AP Capstone Diploma is a diploma award from College Board based on two yearlong AP courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. The AP Capstone Diploma is granted to students who earn scores of 3 or higher both in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing. FUSD offers AP Seminar as G Elective credit
Program Details and Course Information
Students typically take AP Seminar in grade 10 or 11, followed by AP Research. Each course is yearlong, and AP Seminar and its End-of-Course Exam are prerequisites for AP Research. In both courses, students investigate a variety of topics in multiple disciplines. Students may choose to explore topics related to other AP courses they’re taking. Both courses guide students through completing a research project, writing an academic paper, and making a presentation on their project. Over the course of the two-year program, students are required to:
*Analyze topics through multiple lenses to construct meaning or gain understanding.
*Plan and conduct a study or investigation.
*Propose solutions to real-world problems.
*Plan and produce communication in various forms.
*Collaborate to solve a problem.
*Integrate, synthesize, and make cross-curricular connections.
AP Seminar Tasks include: Individual Research Report (IRR<1,200 words), Team Multimedia Presentation (TMP 8-10 min), Oral Defense (1Q); Individual Written Argument (IWA<2,000 words), Individual Multimedia Presentation (IMP 6-8 min), 2nd Oral Defense (2Q)
Research in the Core Curriculum by Samsung Team Avion: Andrew Luo, Siddharth Holtcamp, and Vedatman Duhoon
AP Seminar Course and Exam Description
AP Seminar End of Course Exam Rubric
2 page AP Seminar info sheet
Module 1: Research Planning
Facilitation topics can include the following:
Daily News Reading to project development
DeepSeek.com powerful tool for your learning
Metaverse next version of internet with immersive virtual experience for all fields
Human Cell Atlas, recordings of discoveries to mapping cells to build a complete Altas of the human body.
Generating ideas and exploring academic interests through daily news reading
SCAMPER for creating ideas, for example, 2020 Vote
From Ideas to Science Fair and SciStarter
ExploraVision detail description of the project to winning
ISEF DataBase, Arxiv primary literature, EBSCO, ProQuest
ACSEF great info slide deck on practical know how, minimum quality standards, and projects to avoid list.
Stanford Health Talk- Processed Food Experiment first 10 min a must see and the whole presentation is amazing!
Rules and Guidelines, self nomination ACSEF, ACSEF Project Wizard, and SLB Mentor by Nov 1.
Scientific and Engineering Methods and Writing a Hypothesis
Research Notebook and Portfolios
Psytoolkit with a list of psychological experiments
100 Peer-reviewed survey scales and questionnaires
Primary Literature sites, more resrouces
YouTube Dr. Wolfgang Ketterle (in photo)- Nobel Laureate in Physics for Bose-Einstein Condensates
Earth Science Resources: AGI Rock Identification Keys, Climate and Carbon Cycle Models, Ocean Buffer Chemistry, Orion- a Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, Earth System Science- geoscience research
Fostering Curiosity, Innovation
Creativity Through Brainstorming- Seelig
Experiment Design: timeline and scalability
Determining Research Resources: equipment and consumables
Principles of Effective Writing
Module 2: Investigation
Facilitation topics can include:
Maintaining research portfolio and notebook
AlphaFold Protein Structure Database, ColabFold for accessible protein folding
Online research: Bing Search, books, free ebooks, eLibrary, ProQuest (Lexile range 1200+), Google Scholar;
locating mentors, Data collection, database, research skills and refining topics, DATA.gov
Possible redesign experimental procedure
More in-depth reading and research
Image analysis platform: FIJI, Python, apeer
Running Experiments online on OpenSesame, check subscription info
Run your study online through PsychoPy, check subscription info. "Pilot" mode (which only generates a
temporary link that is active for an hour),
Module 3: Analysis
Facilitation topics can include:
Statistical analysis, line graph, data analysis, multiple data set
Data presentation
Interactive labs from Stanford U
New research leads, brainstorming and branching out
Data Analysis resources from TeacherVision, CareerFoundry, and Quantitative Analysis
Finishing touch and Rollup Poster in Powerpoint, gallery walk, and group critics
Module 4: Communication
Facilitation topics in this module can include:
Writing a good INTRODUCTION
ISEF Rule Wizard, ACSEF Display Boards, Research Report for Davidson, BioGENEius poster, ACSEF 2023
Presentation skills and dark chocolate and its benefits, effective communicator, Leadership Competencies
The final presentation of your project/ power pitch of your product/ Science Fair Display Board and Science Buddy
Market analysis and angel funding
Media publicity and archive your research portfolio or Virtual Lab Notebook for 2022
Conference presentation, Lesson expo, and Poster session
IPOEF Provisional Patent
Format of presentation and a new way of presenting your projects, writing Effective Abstract samples
Video editing software: Adobe pro, Windows 10 Movie Maker, DaVinci Resolve 17 (free version) and its tutorial,
Chipchamp, iMovie, and Window's Movie Maker.
Royalty-free Music and read carefully