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Steps to Your Independent Course Experience
Steps to Your Independent Course Experience
Prepare to have your proposal & forms submitted, reviewed, and filed with the right people by the end of the first week of the course at the very latest.
1. Start Early & Discuss how this fits into your degree plan with your advisor (don't forget to discuss the number of credit hours).
2. Choose which type of experience you are interested in: Preceptorship, Independent Study, Internship, or Research Lab Participation.
3. Develop 3-6 specific goals for your independent course experience. These are self-directed experiences and you're expected to define your own goals. These should broaden your experience in some way and align with your interests or career goals. (For a preceptorship or ongoing research project, you can develop these with your faculty mentor/supervisor vs. being expected to propose your own.)
Remember, there are additional assignments required by the University, including weekly 1:1 meetings and Reflections, which are described in the D2L Dropbox .
You can include reading lists for topics you'd like to explore more or growing your skill set in a particular area, like job interviewing, etc.
Be creative! This is your opportunity to design your own learning experience from top to bottom.
Consider the deliverables that will be evaluated to determine your grade . These will be reviewed, edited and finalized with your faculty supervisor at the beginning of your Independent Course Experience.
Choose your time tracking and recording method for the experience. You can use an app, an Excel sheet, regular paper, whatever works as long as you can turn it in at the end of the semester. Be sure you know how many hours you need to achieve to get the credit you want - and be sure you have a plan for getting all of them in. (An optional spreadsheet is linked in D2L in the Initial Plan assignment.)
4. Propose your Independent Course Experience via email attachment, sent to your advisor and the supervising faculty (usually the Program Director) along with the application form(s) that pertain to the experience you have chosen. (You can find Academic Program Forms here.)
Your proposal should include:
Notes about how you will report on your progress as well as an outline of planned meetings (virtual or in person). Generally students in independent study meet with their faculty supervisor weekly while those in internships meet monthly.
An outline of a weekly memo to be submitted each week. This memo should include:
Week-by-by learning goals and an area for you to fill in the progress you make on these goals each week
A space to log hours for time spent on each learning goal.
Here is a Proposal Outline Sample for your reference, though you will most likely customize your proposal to suit your unique project.
You can also learn more about writing business proposals in Section 9.3 Business Proposal from Saylor.org Academy's Business Communication for Success
How To: Write Learning Objectives
How To: Write Learning Objectives
For many independent course experiences you need to define and then complete your own self-chosen learning objectives. You should define your LO's by considering what you're looking for from the experience.
If you've never written a learning objective, review this assignment for tips.(Requires permission for access)
Since this is a partially self-directed experience, you are expected to define your own goals that broaden your experience in some way and allow me to choose work for you that will align with your interests or career goals.
You can include additional reading lists for topics you'd like to explore more, ideas for learning how to do a specific thing you feel you will need on the job such as interviewing or needs assessment, etc. Be creative with these choices, this is your chance to design your own learning from top to bottom and take advantage of our expertise.
For your own peace of mind you should at least briefly consider the products that will be evaluated to determine your grade (an internship is all about hours and a very brief final report and evaluation - so this can just be what you want to work on to get your hours requirement met, etc. ).
The Fine Print
Each of these opportunities will be completed with a full-time faculty member as mentor/supervisor.
These are variable credit courses, which means you can sign up for between 1-3 credit hours, and must complete 45 hours of work per 1 unit of credit per semester.
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