After months of intense research, 35 students in the Advanced Placement Seminar course at Amityville Memorial High School presented their findings during a symposium in the auditorium on Jan. 31.
The first half of the year in the 10th-grade course was devoted to team research projects. Teacher Allison Reichel assigned each group a broad topic, and students then had to select a focus. Among the areas that students explored were video game violence, immigration policies and the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes.
Ms. Reichel said that every team member was charged with looking at the problem “through a different lens.” Students then worked together to analyze their collective research, propose potential solutions and create a multimedia presentation.
Noah Laforest and his teammates looked into the negative influences of social media. He said he learned that the research process is very intense and requires hard work and commitment.
“I liked how well my team and I worked together, and it make me enjoy working with others more,” he said. “It helped me see other people’s opinions and perspectives.”
The second half of AP Seminar will be devoted to individual research projects. The course is the first half of AP Capstone, a college readiness program now in its third year at Amityville Memorial High School, with AP Research offered for juniors. In that class, students will work on individual projects by selecting a topic, identifying gaps in existing research, compiling data and making their own contributions to a particular field.
Students who earn scores of three or higher in AP Seminar, AP Research and four additional Advanced Placement exams can earn an AP Capstone diploma.
Photo Caption: Amityville Memorial High School students, from left, Quanasia Anthony, Shaakirah Nazim-Harris and Tristan Angus were among the presenters at the AP Seminar research symposium on Jan. 31.
Photo courtesy of the Amityville Union Free School District
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