AP Course:

AP Seminar

CONSULTANT: Heather Vinson

Heather Vinson is a National Board-Certified teacher who has taught in the Wake County (NC) School System since 2001. She serves as the AP Department chair at Holly Springs High School where she teaches AP Seminar, AP US Government and Politics and Civics Literacy. She oversaw the implementation of the AP Capstone Diploma program as one of the first six high schools to adopt the program in the state of North Carolina during the 2014-2015 academic year.

Since 2016 she has trained teachers and administrators as a College Board endorsed presenter for AP Summer Institutes for the AP Seminar course. She also works with the North Carolina AP Partnership to help support NC schools, especially in underserved rural counties to bring AP programming and teacher support.

Heather is excited to bring a different type of AP coursework to cooperating schools after seeing the results and academic skill development in her own Sophomore level students since the launch of the AP Capstone Diploma in her school and district.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

AP Seminar serves as Year 1 of the AP Capstone Diploma Program. It is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricula conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues. Students learn to investigate a problem or issue, analyze arguments, compare different perspectives, synthesize information from multiple sources, and work along as well as in a group to communicate their ideas both in academic writing and presentations.

During your APSI you will engage in a 30-hour professional development to equip you to teach the course using the QUEST pedagogical framework, prepare students to complete and upload Task 1 and Task 2 academic papers into a College Board housed digital portfolio, and prepare for the End of Course Exam. Time will be spent developing course activities, best practices, as well as the syllabus requirements.

As this is a virtual offering of the APSI, expect use of breakout rooms to facilitate collaboration between participants as well as with the instructor for individual support to build your course.