Students who have benefited from College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) classes have been excited to participate in the new Advanced Placement Capstone Program, designed to prepare students better for rigorous college curriculum.

AP Capstone is a program designed by College Board to equip students to be familiar and comfortable with the research, teamwork, and communication skills necessary for college. It is composed of two AP courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. It was modeled after the International Baccalaureate class Theory of Knowledge.

College Board has created the international and national Advanced Placement curriculum for high school students since 1955. They launched the AP Capstone Program in 2014 to meet the demand from professors who had higher expectations from students in inquiry and higher level research skills.

AP Seminar was first implemented into the Seminole High curriculum last year and it allows students to investigate issues from multiple perspectives. Working individually and in teams, students learn to use research to develop their own argumentative reasoning within papers and oral presentations.

In AP Research, students expand upon the skills from AP Seminar by exploring a topic that interests them. Doing so involves employing good research habits, such as analyzing and synthesizing information, to address their research question. Students then write a 4000-6000 word academic paper, give an oral presentation, and a thesis defense.

During its first year, AP Seminar students included a mix of sophomores and juniors with different educational backgrounds. Junior Hannah Howell said that she has come a long way, especially with her writing skills.

“AP Seminar and AP Research have been some of my favorite classes that I’ve taken at Seminole by far,” Howell states. “Not only has it been the most interesting and exciting, but I have taken away extremely valuable lifelong skills from this class.”

Since the program was launched only recently, there are still some challenges first-time teachers have to overcome. Mr. Douglas Hernandez, currently in his first year of teaching AP Research, said that his biggest challenge is to avoid the idea of doing everything for his students.

“During the AP Research training, the lead facilitator kept reminding us that these ‘students have a lot of skill and can get a lot done, they can do this!’ I agree now,” expressed Hernandez. “I’ve watched students complete formative assessments, share knowledge and provide technical training tools.”

Hernandez said his goal teaching AP Research for the first time is to get the students to feel as if they are a part of a productive academic discussion.

“I would like students to know how to begin and sustain a research effort, learn how to approach an expert adviser, synthesize information, present and defend what they have learned” Hernandez stated.

The AP Capstone diploma is awarded to students who earn a score of 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research as well as four other AP exams of their choosing. As of 2016, 650 of the world’s high schools have implemented the AP Capstone program, a number which is steadily growing. Increasing numbers of students are able to benefit from its valuable lessons.

“I want to be an epidemiologist and the career involves researching and peer reviewing. These courses are helping me prepare for the future,” junior Lidia Galeas explained. “The skills I have learned and I am still learning in the program, I will always be able to carry with me throughout college and my career and I feel really good about that.”