This session: AP Precalculus with Brendan Murphy is offered ONLINE during Week 1: June 15-18, 2026.
Meet your APSI Consultant for AP Precalculus
Brendan Murphy
Brendan Murphy has taught for the last 35 years at the college, high school and middle school levels. He is a former National Leader for the College Board and is an endorsed consultant for AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Statistics, and AP Precalculus. In 2007 he was the Awardee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in Maine. In 2005 he was a Siemens Award Winner for Advanced Placement. Brendan was awarded the 2010 Academic Leadership Award from the College Board and is a former member of the SAT Math Test Development Committee and APAC Steering Committee. Brendan served as the Chair of the College Board SAT Subject Mathematics Test Development Committee. For three years Brendan was the Chair of the College Board’s Math Academic Advisory Committee for all their different mathematics programs. Brendan was on the AP Precalculus Test Development Committee for two years and helped to design/launch this new AP course. He is the Lead Mentor for 16 mentors helping other new AP Precalculus teachers around the world.
Brendan has run weeklong summer institutes in AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Precalculus, and Vertical Teams/Pre-AP Math. He has presented numerous workshops for the College Board around the country, as well as being a speaker at many state and national conferences. Brendan has presented AP workshops for the College Board in thirteen countries around the world. For nine years Brendan ran a mentoring program for new AP Statistics teachers across Maine for the Maine Department of Education. He is currently an approved Table Leader for AP Precalculus and a former Table Leader and Reader for the AP Statistics Exam and AP Calculus Exams. He is a leader in distance learning and was featured in Newsweek magazine in the May 16, 2005 issue. Brendan helped pilot an online virtual AP Calculus BC class for students in Maine for the Maine Department of Education/UMPI and has taught both AB and BC Calculus online for the last fourteen years. Currently he has over 180 AP Calculus podcast uploaded to iTunes University free of charge for anyone to view and use.
Brendan has a BSCE from Tufts University as well as an MBA from Bentley University. He has a house in Orrington, Maine and in his spare time was a licensed whitewater raft guide. He enjoys traveling with his wife and has rafted on 77 rivers in five countries. Brendan is currently teaching at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, Maine.
AP Precalculus APSI Session Description
In this session we will explore this newer course from the College Board which builds on a traditional college prep Precalculus curriculum. This is a modeling course with emphasis on constructing, interpreting, and understanding the limitations of the various model types. The focus of this course will be on Units 1-3 (Unit 4 is not part of the APPC Exam), which include: 1. Polynomial and Rational Functions 2. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions 3. Trigonometric and Polar Functions Unit 4 (Functions Involving Parameters, Vectors, and Matrices) is in the Course and Exam Description but is not tested on the APPC Exam. Unit 4 will be addressed as needed based upon the needs of the group.
We will look at both FRQ’s and MCQ’s during the week and HW will be given each night. We will look at the scoring guidelines for the FRQ’s and discuss how to help our students write mathematically correct answers. We will review the various resources provided by the College Board including: AP Classroom, AP Daily videos, AP Central, IPR, and the Course and Exam Description (CED). We will review the practice exams created for this course as well as the exam format and types of MCQ and FRQ questions. A graphing calculator will be used to help participants understand the various concepts.
