The NorthStar Narrative
The NorthStar Narrative
Navigating Advanced Coursework: AP and Dual Credit Options
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer shares her expertise about Advanced Placement and dual credit courses, explaining the differences between these options and offering guidance on how students can choose the right path for their academic journey.
• AP courses align with College Board standards and prepare students for both the AP exam and university-level work
• Dual credit courses are approved by Colorado Christian University and allow students to earn college credits while in high school
• Students should consider limiting themselves to one or two advanced courses at a time due to the increased rigor and time commitment
• Important to research which credits will transfer to prospective universities before choosing courses
• AP exam preparation should include completing the full course, utilizing practice exams, and maintaining personal well-being
• The community of teachers and staff are available to support students pursuing academic excellence
Hi, this is Stephanie Shafer and you're listening to the NorthStar Narrative, a podcast from NorthStar Academy. I want to thank you for joining us. I hope you're encouraged, challenged and motivated by what you learned today. Enjoy the story. Hey everybody, thanks for joining us again for another episode. I'm so excited to have one of our incredible teachers that's been with NorthStar for a long time. She's been on the podcast, but it has been a while, so it's good to have her back and she's actually gotten her PhD since then. Yes, mrs Seana Sundermeyer, so maybe we can start with her telling a little bit about that, what it was like to get her PhD and just some next steps she's been able to take with that. Yeah, you want to start and give us a little update since you were on last.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Sure, so, starting around the time of COVID, actually we were living on the West Coast in California and things were pretty strict that way, so there weren't too many options for activities. So I'm like, hey, you know, I've been really contemplating about working on my doctoral degree and, you know, prayed about it, and God really opened some doors to work through Murray State University, which is actually in Kentucky, and they had an online program that really piqued my interest. They had an online program that really piqued my interest. The degree was over English pedagogy and technology, which here at NorthStar, you know, we totally embrace the online world, and so I thought this would be a great fit for just furthering my studies and just becoming working to become a stronger teacher.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:And so, like I said, the doors opened up and I jumped in and it was a three-year degree. I met some wonderful friends and learned so much and graduated in May of 2023. And it's enhanced my, I think, effectiveness and attunement to students, just being able to recognize where they're coming from and think of additional resources to help them in an online platform to approach their learning more creatively. So it was a wonderful journey. I'm glad I've done it. It was a lot of work and you know I celebrated just working through it and finishing and, yeah, grateful for the opportunity.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, that's so cool and just exciting. I know to be a little bit past college and then to get a degree I've done that too and so it's a little bit more to juggle when you have a family and stuff. But I think you become maybe even a better student as you learn the value of the education. And yeah, just really digging in, what do you? What'd you think?
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Absolutely. I think when you are working on something like that that takes really concentrated effort, you learn how to manage your time well and to set aside, you know, family time to find that balance too. Because I think when you find that balance it makes you a healthier person, because you know how valuable it is to have that time with family and you know how much more effective you are and you're doing your schoolwork when you do have other outlets that go beyond academics. So I think you're right, stephanie, I think it makes you just a stronger person, kind of a more mature outlook, and it gives me kind of credibility and talking with my students too, like hey, I've been on that side of you know, working with professors and having homework and projects, and it's really good to also have those brain breaks, to be able to step aside. And you know, give yourself balance, give yourself a fresh mind, a renewal of the mind, so that you are able to be more effective in your schoolwork too.
Stephanie Shafer:Definitely, and I think one cool thing, unique thing about NorthStar is we really help students to get to that place while they're in high school and hopefully learning to manage time and value their time as they get to college. Just, you have to being in this unique online environment and not sitting in a brick and mortar classroom, so it's incredible to watch our students really grow in that too. But today we are going to be talking about something really important for students, especially students in high school, and parents as they learn to navigate AP courses and dual credit courses. So we're going to talk about the differences and how to choose the right one, and just some best advice and tips from Dr Sundermeyer. So we recently had an AP webinar, so if you're in our community, hopefully you're able to join that. If not, we'll have recordings we're sending out so you can really check out some great information. We had several teachers and staff members advisors on there giving some wonderful information, but we wanted to share a little bit with you on the podcast now. So thank you so much, dr Sundermeyer, for coming to share these wonderful tips and for creating the webinar and just all the information that you love to share with our family, so super, super thankful for that.
Stephanie Shafer:All right, let's start with just some general questions. What is the difference between AP and dual credit, and how do students know if they want to pursue one both? Just how do you even get started to think about that? And like what grades should you start thinking about?
