The new AP seminar class has introduced the class of 2028 to the AP curriculum while simultaneously being an introductory step in the new AP Capstone Diploma. As implemented in recent years by College Board at thousands of high schools globally, AP Seminar teaches skills in research, writing, presentation, and is a prerequisite for AP research. But what do kids really think of it? How will students use these skills to prepare them for the future?
“It’s a good first dip into AP,” said Aaron Marine, the new AP Seminar teacher, who has previously taught Honors 10 English for the past 12 years.
“Collaboration, group work, and research would be the big differences between the English Honors class and an AP Seminar class,” said Marine.
Beginning in the years after the pandemic, the AP Capstone Diploma was created by College Board in hopes of creating AP classes that develop certain skills that hadn’t been focused on normally, in favor of individual subjects and the content learned from within them. An included class necessary to achieve this diploma includes AP Seminar, a class available to sophomores along the lines of Honors 10 English.
“The Class is run as an English course and AP Seminar,” said Marine. “A lot of collaboration and group work skills, 25% of the AP seminar grade is a group presentation.”
This year, LVJUSD has finally decided to include AP Seminar in their large selection of courses. Instead of the regular AP test in May, AP seminar features a semester-long AP test, consisting of group and individual work starting in the second semester.
“They will have a research project with a group of three to five students, and then that will take them six to seven weeks to complete, and at the end of those six to seven or eight weeks they will present their multimedia presentation to me, and then right after that they have a second research project that will be individual,” said Marine.
This new approach to the AP test keeps students interested and uses skills that they have learned throughout the year.
The students taking the class are in general agreement that the AP Seminar is an important class that has similarities to the normal Honors 10 English, but with an AP spin.
“I feel I’m learning very valuable skills, especially when it comes to investigating text and taking notes,” said Ryan Harrington (10).
The skills introduced will help students for the rest of their high school careers, and easily learnable thanks to Mr. Marine, whose style of teaching entices the class without most pressures of a normal AP class.
“I love Mr. Marine, and I love the way he teaches it,” said Jack Pederson (10).
Otherwise, the class is a gateway to the AP program, and seems to have a perfect balance between fun and challenging.
“It’s a great way to ease into it, it’s a relatively easier class so far of AP’s” said Harrington.
The AP Seminar class has left many confused on where it belongs in terms of in the AP catalog, but has been welcomed by students and teachers and teaching skills that kids will use for years to come and will bring them into a new era of high school.
