Big Idea (BI) 1 is the first of the major themes of AP Seminar. You can sort of think of the BIs as the framework for the course that cover the main things that you will be doing and the ways that you will go about completing the Performance Tasks (PTs) and EoC.

Question and Explore refers to a lot of the preliminary tasks that you'll be completing when starting a PT, or even just a simple assignment. Questioning the world and exploring interesting 🧐 topics is part of what makes AP Seminar such a compelling class.

You as the student have the opportunity to explore areas that you find interesting. While this seems easy, there are correct ways to go about asking questions and exploring. College Board has identified 8 essential questions that you should be asking yourself in regards to this BI:

Now, you do not need to be asking yourself these questions every time you read an article or compile research. Instead, these are questions that you should consider when you start your research process ✍️ 

 The Essential Questions are here to guide you, but you do not need to get too hung up on them. Instead, refer back to them if you are having trouble understanding exactly what you should be doing in Big Idea 1.

When formulating a particularly effective research question, you should at some point be asking 🤔 yourself all of these things. You should not be spending a considerable amount of time with all of these questions, but certainly you want to consider them all before you start researching. 

In order to be successful when tackling BI 1 you need to understand a few things: 

You should always keep these things in mind when formulating your research questions and doing research. In fact, if you look at the rubrics for all of the College Board graded assignments, you will see that College Board wants you to think about the way that YOU are perceiving the question and the way that OTHERS might also perceive it. Analyzing and thinking about multiple perspectives makes someone a good researcher.

Take a look at this segment from Performance Task 2 Rubric:

Not only does College Board want you to look at multiple perspectives, but they also want you to make connections between 👉 👈 them!

You will find elements of Big Idea 1 throughout the Performance Tasks and the EOC. Below are places that you will see Big Idea 1 in the graded portions of the course.

As a team you will have to brainstorm research questions that are complex but manageable. Think hard about research questions that have a good body of research that you can access.

As you explore your research and look for evidence you will need to make sure you gather multiple perspectives on your topic.

Although you will have a stimulus packet to help guide your questioning, you will still need to explore topics based around a central theme.

Do not feel like your exploration is limited. The themes are always broad enough that you can find something that interests you.

The EoC is where you will be utilizing Big Idea 1 the least. However, you will still need to use your knowledge of what makes a good question when you answer the questions to Part 1.

A good example of what this looks like is in Part 1 of the EoC. Here, you will be analyzing an author's argument, line of reasoning, and evidence. While you are discussing how successful the author was (especially with their argument) you may want to make notes about their research question. Was it too broad? Was it narrow? These types of observations will help you score higher on this portion of the exam.

There is no real way to study for any of the Big Ideas in AP Seminar, but there are ways that you can improve your understanding of them.

Creating good research questions is not something that you will be good at immediately. In fact, you may do an hour of research only to find that your question is just too shallow. This is NOT a bad thing! The best way to create good research questions is through trial and error. If you come up with a good research question that turns out to be a dud, reflect and take notes on why it didn't work. Was it too narrow? Was it too complex? Was there an easy solution? This type of reflection will help you be better prepared for next time.

Of course there are good quick reads that you can explore past this guide. I am linking two of them below.

To wrap things up, Big Idea 1 is all about questioning the world around you and exploring topics that you find interesting. There are correct ways to go about this, but the important thing to remember is that very rarely will a topic you explore be black and white. Research questions will always be complex with multiple ways to approach them.

AP Seminar Performance Task and Presentation

AP Seminar Exam

AP Seminar Guidance and Support 2020-21 | Fiveable

AP Seminar

Big Idea 1: Question and Explore 

Big Idea 2: Understand and Analyze 

Big Idea 3: Evaluate Multiple Perspectives 

Big Idea 4: Synthesize Ideas 

Big Idea 5: Team, Transform, and Transmit

Exam Tasks & Guidance

Blogs

Big Idea 1: Question and Explore

Free 2020 ACT Test Prep | Video Reviews + Study Tips | Fiveable

Reading

Writing

Math

Science

Essay

First Unit

AP Art History Exam

AP Art History Exam Prep 2020 | Reviews + Free Study Help | Fiveable

AP Art History

Free Reviews

Unit 1: Global Prehistory, 30,000–500 bce

Unit 2: Ancient Mediterranean, 3500 bce–300 ce 

Unit 3: Early Europe and Colonial Americas, 200–1750 ce 

Unit 4: Later Europe and Americas, 1750–1980 ce

Unit 5: Indigenous Americas, 1000 bce–1980 ce 

UNIT 6: Africa, 1100–1980 ce 

UNIT 7: West and Central Asia, 500 bce–1980 ce 

UNIT 8: South, East, and Southeast Asia, 300 bce–1980 ce 

UNIT 9: The Pacific, 700–1980 ce 

UNIT 10: Global Contemporary, 1980 ce to Present

AP Biology Exam

AP Biology Exam Prep 2020 | Reviews + Free Study Help | Fiveable

AP Biology

Free Reviews 2020

Unit 1: Chemistry of Life

Unit 2: Cell Structure and Function

Unit 3: Cellular Energetics

Unit 4: Cell Communication and Cell Cycle

Unit 5: Heredity

Unit 6: Gene Expression and Regulation

Unit 7: Natural Selection

Unit 8: Ecology

General Review

2019 Reviews

Cram Sessions 2019

Free Response Questions (FRQ)

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)