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Sure. So the AP course itself. It is actually designed by our course writers, which is wonderful that we have this in-house curriculum team that works very diligently and making sure that we adhere to not just really strong standards, of course, like our other courses, but in this scenario, with AP, it actually aligns with our college board standards so that every unit, every module, coincides with the different focuses that's probably not the proper word, but you know our topics within the college board sense and so that every lesson, every assessment or project, it's kind of a formative way for students to prepare for the AP exam. It's equipping them in their skills and their understanding to be able to put their best foot forward when it does come time for the AP exam. Also, university ready, like time commitment, the additional rigor that's associated with the AP course, as well as the intentional practice that is present, are all things that really kind of up our students game, so to speak. It allows them to really become prepared for college work, prepared for college work.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:In the two courses that I actually am associated with teaching AP Literature and Composition and AP Language and Composition we have a very kind of annotations heavy approach with those courses and I always tell my students. You know annotations are so important. Notetaking that's something that can go across the board and prepare you for taking notes whatever field you decide to do, and I encourage them. You know, even in present day, you know, if I have a physical book in hand, I love highlighting or writing in the margins because I can always go back and look back at those notes and they're kind of like little triggers for me, like, oh yeah, I remember reading that section and instead of having to reread the whole chapter, I have my personal notes that coincide with my learning along the way, and so these are life skills that help our students within the AP courses. So that's the AP course, the dual credit courses, I will say some of our AP courses are also offered at the dual credit level, but we do have some courses that are dual credit that are not necessarily AP as well. Our dual credit courses are also aligning with higher standards, greater rigor, and they represent course equivalents that are offered at CCU.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Ccu is, I'll just say, our sister school that we work with. It's the school that has an analyst represented at their university, Colorado Christian University. They take a look at our syllabi for each of the courses. They look to make sure that our standards are aligning with these course equivalents. They look at the assignments, the assessments, our projects, our labs and it's almost like they give us a stamp of approval and they say, yes, these courses have high rigor, they have high academic standards and, yes, we would deem these as our course equivalents.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:And they give us a wonderful opportunity to offer this to our students so that, as they're taking these courses, they can also earn these kind of general education course credits at a less lesser cost than they would having gone to university later on. And it's just a wonderful tool and resource that our students can take advantage of Our courses. Our DC courses are also taught by DC approved qualified teachers. So each of these teachers hold a master's degree or higher and they're kind of like your experts in the field, they're like a professor. And CCU has looked at the qualifications of each of these teachers and has once again, through their analyst and their group there at the university, they have approved these teachers to be, I'll say, worthy, you know, credible, to be able to use them as the teachers for these courses, to offer the dual credit as well. So it's a wonderful opportunity if students decide to take the dual credit road and earn college credit along the way, as they are taking these higher level courses.
Stephanie Shafer:That's some really great information on the difference in AP and dual credit. What would you recommend to parents as they're guiding their students into this area? When is it time for students to start looking? How do they pick the right courses for them? And then, should they be looking AP tests down the road? How soon do they look at that? Just some, maybe, like a timeline of how to get started.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Sure, there's several different qualifiers. I would say it may be different for each student too, so it's really looking into what the student is looking for within their course schedule. We often tell students not to take more than one or two AP courses at a time because of the heavy course load. And I would say probably the same thing would go for a dual credit course because there is that higher rigor, there's more of a time commitment than a regular course and also the choice in what classes to take. Also, I think wisdom can be gleaned from our advisors, from the advising team, and they're such wonderful resources. We have Ms Tasha Calvin and Ms Megan Carpenter, who are wonderful. They also need to look into their respective university and see what kinds of allotments are made at the university level.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:For example, some universities will take a score of a three or a four from the AP exam. That may play into what the student wants to pursue for the classes. Sometimes some credits transfer over well, regarding the dual credit choice. So I think it means a conversation with the university for the student to the university people If they can see which ones could transfer over, which ones may not transfer over. That may play into their choice, their course choices as well, in putting together a schedule. It requires an intentional conversation with our advisors here at NorthStar, with parents of course, and just in giving that wisdom from the home side of life and being able to tackle the additional rigor. But I think it also means a conversation with the intended universities, just to have those expectations of reality and what will transfer over and what is accepted. So I think all those things play into these types of decisions.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, it can be big decisions and you want to make the best decision for you as a student and parents encouraging your students. So, as you're looking at that, what is the workload like compared to a course that is not AP? And then, what is it like to begin preparing for the AP exam?
