding the redesigned project components
- Project Presentation
- Project Q&A
- What students receive before the exam
- Teaching:
- research skills
- source evaluation
- synthesis
- cultural analysis
- oral organization
- Building a yearlong project structure
- checkpoints
- rehearsal cycles
- accountability systems
- peer feedback
- Developing Personalized Project Reference sheets
Lunch (11:00–11:30pm)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm) - Project Design Workshop
Participants will:
- Create a model mini-project aligned to a course unit
- Draft Project Q&A prompts
- Design project scaffolds and timelines
- Reflect on:
- where the project fits within yearly pacing
- balancing structure and student autonomy
Synchronous (2:00–4:00pm)
AI, Academic Integrity & Performance-Based Communication
- AI integration in AP® Spanish classrooms
- ethical considerations
- maintaining student voice
- AI as scaffold vs replacement
- Supporting authentic language production
- Scoring and calibration practice:
- Project Presentations
- spontaneous Q&A responses
- AP® Classroom integration for speaking development
- Coaching strategies for student confidence and comprehensibility
Thursday, Day 4
Integrated Course Design, Assessment & Implementation
Synchronous (8:00–9:30am)
Argumentative Writing & Integrated Skill Development
- Warm-up:
- claim + evidence discussion task
- Argumentative Essay overview
- synthesis
- source integration
- cultural understanding
- audience awareness
- Teaching:
- evidence-based argumentation
- transitions and organization
- citation of sources
- integrating interpretive skills into writing
- Scoring and calibration of student writing samples
Break (9:30–9:45am)
Synchronous (9:45–11:00am)
Designing a Redesigned AP® Spanish Course
- Building a full-year pacing framework
- Sequencing:
- interpretive → interpersonal → presentational communication
- project checkpoints
- cultural understanding tasks
- Designing assessments aligned to the new framework
- integrated performance assessments
- authentic communication tasks
- formative assessment routines
- Vertical alignment:
- Levels 1–4 → AP® Spanish
- Technology integration
- Flip
- Edpuzzle
- AI tools
- video/audio feedback platforms
Lunch (11:00–11:30pm)
Asynchronous (11:30–2:00pm) - Final Instructional Design Work Time
Participants will:
- Refine a lesson, mini-unit, assessment, or project component
- Align instructional materials to the redesigned framework
- Finalize an instructional artifact for presentation
Synchronous (2:00–4:00pm)
Participant Showcase & Closing Reflection
- Participant presentations
- lessons
- units
- assessments
- project components
- Collaborative feedback and discussion
- Final implementation planning:
- “What I’m changing next year”
- biggest takeaways
- anticipated challenges
- Final Q&A
- Evaluations and closing reflections