Over the course of the year, Mr. Valentine teaches AP Human Geography students about human use of the earth and the patterns and processes that shape this usage.
AP Human Geography
Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography is a full-year humanities course offered on SophieConnect. Through the class, students explore human use of the earth and the earth’s reaction to human choices.
Mr. Joseph Valentine, Upper School History Teacher, teaches the course. Mr. Valentine chose to teach the online class because it gave him the opportunity to teach students from other network schools and to face the challenges of teaching virtually.
“Although there is a synchronous component of the class, you do miss the day to day, in-person connection that exists only in a traditional classroom setting,” Mr. Valentine said. “With that said, there are many paths to build that community online.”
The course teaches human connection through a platform where developing relationships with peers and teachers can cause challenges. Students are learning patterns and processes that shape human socioeconomic organization and the environment. Senior Hadley Noonan finds that she is able to learn just as much from the online class as from her in-person classes as she supplements her knowledge in the course with outside resources.
“Since the entirety of the class is asynchronous, it is up to me to really understand the material and take careful notes,” Hadley said. “A large part of this has been finding resources to help me in my understanding. While, at first, I was nervous that I wouldn’t really be able to retain the information, I have not found this to be the case. I have really enjoyed the class and its different format.”
Hadley chose to take AP Human Geography because of her interest in the subject and its relevance to current events.
“My favorite aspect of taking AP Human Geography through SophieConnect has been relating the material to current events,” Hadley said. “More generally, I think that the experience of taking a completely online course will help me when I go to college next year. It has really assisted me in becoming a more independent learner.”
Featured Image Courtesy of sophieconnect.org