1.12. PD Course Logistics: Audit, Syllabus, Schedule, Pacing Guide, Equipment¶
Mobile CSP Syllabus and the AP Course Audit:
Mobile CSP's official syllabus has been approved by the College Board and must be used AS-IS for those using the Mobile CSP curriculum to teach AP Computer Science Principles. You can learn more about the AP Audit here. Below are the AP Course Audit instructions.Steps to complete the AP Course Audit Process
Step 1: Follow these instructions to complete the AP Audit Process or watch this video walk-through.
Step 2: Inform your AP Administrator/Coordinator at your school that you've completed the AP Audit process and inform them that they should be receiving an email soon to verify that you are teaching the course at your school.
Step 3: When they approve you, the College Board will send you a letter informing you that you completed the AP Audit process. They will also send you the access code for the AP Digital Portfolio Site. The AP Digital Portfolio site is used to submit the student performance tasks to the College Board.
For Non-AP teachers there is a Google Drive repository of unofficial, sample syllabi from teachers who have taught the Mobile CSP course previously and agreed to share their information. If you have one you'd like to share, please email it to us at info@mobile-csp.org.
Mobile CSP Curriculum Overview:
Mobile CSP includes:- 7 units
- 1 official Create Performance Task
- 1 practice Create Performance Task
- 3+ Explore Curricular Activities
- 1 Explore Project (not submitted to College Board)
- 2 exams throughout the year with reviews for each exam
- AP CS Principles Exam
Sample Course Schedule for a Full Year Course
| Unit | Estimated Start Date | Estimated Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | End of August | 270 Minutes - Six 45 min class periods |
| Unit 2 | Beginning of September | 585 Minutes - Thirteen 45 min class periods |
| Unit 3 | Beginning of October | 585 Minutes - Thirteen 45 min class periods |
| Unit 4 | Beginning of November | 540 Minutes - Twelve 45 min class periods |
| Create #1 Performance Task* | Beginning of December | 360 Minutes - Eight 45 min class periods |
| Exam 1 - Midterm* | Mid December | 135 Minutes - Two 45 min reviews, One 45 min exam |
| Unit 5 | Beginning of January | 585 Minutes - Thirteen 45 min class periods |
| Unit 6 | End of January | 630 Minutes - Fourteen 45 min class periods |
| Explore Project** | Mid February | 270 Minutes - Six 45 min class periods |
| Unit 7 | Beginning of March | 450 Minutes - Ten 45 min class periods |
| Create #2 Performance Task | Mid March (uploaded to College Board by April 30th) | 720 Minutes - Sixteen 45 min class periods |
| Unit 8 | Beginning of May | 135 Minutes - Three 45 min class review sessions |
| Final Exam | Beginning of May | 45 Minutes - One 45 min exam |
| AP CSP Exam | May 13th | Two hour long exam |
| Unit 9 | Mid May | Extra App Inventor lessons as well as suggestions for other resources to engage students with future CS courses, majors, and careers |
*The order of these two assessments can be switched around to fit your particular exam and winter break schedule.
**There is no longer an official Explore Performance Task to be submitted. Rather, students now complete an Explore research project as part of the Mobile CSP Explore Curricular Activities.
The AP CSP Create Performance Task will be due May 2, 2022.The AP CSP Exam will be on May 9, 2022. Teachers have a maximum of approximately 150 school days (approximately 112 contact hours) to complete the mandatory lessons in the curriculum and complete/submit the Performance Tasks. Please note: 130 contact hours is also the average number of contact hours our teachers tend to have with their students after factoring in field trips, half days, assemblies, standardized testing, school breaks/vacations, etc.
Mobile CSP is intended to be a full year course because it is an AP-level course and traditionally AP courses are full year courses. It is suggested that the practice Create performance task be completed in the fall and the official Create performance task be completed in the spring. The Explore project is generally completed before the final Create task since it takes more time to build programming knowledge and skills. Units 1-4 are expected to go a little more quickly than the latter units and ideally could be completed before January. Then, January through May can be spent on units 5-8 and leaving Unit 9 for after the AP exam/the end of the school year.
NOTE: It is possible to teach Mobile CSP in a one semester course IF you have at least 112 hours of contact time in that semester. For example, one of our teachers had a full year of class time in his one semester course (i.e. he met with his students 84 minutes five days a week).
Equipment
Mobile CSP classrooms should have a mobile device (tablet or phone; students seem to prefer tablets) for every two students in the course. For example, if you have 24 students in your course, we would recommend 12 mobile devices. When evaluating tablets to purchase, there are some App Inventor tutorials that use an accelerometer, location sensor, vibration, and an orientation sensor. The functionality provided by these is key to several tutorials and very engaging for students. You'll want to check the device specifications to ensure it includes those features. For more information about equipment, such as a list of suggested devices and other IT requirements, please visit the IT Recommendations document and the Mobile CSP Teaching Resources page.