Online for the 2025-2026 School Year
Teacher: Meredith Noah
Email: meredith@noahnation.org
Are you ready to take your critical thinking, research, and presentation skills to the next level? This is not just another class—it’s an opportunity to explore real-world issues, develop strong arguments, problem solve and collaborate with classmates in a unique learning format. Whether you're passionate about social justice, science, technology, or the arts, this course allows you to dive deep into topics that matter to you!
Welcome to AP Seminar at PAH!
I am thrilled to introduce AP Seminar, a Capstone Program course from the College Board! Over a decade ago, the College Board launched the Capstone Program to help students develop essential skills for college success, including critical thinking, research, academic writing, presentation skills, and argumentation. This program consists of two courses—AP Seminar and AP Research (which will be available at PAH in 2026-2027).
AP Seminar is a challenging, collaborative course designed for students who are:
✔️ Committed to regular communication
✔️ Ready to collaborate with peers
✔️ Able to engage in asynchronous learning modules
✔️ Self-motivated and able to meet deadlines for long-term projects
If you're excited about developing college-level skills and working on in-depth research, AP Seminar is the perfect opportunity!
From the College Board Course Description:
"AP Seminar is a foundational course that engages students in cross-curricular conversations that explore the complexities of academic and real-world topics and issues by analyzing divergent perspectives. Using an inquiry framework, students practice reading and analyzing articles, research studies, and foundational literary and philosophical texts; listening to and viewing speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and performances. Students learn to synthesize information from multiple sources, develop their own perspectives in research based written essays, and design and deliver oral and visual presentations, both individually and as part of a team. Ultimately, the course aims to equip students with the power to analyze and evaluate information with accuracy and precision."
The unique AP score consists of:
- Team Project & Presentation (20%) – A collaborative research-based project with an oral defense.
- Individual Research-Based Essay & Presentation (35%) – A written argument and an individual multimedia presentation.
- End-of-Course Exam (45%) – A two-hour written exam analyzing sources and constructing evidence-based arguments.
This course will begin on Monday September 8, 2025
Course Format Overview
- Syllabus: Provided at the start of the academic year; subject to adjustments.
- Learning Modules:
- Posted on Google Classroom bi-weekly or monthly (depending on the unit).
- Asynchronous format with varied instructional methods.
- Office Hours & Communication:
- Optional 'drop-in' Zoom Office Hours: 1-2 times per month on Wednesdays at 6 PM EST (exact schedule posted each semester).
- Student Check-ins:
- Semester 1: Two required brief individual update meetings (usually 10-15 minutes in length).
- Semester 2: Monthly (minimum) individual update meetings (length of the meeting will depend on the progress of student research).
- Zoom is preferred, but other communication methods are possible.
- Students will receive a small participation grades for each check-in.
- Collaborative Teams:
- Teams of 3-5 students will be formed early in the year.
- Each team must create and share their own meeting schedule with Ms. Noah.
- Team check-ins:
- Fall Semester: At least two brief group check-ins (during office hours or by appointment).
- Spring Semester: Monthly group check-ins (length of the meeting will depend on the progress of student research)).
- Students will receive a small participation grades for each required check-in.
- Additional meetings may be required based on progress.
- Final Presentation/Oral Defense:
- Week of April 20th (unless prearranged otherwise).
- Full team attendance is required at the scheduled presentation time.
Scheduled breaks will be:
- Thanksgiving Break Saturday, November 22- Monday, December 1
- Holiday Break from Wednesday, December 17 - Monday, January 5
- Spring Break will be FLEXIBLE with this course, due to mandatory deadlines at the end of April. Students will be expected to coordinate breaks as best possible with their collaborative teams and inform Ms. Noah of their plans by the end of the Fall Semester. Please note that the weeks of April 13, 20 and 27 should be kept open (from Spring Break) as you finalize and practice with your teams.
Resources: High-speed internet and a reliable computer with an internet browser. No specific software is required, although instructor-student cooperation regarding technical difficulties is expected. The course will be run through Google Classroom. They should also have Zoom access. NO TEXTBOOK WILL BE REQUIRED FOR THIS COURSE.
TUITION: $700 as of July 1, 2025. The 'Early Bird' cost for those who register before July 1st is $675.
CLASS SIZE: AP Seminar will need a minimum of 12 students enrolled to run, and enrollment will be limited to 36 students. Fill out your application here
INSTRUCTOR BIO:
Meredith Noah, a New Jersey native, has been teaching AP® European History since 1999. She received her B.A. in History at Ramapo College of New Jersey, where she also became an accredited Social Studies teacher for grades 6-12. Ms. Noah earned her M.A. in Liberal Studies with a concentration in European History from Rutgers University and has 30 additional graduate credits in Educational Technology from Colorado State University.
Ms. Noah is a very involved participant in the AP® community. She has been an AP Reader since 2010, scoring thousands of DBQ essays, Long Essay Questions (LEQs) and Short Answer Questions (SAQs). With the experience of being trained by the College Board, Ms. Noah has been able to teach the specific skills needed to write well for the exam, which has resulted in consistently strong scores well above the national average. Additionally, Ms. Noah is the founder and administrator for the largest secure collaborative community for AP European History teachers online, with over 2,500 active teacher members. She also has led an online AP review consortium with other AP Readers for students through Google, YouTube as well as Zoom.
In addition to AP European History, Ms. Noah has taught World Civilizations and American History in the same brick & mortar public school district since the 1998-1999 school year.
This will be the first year that Ms. Noah has instructed AP Seminar, and she is thrilled about the opportunity!
Outside of work, Ms. Noah enjoys traveling {favorite international destinations include Florence, St. Malo (France), Innsbruck (Austria), Copenhagen and Paris}. Looking ahead, she is planning an upcoming school trip to the south of France as well as the Swiss Alps in the summer of 2025. So far, she has been to the following European countries: Italy, France, the United Kingdom (including England, Wales, Scotland), Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Croatia and Slovenia. While Ms. Noah is a great lover of history and European studies, she also loves pop culture, reading, writing, swimming and knitting. Ms. Noah is also a very proud 'pawrent' to Emmy (4 years old) and Daisy (10 months old at this writing)