Planning the Perfect Independent Study for Your Student’s Experience

Overview

Several independent schools across the country offer students the option to complete an independent study or senior capstone project. These courses can usually be completed as part of a student’s core graduation requirements, or as a means of exploring a topic of interest in great depth. Typical independent study projects require students to complete a tangible project — sometimes in the form of a term paper or portfolio. Using the specific case of an independent study in Political Sociology, this essay will demonstrate a particular organization used in a high school independent study course designed to mimic college-level social science and humanities courses.

Justification

There were several instances where colleagues asked me why I would design an independent study project that equaled or even exceeded the requirements of upper-level university courses. Indeed, as described below, the student’s weekly reading requirements closely matched my own experiences in my university seminar courses. In fact, several of the course readings were original or modified (shortened) versions of advanced texts (e.g., Karl Marx’s Das Kapital). This would seem a bit much for a typical high school student. However, I must emphasize, here, that the planning of this course was done with specific input from the student. Initially, I had required about half the amount of work. My student, however, wanted a course that would adequately prepare him for the amount of work he would be doing in upper-level university courses. He requested, specifically, that I increase the reading load and the significance of the culminating project.

Case Information

My student initially approached me, seeking an opportunity for an independent study that would allow him to explore areas in which he planned to major in college. He hoped to design an advanced course of study that would match or surpass the types of classes he would encounter in a college setting. After several drafted syllabi were considered, the student agreed to complete an independent project in Advanced Political Sociology. The requirements were as follows:

Scope of Advanced Political Sociology

The student and I carefully designed the independent study to reflect a significant amount of reading and writing. The course itself was broken into two parts: (1) the reading and guided learning segment, and (2) the independent research project.

Reading and Guided Learning

The course syllabi broke down learning into various categories. Some focused on general political theory, while others examined thematic units (e.g., nations & nationalism and empires & imperialism). Within each of these units, the student and I selected various academic articles and monographs that he would need to read and analyze, while also integrating the different arguments into coherent theories. Each week, the student and I planned to meet to discuss the week’s readings and to consider the various themes’ importance to the study of politics, sociology, and even history. For this section, the student needed to complete the following assignments:

1. 150–200 pages of reading each week
2. Weekly reflections that synthesize readings with student interest and research
3. Unit responses that drew comparisons and contrasts between learning unit theories

The guided learning segment of this course, then, served two distinct and essential purposes. First, it provided the student with a background of the most important ideas, themes, and works associated with the social sciences. Second, the smaller writing assignments helped direct the student in the writing process and helped them learn proper writing techniques. Thus, the student gained valuable experience needed to complete his independent research.

The Independent Research Project

The student and I agreed that the culminating independent project should showcase a significant amount of effort. We, therefore, planned a term paper of about 20–25 pages as the culminating project. Specifically, the student was required to write:

1. A three to five-page academic book review
2. A substantial term paper of about 20–25 pages that introduces an original argument in a well-researched topic of interest

Since this project was a topic that spanned the humanities and social sciences, we agreed that sources could be cited in either Chicago-style or APA format. Additionally, we built a great deal of flexibility into the syllabus to account for any scheduling conflicts that could arise. Therefore, we utilized online platforms (Google Sites, Google Classroom, and the like) to ensure that assignments could be submitted easily. Additionally, I organized the course with no hard deadlines, other than the final paper being submitted by the end of the final semester. Instead, we set up checkpoints throughout the year to ensure steady progress.

Course Sequence and Problems

As the course progressed, the student offered a great deal of enthusiasm and dedication. He read beyond course expectations, and, indeed, demonstrated a good understanding of the course materials. By December, he was ready to begin working on his independent research with little guidance. In March 2020, during our school’s spring recess, independent and public schools across the country closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. All learning switched to an online format — drastically altering checkpoints, but with little impact on the overall course structure. Nonetheless, the student was able to continue to work on independent study research. Indeed, as was true at the beginning of the semester, the student continued to excel in his studies.

Recommendations

In planning an independent study course, I recommend that the student be consulted throughout the planning process. By working with the student to plan the course, from beginning to end, the project is more likely to match the student’s interests. In a previous article, “I’m All Fired Up Now’: The Role of Interest in Student Engagement and Classroom Success,” I argued that student interest had the potential to facilitate the development of a strong community of vested learners. Indeed, if a student is interested in a topic, he or she is more likely to be engaged with the materials and to remember the material in a more comprehensive way. This is especially important in an independent study project.

Logistically, I recommend designing independent studies with soft deadlines. This ensures that the student can take his or her time in completing the project, while also planning for scheduling problems (like those caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic). In creating deadlines, it is also important to ensure that you are consulting with the student. As the student’s independent study project, he or she should have a tremendous amount of input on the course’s design and sequence.

In any independent study or capstone course, I also recommend breaking down course structure into two parts: (1) Guided Learning and (2) Independent Research. Even independent studies should offer some type of content experience that can expose students to more advanced materials in a discussion style. In consultation with the student, the teacher should select a number of reading materials that highlight the most important information from the field. In the case of our Advanced Political Sociology class, for example, the student and I selected readings when we designed the Reading and Guided Learning Segment’s thematic and conceptual units.