"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life thinking its stupid." ~Einstein
AP Research Course Syllabus 2020-2021
For materials, supplies and other class information, click here.
AP Research Course Description
AP Research is an interdisciplinary course that encourages students to demonstrate critical thinking and academic research skills on a topic of the student’s choosing. To accommodate the wide range of student topics, typical college course equivalents include introductory research or general elective courses.
AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone experience, allows students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. Students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question. Through this inquiry, they further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Students reflect on their skill development, document their processes, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work through a process and reflection portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000–5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense (AP College Board).
AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone experience, allows students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. Students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question. Through this inquiry, they further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Students reflect on their skill development, document their processes, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work through a process and reflection portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000–5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense (AP College Board).
AP Research Grading and Evaluation
AP Research is like no other class you have taken and thus capturing your progress and putting into a grade is challenging for both the traditional student and teacher. This is due to the unique nature of the class. We are going through a process, and each of us is on our own path. For this we will use essential benchmarks as indicators for success. The timeline of when these should be met will reflect in the gradebook.
AP Research Required Readings
|
Class Text
Required Supplemental Text
As you conduct your Research, you will be required to read texts, both fiction and nonfiction, about your subject or topic. For example, if your topic or subject is related to Religion or Spirituality, two fiction books that fall into that category include, "Go Tell It On a Mountain", by James Baldwin or Toni Morrison's, "Beloved." In addition, for nonfiction, I might read "A Course in Miracles" by Helen Schucman. I might also glance at various religious texts such as the King James Bible, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Koran, etc., to compare whatever it is I am researching. |
NOW READING!
|
Videos/TED Talks/Movie Clips should also be considered
- We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*
- Why Some of us Don't Have One True Calling by Emilie Wapnick*
- The Danger of the Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*
*These are suggested, not required
Research Resources
General Resources
Writing a Research Paper
Annotating
Iceberg Analysis
Student Presentations
Exam Schedule
Sample Paper #1 - what TO do
Sample Paper #2 - what NOT to do
Scoring Guideline
