The Independent Study Advantage
As an Independent Study teacher for the Berkeley Unified School District, I have worked with students 1-1 for over 16 years. During this time, I have served as a mentor, a teacher, and a guide to countless students of diverse backgrounds.
The main advantage of Independent Study 1-1 classes is the mentorship that students receive. Without any other students in the classroom, students find ample time to bond and to learn directly from the teacher. During 1-1 classes, students are unable to sit in the background. Students are the main event of every session.
Additional advantages include moving at a pace unique to the student, having someone to answer all student questions, and pursuing projects of interest to the student and the teacher. One of my student projects even ended up in the iOS app store (YourClock) after a joint collaborative effort.
People make a difference in our lives. In education, mentors can make the biggest difference of all. The reason is that every mentor has something unique to offer that goes beyond the curriculum. With Independent Study 1-1 instruction, the teacher becomes the mentor, and the student benefits most of all.
Starting in the Fall of 2021, Berkeley Coding Academy is shifting our Fall and Spring classes to an Independent Study model. The early results have been outstanding. Students are happy, instructors are motivated, and the student-teacher bond has been shining brightly.
The teachers and students who join Independent Study rarely go back. Independent Study provides students with a rare opportunity to take charge of their own education through regular, weekly meetings. Instead of simply receiving information, Independent Study students play a key role in developing, understanding, and translating information.
Education has never been passive. It’s an active experience. At Berkeley Coding Academy, with the new Independent Study model, students are able to learn code in a way, and at a pace, that works for them.
The learning will propel our students forward, and the mentorship will last a lifetime.
Corey Wade
Corey is the founder and director of Berkeley Coding Academy. He is the lead author of The Python Workshop, the author of Hands-on Gradient Boosting with XGBoost and scikit-learn, and a regular writer for Towards Data Science.