1) Issue

Every year there are greater numbers of students taking advanced placement (AP) classes as admission to colleges is getting more and more competitive. However, there is little diversity within these classes. At Brookwood High School there are very few African Americans, Hispanics and students with low socio-economic status in specifically the AP Calculus classes. All students should be encouraged to take AP courses.

2) Objective

The purpose of this project is to provide all students with information regarding Advanced Placement classes (specifically AP Calculus) in effort to motivate more students to take these rigorous courses. The project will focus on encouraging all students to take AP classes by bringing attention to the availability of AP courses along with the benefits to students who take these courses.

3) Description
I will create an instructional unit to guide students through choosing their senior math class. The focus of this guide will be towards encouraging students to pursue Advanced Placement Calculus. This unit will have the following components:

1. General Information
The course will be outlined in this section and will include the syllabus, course outline and pacing guide, content information, etc. Along with this basic information, there will be a section for Frequently Asked Questions, general benefits, and misconceptions about the course.

2. Collegiate
This section will take a look at how Calculus benefits the student during college. Included in this will be a list various college majors that require calculus, and how they vary from different institutions. Also, I will include testimonials from college students and alumni about the benefits they have experienced from taking calculus in high school.

3. Career
The last section will be a look at different careers where Calculus is a requirement or a great asset. Along with general information and explorations of different careers where calculus is present, there will be a section of interviews with individuals from these different careers.

The focus of the 2nd and 3rd sections will be to highlight successful students/adults from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds to be interviewed. With the help of these interviews, students should be able to identify with someone from their ethnic and cultural background and be encouraged to aspire to pursue this high level mathematics course.

The subjects that will be presented with this unit, will be juniors at Brookwood High School who are participating in summer activities at the school. All ethnic and cultural backgrounds will be represented by this group of students.

4) Culture

There is a problem with the diversity among the AP community at Brookwood High School. I will emphasize the need for students from all cultures to take these classes. This project directly focuses on increasing the diversity of the individuals taking Advanced Placement courses.

5) Timeline

The majority of the time spent on this project will be on the construction of the unit. A good deal of research will be needed to sufficiently target all student groups that are present in the school. Adequate time will also be needed to obtain interviews with the various individuals. Only a short time is needed for students to view the unit and give feedback on the quality of the project.