At Parker, students have the unique opportunity to take control of their learning through independent studies, an opportunity that allows students to explore a topic of their choosing in depth. Taking place during a traditional letter block in their schedule, independent studies allow students to take charge of their curriculum for a semester, conduct research, or pursue their personal passions all while working closely with a faculty advisor. A handful of students have taken advantage of this opportunity, diving into topics across many ranges of interests, such as engineering and learning a language.
In senior Beckett Nikitas’s independent study, he explored the process of designing PCB (printed circuit board) layouts and expanding his knowledge in electrical engineering. Having been an electrical engineer for Parker’s underwater robotics team for a while, Nikitas wanted to further his skills. “I had a lot of the skills which you learned in Engineering I and II. What I didn’t have was a lot more electrical skills,” he said. Because of scheduling conflicts, he had been unable to take the offered engineering classes at Parker, so he saw an independent study as a way to fix that.
A typical period of Nikitas’s independent study involved following a course on Udemy, an online platform that hosts educational courses. His course, which was made by a professor in electrical engineering, guided him through softwares that helped with designing PCBs. “Every period I would go, I’d find a space, oftentimes it was in the science conference room or in the library, and I would watch videos, take notes, and make slow progress,” Nikitas said. The beginning of his independent study was mostly understanding the complexities of the software, which then followed with small design projects. His independent study was completed by designing a PCB board for the ROV team.
One of the most surprising things Nikitas learned was the reality of PCB manufacturing. “When I started out, I didn’t quite understand that PCB manufacturing was all industrial. I sort of thought that what I was going to do was make a PCB board. Turns out that’s not something you do. You design it on the computer and you send it off to a printer,” he said. “It can be very easy when you’re learning a new thing to want to make things complex. But as with a lot of electronics, and many things in general, simple is often better.”
Nikitas would recommend an independent study but shares the advice that students should be very intentional and precise with the topic that they choose for the independent study. “I think my independent study could have been better. I don’t think it was the greatest experience I’ve ever had,” he admitted. “I would recommend people don’t just do it because you don’t want to be in a structured class. There has to be an actual thing you want to do. And I think it should be more active than just ‘I want to learn this skill,’ it should be, ‘I want to explore a topic.’”
In Darcy Rachel’s independent study, she examined maternal morbidity and mortality across racial groups. Reflecting on her experience in the independent study, Rachel described the independent study as both engaging and also eye opening to her. “It was not only a fun experience, but very informative. I learned how to better hold myself accountable, and I would definitely recommend an independent study to other people who want to do one,” she said. However, she also advised other students to be careful when considering the workload they may be putting on themselves during the independent study. “One thing to be cautious of is the workload you may be giving yourself depending on the depth of the topic.”
For Spencer Koh’s independent study, he took on the challenge of learning Korean. Already interested in the language, he saw the option of an independent study as a way to pursue his interest. “Whether I did an independent study or not, I was probably going to try to learn Korean,” Koh said. “So it’s a nice opportunity to do something I’m interested in and also get credit for it.”
A typical period of Koh’s independent study involved self-guided work using a Korean textbook and his notebook. As Koh says, his lessons were “mostly just me sitting down with this foreign language textbook, working through the activities, writing down vocabulary, trying to memorize more words, and figure out certain conjugations and whatnot.”
His faculty advisor, Ms. Marker, doesn’t speak Korean but helped keep him on track. “I mostly just liked to check in with her to make sure I’d been doing all my work,” Koh said. “It was still helpful to have someone to keep me accountable to sticking to a schedule and getting the work done.”
Reflecting on his experience with his independent study, Koh found it fascinating to compare Korean to English. “I think we think of English as having its grammatical complexities, but we’re used to it. It’s just different to see how Korean is easier in some ways but also more complex.”
Koh would absolutely recommend an independent study to any student at Parker. “I think doing a foreign language independent study, especially, but really any independent study about something you’re passionate about, is worth it,” Koh said. “Even if there’s not a teacher who can help you a ton, it’s still something you should do if you want to.”
