Across the desk: Teaching through independent study

As academic budgets become more stringent, independent study may provide curricular flexibility in higher education. This paper addresses independent study as a creative and alternative mode of learning. The authors explore its unique advantages and strengths, its planning and structure, the student/instructor interaction, the use of learning resources, examples of disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, the products of such study, and methods of evaluation.She is the co-editor ofThe Ghetto Reader and co-author of CAEL Institutional Report #2,Interpersonal Learning in an Academic Setting: Theory and Practice.Diana Worby is a Mentor in English and the Humanities at Empire State College, Suffern, New York, and teaches Freshman Composition at Rockland Community College.