Since their beginnings in 1955, Advanced Placement (AP) classes offered by the College Board have become increasingly popular due to the demand for college and career readiness. Many students find themselves looking to achieve good grades in courses with more rigor. AP Seminar, Greeley’s newest advanced placement class, is one of 19 such classes offered at Greeley.
Students were intrigued by the new course offering, and rosters quickly filled. AP Seminar student Riona Datta shared that “I wasn’t given much information about the class before joining. However, now I am looking forward to improving my presentation and research skills throughout this school year.” Despite initial hesitancy towards the class, Datta said that she feels everything worked out, as the class equips students with strategies and habits that can increase their aptitude for projects in AP Seminar and beyond.
AP Seminar teacher Ms. Regina McKie described the AP Seminar curriculum as being “mostly geared to allowing students to develop advanced research techniques. It revolves around their ability to analyze complicated texts, and develop inquiry questions based on them.” Such strategies are essential in the research process. Ms. McKie also provided insight as to why the course was brought to Greeley, and said, “We heard from students in various formats that they wanted more opportunities to learn more advanced [research] skills and expand issues of more interest.” The adaptability of the class allows students to engage in a way that is different from their other classes; they can dive deeper into topics of interest for them, and conduct sophisticated and complex research.
AP Seminar can help students with their skills in other classes and future endeavors. Ms. McKie described how the course differs from others at Greeley, and said, “So many of our courses are so content heavy… AP Seminar removes content completely and teaches reading [and] writing skills [at] university [level]. [Students] will absolutely need to learn complicated texts and [support] arguments that are based on significant research.” The emphasis on individuality in the class helps students out in the long run. Students have the ability to choose from a wide range of themes and topics as their focus for the class, such as psychology, economics, and social studies, among others. AP Seminar teacher Ms. Susan Twomey shared what her experience with the class has been like so far.
“As my first time teaching it, I have sort of been discovering it as the students do. One thing that really struck me is, as a freshman in college I did not have these skills, and it made my freshman year very difficult because I was trying to catch up. Because students are doing this now, they are going to be so much better off in college as all these skills are what are needed in order to excel and thrive at the college level.”
Ms. Twomey said that she loves to teach the course and that she finds it to be incredibly valuable for the students.
AP Seminar is structured for students who are willing to challenge themselves and who are comfortable with independent work which includes the questioning, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and judging of one’s research, preparing students for their future endeavors.