Learn the Skills – AP Seminar

20 October 2020Baya I, Hope ‘23; Photo by Bud Patel

Learning to research, analyze, interpret and articulate what you learn in today’s world is an essential part of succeeding in both university and life. AP Seminar 11 teaches students how to leave Brentwood confident that they can do so.

AP Seminar 11 is composed of mostly Grade 10 students, as it is offered as a Grade 10 elective. This class is different from other electives offered as it is focused more on skill-building. “I like AP Seminar because it is a place where I can express my ideas” says Kate P, Hope ‘23. At this point in the year, the students are studying the topic of education.

Looking at many texts and images, ancient and modern, there’s a big focus on how education and learning should be approached in and out of schools. We read and analyzed works by Rabindranath Tagore, Seneca, Virginia Woolf, and Laurentius de Voltolina and learnt about the diverse and abundant perspectives on education and learning. “AP Seminar has been awesome so far and I love that we get to discuss with our peers and our teacher,” says Avik B, Privett ‘23. The year consists of three performance tasks evaluated by our classroom teacher as well as the College Board. Once this topic of education has been finished, we will start Performance Task 1 (PT 1).

Performance Task 1 is a group research project on a topic of the group’s choice. Before starting this, we will do Mini PT 1, a smaller scale of PT in which we’ll incorporate the same concepts of research, writing & presentation skills. Some PT 1 topics include “Stitch ‘Em and Ditch ‘Em: An Inquiry into the Value of Short-Term Medical Mission Trips” and “Shut Up and Play: The Hidden Racial Injustice in North American Sports”. The options are endless, so students are able to choose to study something they are passionate about. Next, we’ll take on the Performance Task 2.

Performance Task 2 (PT 2) is a personal research project much like PT 1 using a College Board prompted topic. The College Board evaluates the final presentation rather than our classroom teacher. All Performance Tasks count for your final AP mark, not just the final exam or Performance Task 3. One three-hour exam in May incorporates all the skills learned in AP Seminar 11.

AP Seminar 11 is a part of the AP Capstone which also consists of AP Research 12, and four additional AP courses. It is a rigorous program aimed at improving the academic skills of high school students.

Baya I, Hope ‘23

Where Students Choose To Be