Abstracts Category : Other

Online Learning| Allowing Students to Learn Non-Traditionally

by Keali Clark Waldron

It was not known if and how online teaching modalities influenced student achievement relative to traditional classrooms in the State of Louisiana in the context of curriculum changes moving from Pathways to Common Core Standards. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive case study was to explore teacher perceptions regarding how, and if, the type of learning environment and transition to new educational accountability standards influenced high school student achievement for Algebra I and geometry. Gardners theory of multiple intelligences and McClellands achievement motivation theory guided the study. Five teachers that instructed students in a traditional classroom and five teachers that instructed students in an online classroom completed open-ended questionnaires followed by telephone interviews. Data were analyzed with NVivo Software, the five major themes that were related to the research questions and discussed with the study were: teaching challenges, student issues, resource issues, educational settings, and curriculum transition. These themes were consistent with the current practices of Common Core Standards (CCS) and with proposed future beliefs of CCS implementations. Implications for future research suggest comparing EOC scores directly, examining other state scores, other subject areas within the EOCs, and what kind of learners succeed more readily in online schools and why.