AP Capstone Program

Advanced Placement Capstone Program

AP Capstone™ is a College Board program that equips students with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are increasingly valued by colleges. It cultivates curious, independent, and collaborative scholars and prepares them to make logical, evidence-based decisions.

AP Capstone is comprised of two AP courses – AP Seminar and AP Research – and is designed to complement and enhance the discipline-specific study in other AP courses. The AP Capstone program provides unique research opportunities for current AP students, or to expand access to AP by encouraging students to master the argumentbased writing skills that the AP Capstone program develops. (The College Board)

Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both the AP Capstone Seminar and the AP Capstone Research courses and on four additional AP exams of their choosing will receive the AP Capstone Diploma. Those students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both of the AP Capstone courses but not on the four additional AP exams will receive the AP Capstone Certificate.

AP Capstone Seminar – 1 credit

Grade 10 - 12

Prerequisites: Sophomores must take Humanities II or Humanities II in Action concurrently with this course and get departmental approval; juniors and seniors need departmental approval.

Home Learning: Heavy

Course Description This course is completely focused on developing a student’s skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity. Students develop and refine their investigative and analytical skills through the interdisciplinary study of a variety of themes, which are often current global topics. Students analyze the complexity of an issue that presses beyond understanding a single perspective toward an awareness of the cultural, economic, political, and social factors that give poignancy to the most pressing global challenges facing contemporary humanity. Individual ability to transfer skills and make connections between disciplines is greatly enhanced through the Seminar course. Students articulate their learning through writing, discussion, presentation and reflection. Collaboration is another critical component in the Seminar course where students complete a team research project as part of the overall course assessments.

College Board Assessments

Assessment overview for the AP Exam: Performance Task I – 20% of AP Score Team Project and Presentation Performance Task 2 – 35% of AP Score Individual Research-Based Essay and Presentation End of Course Exam – 45% of AP Score

Classroom Assessments (non-AP)

To be successful in this class, students must come prepared to engage in discussion and critical thinking. While there is no prescribed content that must be mastered, there are thinking, writing and speaking skills that need to be developed. Students are encouraged to keep pace with reading and writing assignments to enhance the richness

of the classroom experience. Formative assessments will help students to hone the skills required for the larger summative assessments and allow ample opportunity for feedback. The summative assessment in the first semester mirrors the live assessments completed in the second semester for the College Board using the same rubrics. Summative assessments in the second semester will range from assignments that complement the live assessments to the quality of feedback a student provides to a peer. Students will receive regular feedback throughout the year whether it is individual or overall class instruction.

Course grades will be calculated following the HKIS High School policy on formative and summative assessments.

AP Capstone Research – 1 credit

Grade 11 or 12

Prerequisites: Completion of AP Capstone Seminar Course and Capstone Team approval

Home Learning: Moderate to Heavy

Course Description In this course, students will “cultivate the skills and discipline necessary to conduct independent research and inquiry in order to produce and defend their scholarly work. It 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 enquiry, they further the skills they acquired in the AO 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 approximately 4,000-5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense (AP Research. Course and Exam description, p.8)”.

Assessments Assessment overview for the AP exam: Academic Paper – 75% of score Presentation and Oral Defense – 25% of score

Classroom Assessment (Non-AP) The key to succeed in this class is to be engaged in classroom learning and to be prepared by completing assignments. There will be discussions, in-class activities, presentations as well as written assignments. Students will maintain a PREP journal to record their research and reflections on their learning in class. This is an integral part of the research process. Students will provide peer-review feedback, revise their own work and evaluate their own work based on the rubrics developed by the College Board (for the AP and POD). At times, students might be graded on the quality of the feedback they provide. For other assignments, students will evaluate themselves using the Rubrics developed by the teacher and/or by the students. Throughout the year, the teacher will also provide students with regular and individual feedback as well as overall instruction.