The showing of the movie Legally Blonde is not something students would expect to see on the first day of an AP Capstone class; however, AP Research was no normal class. Rachel Rauch, English teacher, has taught AP Research for the past five years, which this year being her last.
Rauch emphasizes
she started teaching both AP Research and AP Seminar because she wanted to approach the “student-driven learning model,” and adding the many post-high school applications this course can have.
Rauch states, “ I have countless stories from past students who say AP Research changed the trajectory of their college path by awarding them amazing opportunities as freshmen.” She lists scholarships, studying abroad trips and early research
team leading as a few of the perks.
Unlike most classes, AP Research is not a linear course. Rauch reminds her students of this case with her personal catch phrase “embrace the squiggle”. This lets all of her students know it is okay to move forward, backward or even side to side. Research takes time and it is important to have a solid idea that has been tested in order to save time in the future.
Following the completion of each section in AP Research, Rauch shows a new clip from the movie Legally Blonde. Each clip signifies the stage in the research process students are at when approaching this new area of learning. These sections include: Preliminary research on their area of interest, developing their research question, method, testing and conclusion of their
paper.
With only 13 students in the class this year, each individual got to know their fellow classmates as well as their projects extremely well.
Lauren Anderson, senior, speaks of her project dealing with “the impact of footwear on overuse injuries in Irish dance”. She recommends this class because “it is such a unique opportunity to explore a topic that interests you outside of designated HHS
course work.”
Anderson went on to receive scholarships with the help of writing essays surrounding her field of study. She says, “ I might eventually continue this project later, but for now I will just use the skills learned throughout this process in college coursework and hopefully campus research projects.”
Each project researched within the class were all extremely different.
Olin Kois, senior, “sought to understand if a shift occurs in the social and political opinions of college students and what
students believe the key contributing factors are that influence their current opinions.”
Kois surveyed students at the University of Wisconsin – Madison on their political opinions in order to gather data. He recommends this class to younger students,”only if they’re self-driven and can put their head down and grind. You have a lot of class time to get work done, but it’s easy to slack off if you’re not motivated.”
Being the highest echelon class for individual study, AP Research is a challenging yet beneficial course. It teaches many life lessons for future research as well as career goals. Students must have grit as well as the ability to “embrace the squiggle” in order to succeed in this class, a beneficial tool for both academics and life.