One of the last boxes to check in earning the Floyd County Honors Seal on a diploma is taking AP Research. This class is primarily offered to Juniors and Seniors here at AHS who have previously taken AP Seminar. These two classes combined will additionally provide the Capstone Seal. AP Research is a class many students recommend taking, as it is crucial in preparing them for life after high school. Gauge Wallace, Senior, who is currently enrolled in AP Research, said, “I would definitely recommend taking the class, especially if you are self-motivated and can stay on top of the deadlines. It teaches you responsibility, as you are in charge of your own work and have to keep track of your own responsibilities.” Aside from learning responsibility, Peyton Puckett, Junior, believes, “AP Research helps you write research papers to prepare you for college. Knowing how to write these papers is just expected of you in college, which is what this class teaches you how to do.”
AP Research is a self-driven class, as students work all year preparing a paper to present. For their research paper, students can pick any topic they want (except a topic involving anything you can ingest) and try to find literature and studies to support their topic. Coach Dougherty, the AP Research teacher, said, “You have to put together methods on how you are going to gain the information to find a gap in the research that you can fill.” The “gap” is what they will do their research on, primarily through experiments and surveys. All the work creating this paper and gaining knowledge leads up to the AP exam in May. All AP classes provide an AP exam at the end of the course, which scoring a 3 or higher on will possibly count as college credit. However, this exam is a standout. Instead of the usual standardized test, students will present their research. Kileigh Barcomb, Senior, said, “Your exam is your presentation, where you give a 15-minute presentation of your research and answer questions in the process.” Kileigh took AP Research last year, where she researched and wrote her paper on the psychological effects of fear athletes have when returning from an injury. Compared to other AP classes, many said that the exam for this one was relatively easy. Similarly, Taylor Burns also took AP Research last year and researched academic and athletic burnout in high school students. Taylor Burns, Senior, said, “After working on the same project all year you gain a lot of knowledge about the subject so it is very easy.”
Even though everyone is taking the same class, each person has a different experience, considering everyone’s research paper is different. Peyton Puckett, for example, said, “The topic I chose was how different lights can affect how you sleep.” Peyton said she was inclined to choose this topic because she tends to sleep with her TV on at night, while many of her friends sleep in complete darkness. This led her to wonder if different colors and amounts of light affect the aspects of the quality of your sleep. However, choosing the topic is just step one. For Peyton, this was the hardest part. She said, “There is so much out there to pick from, and trying to find something that you really want to research was very difficult for me.” Once she chooses her topic, all that is left to do is research to fill in the gap. Puckett said, “I found a gap in my research about lights affecting sleep pretty easily, so my next step is conducting my own research and experiments.”
Another idea currently being researched is Peyton Falk’s, a senior taking AP Research this year, who is writing her paper on if watching reality dating shows affects how the viewers perceive their own personal relationships. Peyton Falk said, “I chose my topic of the effects of dating shows on relationships because I watch reality TV shows and always wondered why other people watch them as well.” A topic like this requires evidence based on other people’s experiences, which is where making a survey could come in clutch. Information she gathers from others, as well as information she obtains from researching will help form her paper. Reluctantly, Falk said, “I found a lot of information on my topic very quickly, so it wasn’t much of a struggle to research.”
AP Research is a self-driven course, meaning that the teacher, in this case Coach Dougherty, is only allowed to help students up to a certain point. This posed a challenge for the students taking the class. Taylor Burns said, “The hardest part of AP Research, for me, was feeling lost. The teacher is not allowed to give students help so you really have to communicate with your classmates.” On top of that, students are in charge of their own work and won’t have a teacher hanging over their head reminding them to get back on track. Writing her paper on true crime and serial killers, Tori Vitello, Junior, said, “I think the hardest part of AP Research is making sure you are doing your work and not procrastinating.” Many people said procrastination was a common mistake people were making, so spending time in class working is extremely important. Despite the challenges students face in the class, each struggle they overcome creates an opportunity for improvement that will help prepare them for what is ahead.
