About the Course
The Capstone AP Seminar is the foundational course for the year-long AP Capstone Program. The 4-day workshop focuses on developing students' critical thinking, collaboration, and research skills through an inquiry-based framework. Students can explore complex, real-world issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. High School teachers select themes based on student interests or local/global issues. Students learn to read and analyze diverse texts, synthesizing this information into evidence-based arguments. AP Seminar equips students with the skills necessary for college-level research and professional collaboration. To guide student inquiry, the QUEST pedagogical framework is utilized.
- Focus on mastering a recursive inquiry process rather than specific subject content.
- Define the core competencies students must demonstrate by the end of the academic year.
- Identify complex real-world issues, develop focused research questions, and conduct initial explorations that challenge existing knowledge.
- Evaluate the credibility of diverse sources and explain authors' lines of reasoning with precision.
- Combine information from multiple sources to develop original, well-reasoned, and evidence-based arguments.
- Collaborate effectively in teams to solve problems and communicate findings through formal written reports and multimedia presentations.