| This research investigated the efficacy of online instruction for advanced courses at the high school level. The study was conducted over a three year period and involved 129 high school students from four schools in the Anaheim Union High School District. Two research traditions, formative education evaluation and action research, guided the study. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was utilized to gather and interpret data. The qualitative data (i.e., student surveys, participant observations, instructor reports, focus groups and student records) were used to explain and enhance the quantitative findings. The study investigated two primary research questions (1) What are the features of an effective model of online instruction for Advanced Placement and honors courses? (2) What factors contribute to individual differences in student performance in online courses? Several sub-questions were investigated to determine the strongest online pedagogy for the high school learner and to study the efficacy of the developed instructional model.; As predicted, the high school distant student required instructional support, peer assistance and connectedness in order to be academically successful in an online course. Also, as expected, students with a higher grade point average performed better in the online course. Unexpectedly, prior access to technology, motivation to take an online course, socio-economic level, parent education level and English ability were not found to influence student success in an online course. These findings suggest an effective instructional online model is possible and may potentially provide a greater number of socio-economically disadvantaged, minority and rural students access to Advanced Placement and honors courses. |
