College Board Endorsed Consultant for AP Statistics

Laura Ringwood

Laura Ringwood is passionate about teaching AP Statistics because of its usefulness in all walks of life and its accessibility to all levels of math students.  Her enthusiasm for AP Statistics infuses her classes with a light-hearted atmosphere and a joy for using math in varied contexts.  Her approach to teaching is student-centered, using cooperative learning techniques, manipulatives, and technology to help students understand statistical concepts.

Laura earned a BS in Mathematics Education from Boston University and an MS in Mathematics Education from the University of Rochester.  A high school math teacher of 21 years, she taught AP Statistics for 13 years at Westlake High School in Austin, TX.  She wrote the high school curriculum for Stats 2: Beyond AP Statistics and taught the course for 5 years.  She was honored with multiple teaching and innovation awards from the Student Council and from the faculty.  Laura has been an AP Statistics Reader for 12 years and an AP Reading Table Leader for 3 years.  She also worked with NMSI for 5 years, leading Student Study Sessions and mentoring teachers.  Laura recently moved to Rochester, NY where she is teaching at McQuaid Jesuit High School.

APSI Session Description

In this online Summer Institute, teachers will participate in hands-on statistics activities that they can bring directly to their classroom, or modify to suit their unique needs. These activities help students understand difficult statistical topics, improve student performance on the AP Exam, and increase students’ enthusiasm for statistics. Along the way, participants will review some of the course content and develop strategies for helping students succeed on both the multiple choice and the free response sections of the exam.

During the four-day session, participants will become more familiar with the structure of the AP Statistics Exam, the Course and Exam Description, the myriad of resources available through AP Classroom and other online resources. They will learn to apply AP scoring rubrics for free response questions and they will construct the beginnings of their course calendar. Teachers will come away with strategies for helping learners from diverse backgrounds to be more successful in statistics. Beginning AP Statistics teachers will be supported in starting their course, and experienced teachers will develop tools and lessons to improve their courses.

Sample Schedule (all times marked are Eastern)

  • 9am – 11am Synchronous Session
    • Welcome and warm-up activity
    • Introduction to statistics with a hands-on activity
    • Unit 1 Free Response practice in breakout rooms
  • 11am – 12pm Asynchronous Session
    • Self-paced activity for getting the most out of the Course and Exam Description
  • 12pm – 1pm Synchronous Session
    • Review of challenging Unit 1 concepts
    • Unit 1 activity using technology
  • 1pm – 2pm Break for Lunch
    • Enjoy some down time!
  • 2pm – 4pm Synchronous Session
    • Getting familiar with the AP Formula Sheet using an activity from Unit 2AP free response (FR) scoring rubrics using a Unit 2 FR question in breakout rooms
    • An example of incorporating social justice data from Unit 2
  • 4pm – 5:00pm Asynchronous Session
    • Self-paced Unit 2 multiple choice practice
    • Self-paced practice applying scoring rubrics using a Unit 2 FR question