Middle and High School Students' Learning Trajectories in Online Mathematics Courses

• In Event: 63.084 - MTCC Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 63.084-15 - Learning Different Disciplines Online

Abstract

This study investigated learner subgroups in online mathematics courses offered by a state virtual school, based on their semester-long learning trajectories. Mixture growth modeling was used to examine month-by-month scores students earned by completing assignments over a five-month semester. The best-fitting model suggested four distinct subgroups representing (1) nearly linear growth; (2) exponential growth; (3) hardly any growth; (4) early rapid growth, respectively. Follow-up analyses demonstrated that two different types of successful trajectories were more likely associated with advanced level courses, such as AP or Calculus courses, and foundation courses, such as Algebra and Geometry, were with the unpromising trajectory. With those results, implications for practitioners and researchers were discussed from the perspective of student autonomy and self-regulated online learning.

Author

• Jemma Bae Kwon, Michigan Virtual