AP Capstone: Seminar (2016-2017)

Teacher: Ms. Lori Wagoner

E-mail: lwagoner@wcpss.net
Room: 3316

AP Seminar: The Course

AP Seminar is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations
that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing
divergent perspectives. Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing
articles, research studies, and foundational literary and philosophical texts; listening to and
viewing speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and
performances. Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their
own perspectives in research based written essays, and design and deliver oral and visual
presentations, both individually and as part of a team. Ultimately, the course aims to equip
students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision in
order to craft and communicate evidence-based arguments.

AP Capstone: The Program

AP Capstone is an innovative diploma program from the College Board that equips students
with the independent research, collaborative teamwork, and communication skills that are
increasingly valued by colleges. AP Capstone is built on the foundation of two AP Courses--AP
Seminar and AP Research--and is designed to complement and enhance the in-depth,
discipline-specific study experienced in other AP courses. In AP Seminar, students investigate
real-world issues from multiple perspectives, gathering and analyzing information from
various sources in order to develop credible and valid evidence-based arguments. In AP
Research, students cultivate the skills and discipline necessary to conduct independent
research in order to produce and defend a scholarly academic paper.

Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four
additional AP exams of their choosing will receive the AP Capstone Diploma.

Students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research but not on four
additional AP exams will receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.

AP College Board Plagiarism Policy:
Participating teachers shall instruct students to ethically use and acknowledge the ideas and
work of others, as well as the consequences of plagiarism. The students individual voice should
be clearly evident, and the ideas of others must be acknowledged, attributed, and/or cited.

A student who fails to acknowledge the source or author of any and all information or evidence
taken from the work of someone else through citation, attribution or reference in the body of
the work, or through bibliographic entry, will receive a score of ZERO on that particular
component of the AP Seminar and/or AP Research Performance Assessment Task. In AP
Seminar, a team of students that fails to properly acknowledge sources or authors on the Team
Multimedia Presentation will receive a group score of zero for that component of the Team
Project and Presentation.

A student who incorporates falsified or fabricated information (e.g. evidence, data, sources,
and/or authors) will receive a score of zero on that particular component of the AP Seminar
and/or AP Research Performance Assessment Task. In AP Seminar, a team of students that
incorporates falsified or fabricated information in the Team Multimedia Presentation will
receive a zero for that component of the Team Project and Presentation.

Your AP Exam Score for Seminar

Your AP Seminar score will be based partially on an AP Exam, which will be administered like a
typical AP exam during May. However, significant amount of your AP score will be based on
two Performance Tasks that will be completed during the school year. These PTs will be scored
by me and back-scored by College Board readers. **Because these are part of your College
Board assessments, I cannot give you feedback on them, and I cannot reveal to you your score.
Your AP Seminar instructor cannot give you specific individual feedback on your Performance
Tasks while you are working on them**

All three AP Seminar assessments are summative and will be used to calculate a final AP Score
(using a 1-5 scale) for AP Seminar.
Team Project and Presentation---20%
Individual Research Report (1200 words)--50% of 20%
Team Multimedia Presentation and Defense (8-10 min + defense) 50% of 20%
Individual Research-Based Essay and Presentation--35%
Individual Written Argument
Individual Multimedia Presentation
Oral Defense
End-of-Course AP Exam (2 Hours)--45%
Part A--analyze argument using evidence--30% of 45%
Part B--build your own argument using 2 of 4 source provided--70% of 45%

Important Dates: Put these on your calendar now. Most WILL NOT CHANGE because of
inclement weather. Presentation schedules are the only place where weather-related schedule
adjustments will be considered.

12/20/2017 Preliminary Research question due PT1

2/2/2018 PT1 IRR FINAL uploaded to Digital Portfolio

2/15/2018 PT2 Stimulus Packet released to students

Week of 2/20/18 PT1 Team Multimedia Presentations

3/30-4/8/2018 SPRING BREAK

4/13/2018 PT2 Individual Paper FINAL draft uploaded to Digital Portfolio

Week of 4/16/2018 PT2 Individual Multimedia Presentations

Units of Study:
Mini-Unit : Identity

Full Unit: Food
Junk food
Global food shortage
Food waste

Supplies:
Binder or folder and notebook--some way to organize your papers and work
College-ruled paper
Blue or black ink pens
A pen of another color (besides blue or black--please avoid light, hard to see colors)
A highlighter is recommended
Sticky Notes are recommended

Classroom Expectations:
Entering into the AP world is to enter into college-level discourse. As such, I have high
expectations for the language, behavior, and level of thought you should display. Maturity is
essential in all that we will undertake.

