Insight: I know what an Independent Study is, what is an Independent Project?

By Jonathan Briggs, Director of Strategy, Technology & Innovation

Independent Projects complement Independent Studies by offering an alternative process for exploring a topic. Unlike the primary academic focus of an Independent Study, which often culminates in a paper, an Independent Project emphasizes the application of knowledge and the production of a finished product. Both avenues allow students to tune their independent efforts toward their desired outcome. Examples of Independent Projects include circuit board design, aquaponics systems, many applications of AI (from squash coaching to emotion detection), redesigning campus ecology, and many more.

Compared to Independent Studies, the process mirrors real-world project management, requiring students to document progress, reflect on experiences, and adjust plans. This iterative approach enhances project management skills and fosters an understanding of time estimation and planning. By evaluating and learning from their predictions, students are better prepared to succeed in their next project at Eastside Prep, college, or beyond.

Independent Projects also emphasize having a finished project by the end of the term, teaching students to prioritize tasks, drop features, and make critical decisions to deliver a polished product on time. This aspect of the program instills the valuable skill of completing projects under time constraints.

Significantly few independent efforts fall neatly into Independent Study or Independent Project. Most are a mix of learning through research and learning through doing. The primary distinction between the two is how knowledge is pursued and where the emphasis is. In some cases students even switch from study to project or vice versa as they come to better grasp the knowledge and understanding that they are after. Perhaps the primary benefit of this new independent curriculum pathway is that students have to think about what type of experience they are looking for in the term, and we have to consider what aspects of that experience should be common or distinct between those two pathways.

The work is ongoing; after building this program last year, it is now in the hands of our independent curriculum facilitators, Dr. Duffy, Mr. Ho, and Mr. Sieg. They have continued to tune and shape these pathways with students throughout this year, and I am excited to watch our independent curriculum offerings evolve.