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Creating an inclusive space for students in online AP courses

Amanda DoAmaral - Fiveable Founder joins Yahoo Finance’s On The Move panel to break down how Fiveable’s social learning platform is expanding students access to AP classes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Video Transcript

JULIE HYMAN: We've been talking a lot about remote learning for education, whether we're talking about elementary school, middle school, high school, even higher ed. I want to bring you now a social learning platform for high school students specifically focused on democratizing access to AP courses, especially for students of color. It's called Fiveable, and Amanda DoAmaral is the founder. She is joining us now along with our Reggie Wade.

I want to ask you first of all-- because there has been a lot of talk about how there is implicit bias in testing, whether we're talking about the AP test or SATs-- how do you go about attacking that issue and whether it's fixing the test themselves or helping students better be prepared for that bias that might be just part of these tests?

AMANDA DOAMARAL: Yeah, so I was a teacher in Oakland, and a lot of what I did in my classroom was expanding access to tests like AP for my students, especially students of color. And the real, like, way to do that is to make sure that you're being very intentional about inviting students into the space. Because otherwise it can really feel like AP is kind of a space for the smart kids, right, like you don't feel like you belong in there.

And I even felt that as a student. And so we have to be really strategic about how we invite students into spaces and make sure that they're then supported. Whether they are reading on level or not, they can be successful as long as we are providing the supports that they need and making it an inclusive space.

REGGIE WADE: Amanda, it's Reggie Wade here. We had spoken a while back and before the pandemic era, but now COVID-19 has turned everything upside-down. What has Fiveable been doing to help students during this pandemic? Because we've seen that it's really widening the cracks and the gaps in the public education system.

AMANDA DOAMARAL: Yeah, it's a really stressful and overwhelming time for students and parents alike. And so one of the things that we are really focused on is supporting students when they are feeling this sense of isolation and lack of motivation. This really existed before COVID as well, especially in studying. Like I remember studying for APs by myself in a book, you know, at night, not sure what I was doing, if I was doing the right thing.

And now that students are learning remotely, you kind of lost a lot of those connections at school that really make school a lot more welcoming. And so one of the things that we've really focused on is community. And creating spaces for students to connect not only on academics, but also on topics like mental health, politics, climate change. We have an LGBTQ community. Topics that really allow students to connect on ways that-- to see them as the whole person and allow them to find students that have a similar background to them or that have shared experiences.

And it makes everything a whole lot easier. You need people. You need community to make any-- I mean, this is a stressful time for all of us. And so I think just having those connections is a really important part of what we do. And it increases scores on the exams because the students then are feeling a lot more confident about themselves and about their peers when they actually go to study.

ADAM SHAPIRO: I think all of us can relate to community and the teachers who had an impact on us. Everybody watching right now can probably name at least one of their elementary school teachers all the way through high school. But I wanted to ask you, when we talk about advanced placement, everything you've said is crucial and important. But how do you differentiate between students who might be performing mediocrity-- at a mediocre level and those who truly are advanced and need those kinds of services?

AMANDA DOAMARAL: Yeah, so one of the things that we did at my school and what we continue to do now in trying to really expand access to that is thinking really broadly about what kinds of factors play into whether or not a student might be successful. And for us, the number one factor is, does the student want to take this class? I've seen a lot of kids really want to be in the higher level courses but then be blocked for whatever other reason.

But if they really want it, even if they score a 1 on the test, it's fine, right? Like they're still getting that experience about-- of being in that rigorous space. But there are other factors as well, like whether or not the student has an adult that they can trust. Whether or not they've taken on challenges like that before, whether they have the different support systems to be able to help them get through that. And so I think we have to think broadly, not just around the student's past test scores or grades or reading levels, or rather what other factors can actually contribute to a student's success in the course.

REGGIE WADE: Amanda, I remember from my own experience, I was actually taken unwillingly into AP. They were like, no, we're making sure that you take this course. How do you reach the students who have the potential but don't feel that AP is something for them?

AMANDA DOAMARAL: Yeah. You have to make it fun. I think you have to make it a place that students want to be. So one of the things that we really try to do at Fiveable for students is think about how we can make APs very relevant and not just-- you know, when you think about, like, AP US History, it very much can come alive when you think about-- especially like what's going on in the world today and what it means to actually understand what's happened before and how we need to understand those things in order to rethink where we need to go.

Obviously there's a lot happening in the world, and the more that we can make those connections for students, the better it-- it makes it much more important for students to actually take on those challenges. So I think just making it actually relevant and connecting into students' real world experiences. And then also making it clear about how a lot of these different subjects, whether on their own or in combination, can actually lead them to think about different careers.

Like they may not be thinking about what will AP Environmental Science do for me right now, but maybe if we start to connect them to what kinds of things will you learn and what kinds of jobs could you then connect that to, then the students see it as much more important to get those skills and to take those classes now.

JULIE HYMAN: Amanda, thanks so much. Really interesting stuff. Amanda DoAmaral is the founder of Fiveable.