Every art history teacher fully understands the burden of material placed on the student, and how that burden overwhelms even the most intrepid adolescent.  Teachers are often left wondering how to get through the AP* art history curriculum so that a student has a chance on this particularly grueling examination.  The workshop will meet that need. It will target things like teacher pacing, and efficient classroom lessons.  It will stress what works of art must be included and what works can be skipped, and will sharpen teacher focus so that all essentials are met.  Some related topics will include:

• Pacing: How much time to spend on each item?
• Non-western art: how much does the student need to know? How can I present this material without deleting core subjects?
• Context: a few effective examples are better than a giant list of context issues. We will formulate a series of works that will answer this need.
• An intensive and thorough discussion of a few works of art, and how this discussion can be carried over into your classroom.

John Nici has been an AP* Art History teacher since 1981, and currently works at Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst, New York.  He is also an adjunct professor at Queens College in Flushing, New York since 1990, teaching specialty courses in Medieval Art, Neoclassicism and Romanticism.  He gives College Board* teacher workshops, and serves as a Question Leader during the AP* reading each June.  He has published two books on art history pedagogy including Barron’s Guide to AP* Art History, and delivered a number of scholarly talks on subjects such as Delacroix and medieval crowns at symposia around the country.  In 2004 he was granted the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching by Adjunct Faculty by Queens College.  He has two master’s degrees, one in English Literature and the other in Art History, both earned at Queens College.