An Investigation into Reported Differences Between Online Math Instruction and Other Subject Areas in a Virtual School

摘要

Students and teachers affiliated with spring 2009 online mathematics courses offered by the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) completed end-of-course surveys detailing the effectiveness of their courses. Several significant differences were noted when comparing results from math participants to results from participants in five other subject areas, suggesting math students were learning less online, were less likely to recommend online learning to peers, were more satisfied with content breadth and depth but could benefit from more detailed and authentic projects, were less likely to associate their courses with certain 21st century skills and tools, and were in need of increased communication from the teacher and increased collaboration with peers. A follow-up survey with math participants as well as related literature suggest these significant differences can most likely be attributed to needed improvements in online content and teaching, as well as characteristics of math students that are independent of but potentially improved by quality online instruction.