A few other things to note:

Respect: There will be myriad voices, experiences, perspectives, beliefs and values articulated,
read, and presented in this room. Everyone in class deserves to be treated with dignity and
their voices deserve to be heard. Respect includes, but is not limited to, listening quietly while
others are speaking, waiting your turn to speak, making sure feedback is clear and specific and
that criticism is constructive, and solving conflicts without violence or hurtful language.

Tardiness: Your schedule is slightly different than most other students here, but the
responsibility is on you to remember which class you go to and to get there on time. If youre
not sure whether its an A Day or a B Day, just ask.

Communication: Per the School Boards policy, your (student) email communications with me
must be via your WCPSS email. Please dont write to me from another account.

Grades: The percentage system and the grading scale are as follows:
Major Tasks 60%
Include, but not limited to, practice PT1, PT2, and EOC writings, project
reflection, peer editing
Minor Tasks 40%
Include, but not limited to, reading questions, annotations, journal response,
reading quizzes, citation and style activities

WCPSSs 10-point scale is in effect for this class.
A 90-100 D 60-69
B 80-89 F 59 or below
C 70-79

Assessments: This course requires students to complete a number of tasks in preparation for
the AP Seminar formal assessments. It is expected that students thoroughly and thoughtfully
complete all work assigned in this course, regardless of whether the assignment receives a
grade. All work contributes to the students success on the formal assessments at the end of
the year.

Skill based assessments include, but are not limited to, the following:
Inquiry based assessments
In-class timed writings--analysis, argument, synthesis
Reflections
Annotations
 Team projects--team building, cooperative learning, group presentations
AP EOC preparation--practice essays
Online u
ploads and required digital submissions

A word about participation.Students must come prepared to participate actively in

discussions, both online and in class.
The following criteria will be used to assign the participation component of the
students overall grade:

A (95 99): Highly effective Participant: near perfect attendance; insightful questions
and comments; clearly completes the reading and goes beyond by introducing other
relevant material.

B: (85 89): Consistent Participant: good attendance; thoughtful questions and

comments; clearly completes the readings

C: (75 79): Occasional Participant: regular attendance; sporadic involvement in

discussions that is often based on personal opinion, rather than analysis of class
material.

D: (65 69): Observer: regular attendance, but does not get involved in class discussions.

F: (59): Occasional observer; sporadic attendance; no participation in class

Late Work: When possible, I will accept late work for partial credit. Some due dates, especially
second semester, are firm because they are set by the College Board. More specific information
on this will come as the year progress, but refer to the previous chart for firm dates.
Technological excuses for late assignments will only be considered with a parent/guardians
note.

A weekly calendar can be viewed on my website: loriwagoner.weebly.com
Major assignments will be turned in via Google Classroom. Students will sign up for this during class.
If you have any questions about this course, please email me and I will response within 24 hours.

Im looking forward to a great year!

Sincerely,

Ms. Wagoner

 Student and Parent Guardian

Acknowledgement of Course Policies

Student name (printed) ____________________________________________________

Student signature__________________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian name (printed)_____________________________________________

P/G signature _____________________________________________________________

P/G email address __________________________________________________________

(please print clearly)

Parents/Guardians: If you would like to provide me with any additional information about
your student(s), please contact me via email.

Student Survey: Answer all parts of the questions below. Use a separate sheet of paper to
respond.

1. What are your interests/skills/hobbies? If youve given thought to a college major, what is it? What, if any,
are your career plans as you envision them now?

2. How would you describe your personality? Are you an extrovert, introvert, or ambivert (yes, its a
combination)? Are you organized or messy? On top of due dates or a procrastinator? Avoid conflict or
address it, even when its uncomfortable? Comfortable taking on leadership roles, or prefer others to
assign you roles?

3. Is there anything else I should know about you as a student or a person?