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Sure. So the course load within what we offer, the regular course itself, again, these assignments and assessments and practice times. We offer the progress checks which are like little practice portions of the tests. We have larger projects like essays or labs. Students can expect, I would say, between 60 and 90 minutes a day designated for that coursework. Those things include, like reading, researching, note-taking, project preparation and, of course, that regular practice time within the AP classroom to prepare for the AP exam. As far as knowing just preparation for the AP exam itself, just some tips we are about two months out from the exams itself which occur in May, for some exams less than two months away and some tips that I like to tell students is you know, in all the I call them the expert panel, the fellow AP teachers, we all have suggested the best way to prepare for the AP exam is to finish the complete course, to go through all of it. Our course designers, as noted before, everything was put together very thoughtfully, intentionally. Each of these assignments are formative in equipping them to prepare for success, for doing well for this exam. So completing the course is probably the number one, top priority, taking advantage of those progress checks again, those are from the college board writers, I like to tell students these are the writers of your AP exams. They're also the writers of the SATs too, and so no better way to prepare for these exams than going right to the source. And another component of our AP classroom is taking advantage of the mock AP exams. A lot of these mock exams are previous AP exams from years before, and so that's such a great way to know where you really stand, what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are and how you can adjust accordingly. So just taking these exams and getting a true, authentic taste of the formation of the questions, your pacing, and just recognizing what it is you need to work on for the real deal in May.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Another thing is just taking care of yourself. So early on, with us talking to another, we talked about just this life balance. So a lot of AP students tend to be very high achievers. They designate a lot of time into their studies and academics.
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Well, there is that other side of recognizing that you are a human being and that God created us for rest and eating well and fueling our bodies in thoughtful ways, and so just taking those intentional times to walk away from the studies, to get outside, to get good rest, to eat well I think all of those things are also also need to be put into consideration and to preparing well for the AP exam and just entrusting the exam to God as well. You know, I tell my students, you know, at the end of the day, um, this number, this score, doesn't define who you are, it's not your identity. And so just entrusting all of this to God and knowing that he will care for you at the time of the exam, that he is with you during the exam, and just praying his peace and presence with you, I think goes a long way as well. So I like to encourage my students in that way too.
Stephanie Shafer:Such good truth. Yes, one more logistic point. So where can they take an AP exam test?
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:So we here at NorthStar we don't offer a site for the AP exams. However, you are welcome to reach out to our advising team once again for just some suggestions. It really varies where you live, so it is important to find a testing center near you. Again, if you reach out to our advising team, they can help point you in the right way. But we don't offer one here at NorthStar, if that makes sense. So it is really important for each respective student to seek out testing sites in their respective regions as well, just to know where to go and what is available, because that can vary from region to region too.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, super important to check on that early in. And also you mentioned universities. You want to check and see what is accepted which aren't university, and so there are a lot of things to think through and we just wanted to share a few tips and a little bit of information this morning. But we definitely have more with our advising and with the webinar, so definitely want to check that out. Dr Sundermeyer, is there any other tip you would love to tell a student or parent about either AP DC just being in high school and preparing for what's next after graduating?
Dr. Seana Sundermeyer:Sure, I'll just leave it with this. So I want to encourage prospective AP and DC students that we are celebrating with you just in the area of desiring to do well, to pursue excellence in taking these types of courses. Here at NorthStar, we have a wonderful group of teachers and administrators and staff who are celebrating you, who desire to encourage you. There's a plethora of resources that are present as well, and so when you go on this journey of taking an AP or a dual credit course, you are not taking the journey alone. You've got wonderful people that will come alongside you to support you along the way, to answer questions that you may have, to give you additional helps and resources that are attuned to your specific needs and resources that are attuned to your specific needs, and I find great encouragement in that and knowing that we're all working together to help you to pursue this excellence. So please reach out with any questions. We are happy to be there for you and encourage you along the way, and can't wait to see the growth that will take place as well.
Stephanie Shafer:Yeah, so true. Thanks so much again for sharing just a little bit and everybody listening. We've got a lot more resources, a lot of things along the lines of college and university choices and just so much, so much good, rich, deep information that all of our incredible faculty and staff have created along the way. So reach out to us anytime. Thanks so much, thank you. Thank you so much for listening today. If you have any questions for our guests or would like information about NorthStar, please email us. At podcast at nsaschool, we love having guests on our show and getting to hear their stories. If you have anyone in mind that you think would be a great guest to feature, please email us and let us know. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on upcoming stories.