Capstone/ Student Exhibition

Guiding Faculty: Ms. Charlotte North

The Capstone Program is a culminating high school experience integral to the PHS Diploma Plan. It provides students with structured support to independently design, implement, reflect on, and share an applied research project.

Capstone is multifaceted and has the potential to bring together curiosity, passion, relevance, and readiness for life after high school, including the responsibilities that come as a member of a community or as a citizen in a democracy. Capstone draws on applied learning skills such as creativity, resourcefulness, question formulation, research, critical thinking, problem solving, design, attentiveness, ethics, involvement, perspective taking, communication, collaboration, facilitation, networking, planning, organization, responsibility, and reflection.

PHS students who choose Capstone as part of their PHS Diploma Plan have two options:

(a) Capstone course (.5 credit): Typically taken in the spring of junior year or in the fall of senior year, including proficient completion of both project portfolio and exhibition

(b) AP Capstone program (2 credits): Typically taken consecutively in the junior and senior years.

Student Exhibition

(6000) 0.5 credit

Semester 🎓 Sample Syllabus

This year-long independent learning project begins with the student formulating guiding questions that require substantial thinking, research, and exploration to answer as part of a semester-based guiding course. Each student will ground their work in local, state, and/or national expertise through published sources and either interviews or relevant field or community-based experience. Research will come to life through application – a tangible performance or product that serves as an answer to the guiding project question(s). Broad topic areas might include the arts, humanities, and culture; environmental studies and sustainability; local resources and infrastructure; government and social movements; journalism and media; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; well-being and human services; and local history. The course is graded on a traditional scale during the semester in which the student is enrolled and, as such, affects participation eligibility for extracurricular activities, including sports. Earning semester credit requires proficient completion of two complementary performance assessments: (1) a portfolio approved by the PHS Capstone Committee and (2) an exhibition to a committee of community members (adults and peers). AP CAPSTONE: AP Capstone is a two-year diploma program from College Board composed of two courses: AP Seminar and AP Research.

AP Capstone

AP Seminar

(6600) 1 credit

Full Year 📚

Students work individually and in small teams to investigate a variety of complex, real-world questions. Students inhabit a mode of inquiry as they analyze divergent perspectives and engage in interdisciplinary conversations. Performance tasks invite students to synthesize reliable, relevant, and sufficient evidence, with accuracy and precision, as a foundation to shape and strengthen cogent positions and present them effectively. Knowledge and context come from diverse sources, as students analyze articles, research studies, and foundational, literary, and philosophical texts; listen to and view speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and engage with artistic works and performances. The course features two major performance assessments and ends with an exam.

Recommendation: Open to interested juniors.

AP Research

(6601) 1 credit

Full Year 🎓 📚

Each student designs, plans, and implements a year-long, focused investigation. Work begins by identifying a focus area and refining research questions of individual interest. This year of inquiry extends the skills practiced in the AP Seminar course through a deliberate focus on research methodology, ethical research practices, and approaches to accessing, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing information. A process and reflection portfolio invites each student to describe their research journey, curate artifacts of their scholarly work, and reflect on their own research skill development. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000–5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product, if applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense.

Prerequisite: Open to interested seniors upon successful completion of AP Seminar.

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