Advanced program aims to produce scholars

Jillian McManis – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) - Students in Lakewood Ranch High School’s (LRHS) Advanced Placement (AP) Capstone Seminar program are deep into their academic journeys this fall, guided by English teachers Christine Poyner and Jennifer Grant.

The class, known for its emphasis on research, collaboration and presentation skills, recently completed their mock Individual Research Reports (IRR) and mock Team Multimedia Presentations (TMPs), two essential milestones needed for the real assessments in February.

The mock presentations gave students the opportunity to experience the pressure and precision while receiving feedback from teachers and peers throughout the process.

Both Poyner and Grant emphasized the importance of these practices, noting that they help the students get a feel for the real thing just a couple months away.

Grant shares, “Students can expect a lot of hard work, but they also can learn great learning communities in each of the classes with students that they can count on and study with for the remainder of their high school career, they can expect to work hard and have fun!”

During their IRRs, students explored a unique lens, connected to their team’s broader question, examining credible sources, and forming a preferred solution and an alternative solution within their topic.

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Sophomore Sophia Tong states, “I think AP Seminar helps with my presentation skills a lot because we work in groups and collaborate and combine ideas and over time that helps you improve.”

The TMP segment requires groups to connect their findings and present them as a team in a PowerPoint or Canva presentation.

After they present students must answer an Oral Defense question that requires them to think of an answer on the spot and answer using thorough analysis from their group’s individual research.

Sophomore Gavin Cucci adds, “We do a lot of practice with presenting, and we have all gotten comfortable with each other, so we present without getting nervous.”

As the year continues, the LRHS AP Seminar students are expected to build off the feedback given from their teachers and peers from their mock assessments and apply it toward their final assessments that are submitted to College Board at the end of the year.

With the guidance of Grant and Poyner, they are not only learning how to research and contend effectively, but also how to think individually and as a team, skills that will carry well beyond the classroom.