A Look Into AP Seminar, One Of Sparta High's Newest Courses

Written by: Elise Kerim

What theme does the binary system, Mardi Gras, and a tattoo have in common? Give any one of the seven AP Seminar students a second and I guarantee you, they’ll come up with something.

Left to right: Ms. Mauriello, Rebecca Sehnert, Nicholas Mawtisky,
Taylor Muse, Luke Kurian, Mohammed Awan, Elise Kerim, Alex Roy

Based heavily on synthesizing different ideas, lens, and perspectives, AP Seminar is one of the newest classes to the Sparta district. The class is coming out of the English department as a part of the AP Capstone Program, showcasing achievement in college-level research. With two seniors, the remaining five students will go on to take AP Research in the 2018-2019 school year, where they conduct a year-long research investigation and will work with an expert advisor in the field relating to their research topic. Students who complete AP Seminar and the subsequent class, AP Research and get a 3 on both AP exams will get an AP Capstone certificate - further, those who get a 3 on four more AP exams of their choosing will earn the AP Capstone Diploma.

In the unit that they had recently finished, the class split into two groups and came up with a narrow, open-ended research question. With the broad topic of identity, groups came up with questions such as, “To what extent does an American woman’s marital status affect her personal identity?” and, “How has mainstream media in the 21st century perpetrated racism in white people in America?” Each student was assigned their own lens to narrow their focus on the topic (such as economic, historical, social, psychological, technological, etc) and from there, students set off to find scholarly information pertaining to their specific lens on the topic. Each student wrote an Individual Research Report (IRR) where they elaborated on their findings before coming together. Laying out what they had found with their group members, they synthesized their different points to come together and to make their group presentations. This is practice for part of their AP Seminar exam grade, known as Performance Task 1. In the next unit, mirroring Performance Task 2, students will be working individually. They will compose an Individual Written Argument (IWA) and follow-up with a multimedia presentation of their choice.

For this course, the AP Exam comes in three parts. In late January, students will begin their AP portfolio. In their first performance task, students will be working in groups to come up with a research question on any topic they choose. CollegeBoard will be grading their IRRs and watching their recording of their group presentation, which is graded by the AP teacher but audited by CollegeBoard. Each team member is responsible for answering two oral defense questions, given to them at random at the conclusion of their presentation. When that is wrapped up, they will conduct Performance Task 2, mandated by CollegeBoard in a similar manner. In the physical sit-down exam in May, students will be viewing stimulus material and answering three common analytical questions. All three components will be averaged to give them their final exam score. With a fresh mind, the AP Seminar students are motivated to do their best for this program.

Up next in the class: a formal debate on whether food deserts are the primary reason to American obesity.. boys versus girls. Will the quantity of four boys out rule the quality of the three girls?

Nick Mawtisky and Becky Sehnert 

Taylor Muse