At Laguna, Upper School students are given the opportunity to create a unique course and to study under the supervision of a teacher to learn about a specialized topic. This is known as an Independent or Directed Study.
The student, with the help of a teacher he or she is paired up with one -on-one, designs the course that they want to take and the teacher helps them to plan and carry out the work for the course throughout the year.
Essentially the teacher’s role in an independent study is to help the student explore their chosen topic.
Students elect an independent study for a variety of reasons. Sophomore Phoebe Madsen had a scheduling issue and was unable to take the original classes she wanted, so she took this opportunity to create an independent study.
“I have kind of been thinking that I want to be a doctor so I thought it would be great to try it out and learn about that,” Phoebe said.
Phoebe now works with science teacher, Ms. Staci Richard, on an independent study focusing on medicine and specifically new technologies being developed related to scything and stem cells.
“I think it is a special opportunity because it allows students to explore topics that they are really interested in or topics that might be career directions–it allows them to explore personal interests that we don’t necessarily have classes in,” said Ms. Richard.
Seniors Allison Towbes and Margaret Lazarovits and junior Conner Warren, are currently doing theatre independent studies with drama teacher, Ms. Kate Bergstrom.
Allison’s focusing on gaining a better understanding of the theater business, Margaret’s focusing on direction and stage management and Conner’s focusing on set and lighting design.
“Ms. Bergstrom is having me write a comparative essay on two actresses that I admire looking at their technique, background, and training. I am also working on monologues for my college auditions—this independent study gives me the opportunity to prepare for my college career without taking too much time out of my extracurricular activities,” Allison said.
Independent studies also give students the opportunity to take courses that don’t fit in their schedule but they will still be doing the work for, therefore they still receive credit for the work they do for that class.
For instance, students do independent studies for classes such as leadership and journalism.
The opportunity to create an independent study is most relevant for seniors who take this chance to investigate a topic that they may want to study in college.
Students in the past have done studies on such topics as diabetes research, public health and Japanese culture.
“Something Laguna does in a very special way is the teacher student relationship; taking it to the extreme level of an independent study–the possibilities are endless,” said US head, Mr. Tyler Hodges.