AP Seminar Performance Task 1: Building your IRR

Summary

In this instructional video, Mr. Byrne from Glenbard West High School guides AP Seminar students through Performance Task One, focusing on the transition from team research to the Individual Research Report (IRR). He emphasizes the importance of organizing and analyzing sources, evaluating their credibility, and identifying connections between them. The distinction between the IRR, which aims to present the complexity of an issue, and the subsequent Individual Written Argument is clarified. By using engaging examples, Byrne encourages students to effectively communicate their findings while preparing for collaborative multimedia presentations in the course.

Takeaways

• 😀 The individual research report (IRR) is a crucial part of Performance Task 1 for AP Seminar students, following the team coordination phase.
• 📚 Students should start by reviewing previous videos to understand the necessary skills and organization needed for their research.
• 🔍 It's essential to summarize, explain, and analyze the main ideas and reasoning of the sources used in the IRR.
• ⚖️ Evaluating the credibility of sources and selecting relevant evidence is a critical step in developing the research report.
• 💬 The report should present sources in a way that highlights how they interact and contribute to understanding the complexity of the topic.
• 🍽️ The 'dinner party' analogy illustrates how sources can be grouped based on their perspectives and how they converse with each other.
• 🗂️ An annotated bibliography helps organize sources but should not be the final step; connections between sources need to be made explicit.
• 📑 The IRR differs from the Individual Written Argument (IWA), which focuses on convincing the reader of a particular conclusion.
• 🧩 The IRR is informational, aiming to help peers understand the complexity of an issue rather than to persuade them.
• 🚀 This process prepares students for future academic work, including college-level literature reviews and performance tasks in AP research.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of Mr. Byrne's presentation?

Mr. Byrne's presentation focuses on guiding AP Seminar students through Performance Task 1, specifically the individual research report, and how to effectively organize and analyze their research.

What are the four main components of Performance Task 1?

The four main components of Performance Task 1 include team coordination, the individual research report, the presentation of findings, and the evaluation of sources.

How should students approach evaluating their sources?

Students should evaluate their sources by assessing their credibility, selecting relevant evidence, and identifying the perspective each source represents.

What is an annotated bibliography and its purpose in this context?

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources organized alphabetically, accompanied by summaries and analyses. Its purpose is to help students organize their research and understand the contributions of each source.

What analogy does Mr. Byrne use to illustrate the relationship between sources?

Mr. Byrne uses the analogy of a dinner party, suggesting that sources can be imagined as guests who converse with one another, highlighting how they can be grouped based on their similarities or contrasts.

What is the difference between the individual research report and the individual written argument?

The individual research report is informational, aimed at conveying the complexity of the issue, while the individual written argument is persuasive, intending to convince the reader of a specific conclusion.

What key skills should students demonstrate in their individual research reports?

Students should demonstrate the ability to summarize, explain, and analyze the main ideas of their sources, evaluate source credibility, and interpret a range of perspectives.

How many sources should students aim to include in their individual research reports?

There is no specific magic number of sources, but a range of about 10 to 15 sources is generally recommended to ensure enough depth of research on the topic.

What should students consider when deciding which sources to include in their report?

Students should consider the relevance and significance of each source to their research question and overall topic, prioritizing those that contribute the most valuable insights.

What is the ultimate goal of the individual research report according to Mr. Byrne?

The ultimate goal of the individual research report is to help the reader understand the complexity of the chosen issue by presenting well-analyzed, interconnected perspectives from credible sources.