Q & A sessions

Big Reviews: Finals & Exam Prep

Big Idea #1: Evolution

Big Idea #2: Cellular Processes

Big Idea #3: Genetics and Information Transfer

Big Idea #4: Interactions

Live Cram Sessions 2020

AP Calculus AB/BC Exams

AP Calculus AB/BC Exam Prep | Reviews +  Free Practice | Fiveable

AP Calculus AB/BC

Free Review 2020

Unit 1: Limits & Continuity

Unit 2: Differentiation: Definition & Fundamental Properties

Unit 3: Differentiation: Composite, Implicit & Inverse Functions

Unit 4: Contextual Applications of the Differentiation

Unit 5: Analytical Applications of Differentiation

Unit 6: Integration and Accumulation of Change

Unit 7: Differential Equations

Unit 8: Applications of Integration

Unit 9: Parametric Equations, Polar Coordinates & Vector Valued Functions (BC Only)

Unit 10: Infinite Sequences and Series (BC Only)

AP Chemistry Exam

AP Chemistry Review 2020 | Examp Prep +  Free Practice | Fiveable

AP Chemistry

Free Response Questions

Unit 1: Atomic Structure and Properties

Unit 2: Molecular and Ionic Compound Structures and Properties

Unit 3: Intermolecular Forces and Properties

Unit 4: Chemical Reactions

Unit 5: Kinetics

Unit 6: Thermodynamics

Unit 7: Equilibrium

Unit 8: Acids and Bases

Unit 9: Applications of Thermodynamics

Introduction

AP Chemistry Essentials

Multiple Choice Questions

Q and A sessions

Test

AP Chinese Exam

AP Chinese Exam Prep 2020 | Reviews + Free Study Help | Fiveable

AP Chinese 

Unit 1: Families in Different Societies

Unit 2: The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity

Unit 3: Influences of Beauty and Art

Unit 4: How Science and Technology Affect Our Lives

Unit 5: Factors That Impact the Quality of Life

Unit 6: Environmental, Political, and Societal Challenges

Exam Skills - FRQ/MCQ

AP Comparative Government Exam

AP Comp Gov Exam Prep 2020 | Reviews + Free Study Help | Fiveable

AP Comparative Government

Unit 1: Political Systems, Regimes, and Governments

Unit 2: Political Institutions 

Unit 3: Political Culture and Participation

Unit 4: Party and Electoral Systems and Citizen Organizations

Unit 5: Political and Economic Changes and Development

Exam Skills

AP Computer Science A Exam

AP CSA Exam Prep 2020 | Reviews + Free Study Help | Fiveable

AP Computer Science A

Unit 1: Primitive Types

Unit 2: Using Objects

Unit 3: Boolean Expressions and if Statements

Unit 4: Iteration

Unit 5: Writing Classes

Unit 6: Array

Unit 7: ArrayList

Unit 8: 2D Array

Unit 9: Inheritance

Unit 10: Recursion

AP Computer Science Principles Exam

AP CSP Prep 2020 | Reviews + Free Study Help | Fiveable

AP Computer Science Principles

Big Idea 1: Creative Development

Big Idea 2: Data

Big Idea 3: Algorithms and Programming

Big Idea 4: Computer Systems and Networks

Big Idea 5: Impact of Computing 

Exam Prep

AP English Language Exam

AP English Reviews | Free Exam Prep + Practice Help | Fiveable

AP English Language

Kevin Steinhauser

 Multiple Choice Questions

Free Response #1: Synthesis 

Free Response #2: Rhetorical Analysis

Free Response #3: Argument

Cram Review 2019

2019-2020

AP English Literature Exam

2020 AP English Lit Prep | Live Reviews + Free Practice | Fiveable

AP English Literature

Free Response #1: Poetry

Free Response #2: Prose Fiction

Free Response #3: Literary Argument

Q and A Sessions

Past Events

AP Environmental Science Exam

AP Enviro Exam Prep 2020 | Reviews + Practice Questions | Fiveable

AP Environmental Science

Free review 2020

Free Response Questions (FRQs)

Unit 1: The Living World: Ecosystems

Unit 2: The Living World: Biodiversity

Unit 3: Populations

Unit 4: Earth Systems and Resources

Unit 5: Land and Water Use

Unit 6: Energy Resources and Consumption

Unit 7: Atmospheric Pollution

Unit 8: Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution

Unit 9: Global Change

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

Teacher Professional Development 

AP European History Exam

AP Euro Exam Prep 2020 | Reviews + Practice Questions | Fiveable

AP European History

Tom Richey

Thematic Guides

Document Based Questions (DBQ)

Unit 1: Renaissance and Exploration

Unit 2: Age of Reformation

Unit 3: Absolutism and Constitutionalism

Unit 4: Scientific, Philosophical, and Political Developments

Unit 5: Conflict, Crisis, and Reaction in the Late 18th Century

Unit 6: Industrialization and Its Effects

Unit 7: 19th-Century Perspectives and Political Developments

Unit 8: 20th-Century Global Conflicts

Unit 9: Cold War and Contemporary Europe

Short Answer Questions (SAQ)

Join our Discord

Big Idea 1: Question and Explore

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Big Idea 1: Question and Explore

Big Idea 2: Understand and Analyze

Big Idea 3: Evaluate Multiple Perspectives

Big Idea 4: Synthesize Ideas

Big Idea 5: Team, Transform, and Transmit

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Big Idea 1: Question and Explore ﻿

Big Idea 2: Understand and Analyze ﻿

Big Idea 3: Evaluate Multiple Perspectives ﻿

Big Idea 4: Synthesize Ideas ﻿

Big Idea 5: Team, Transform, and Transmit﻿

Exam Tasks & Guidance﻿

Blogs﻿

Join Our Discord

Big Idea 1: Question and Explore

Big Idea 2: Understand and Analyze

Big Idea 3: Evaluate Multiple Perspectives

Big Idea 4: Synthesize Ideas

Big Idea 5: Team, Transform, and Transmit

Exam Tasks & Guidance

Blogs