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A Design-Based Study on an Accelerated Online English Language Arts Curriculum for Disadvantaged High-Potential Seventh–Eighth Graders

Mon, April 16, 12:25 to 1:55pm, Sheraton New York Times Square, Floor: Second Floor, Central Park East Room

Abstract

Objectives. This article examines curriculum design and technological-related issues during the first two-year implementation of a federally-funded three-year design-based research (DBR) study. The DBR study centers on developing and piloting two accelerated online English language arts (ELA) courses with high potential gifted 7th and 8th graders of economically disadvantaged backgrounds from three school districts in a Midwestern state. The goals are to increase access to advanced coursework for students from populations underrepresented in gifted education, to increase the identification of underrepresented students, and to explore how to design and support implementation of curriculum based on the Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM; VanTassel-Baska, 1986) in online and hybrid courses.
Perspectives. During the first two-years of the study, we have developed an accelerated ELA online curriculum for 7th graders and piloted it for the first cohort of 7th grade participants in the 2016-17 school year. We have gathered data that will be valuable for exploring how to adapt and support continuing implementation of the accelerated online ELA curriculum and for future replication of the intervention.
Methods and data: In this study, we employed a consensual qualitative approach (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). The data analyzed includes: interviews with school staff about implementation, formative assessment of curriculum design, field notes from school visits, observation of student and teacher activity in the online space, online log data, and students’ responses to an end-of-course survey.
Findings: Curriculum-related key findings include the following. First, it was beneficial to select culturally responsive texts that included positive intellectual representations of characters and real individuals from minority and low-income backgrounds. Second, site visits to observe teachers and students’ responses to the curriculum were critical for guiding revisions. Third, the development of curriculum materials to be used in different contexts (e.g., face-to-face or hybrid) required careful consideration about how to structure activities. Technology-related findings indicated that students’ technology skills varied widely. Some students thrived in the online course, while others had difficulty navigating the learning management system and other related technologies such as Google apps. The online course log data revealed that the time students spent in the online course during a 6-month period varied greatly, ranging from 4.5 to 57 hours, mean hours =24. Further, students who had a high GPA in 6th grade (GPA=4) were better than low GPA students (GPA less than 2.5), relative to the quality of content they produced in the online class, writing styles, and how they engaged with their peers. Students’ responses to the end-of-course survey revealed that most believed the course materials were at the correct reading level; others hoped that the course materials would be more interesting and there would be more online interactions with other students. Some hoped teachers would set a more moderate pace in the course in the future.
Significance: The findings will be valuable for adapting the curriculum to guide online and hybrid learning design and informing practice with respect to supporting diverse high ability learners and educators in online learning activities.

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