The Psychology of Success in Virtual School

I teach fifth grade in a magnet program for gifted students. At our school we work hard to differentiate the curriculum to meet the diverse needs of our gifted students. Our program has built-in flexibility that allows us to structure out-of-level assignments and projects for profoundly gifted kids, while allowing them to interact with same age peers. Unfortunately, many of our parents are concerned that the middle school programs for gifted students do not provide opportunities for profoundly gifted students to work out-of-level, particularly in the areas of social studies, language arts, and foreign language. Some of parents approached our middle schools with requests to provide gifted classes in these subject areas. As the debate continues and decisions for improving the curriculum for gifted middle school students are postponed, some families are considering virtual school. Many parents want to enroll their children in traditional middle school for math and science (for which gifted curriculum currently exists), but enroll them in virtual school classes in language arts, foreign language, and social studies. Parents suspect virtual school programs will allow their middle school children to work ahead and thus meet their unusual needs.

I wonder, will these profoundly gifted but young students succeed in virtual school classes? Will they enjoy the classes? How can a parent know if their middle school child will be successful in an online environment?

I read an interesting article by Alvin Wang and Michael Newlin in the Journal of Educational Psychology titled, "Characteristics of Students who Enroll and Succeed in Web-Based Classes." The article studied the cognitive, motivational, and demographic characteristics of students who were successful in online classes. Though the study was conducted with college students, several findings seem applicable to the situation described above (Wang, A., & Newlin, H., 2000).

First, the researchers found three characteristics that predicted success in online classes: online course activity levels (how many hits to the course home page a student made in the initial weeks of class), a high need for cognition, and an internal locus of control (belief that one's behavior is guided by personal decisions or efforts) (Wang, A., & Newlin, H., 2000). These characteristics undoubtedly describe my profoundly gifted students and their work habits. Interestingly, and surprisingly, the researchers did not find any demographic characteristics that predicted success in online courses.

Second, the article cited earlier research by Varnhagen, Drake, & Finley (1997) where honors students reported positive perceptions of web based courses, again a research based suggestion that my students would enjoy virtual classes.

As I prepare to observe sixth grade distance learning students over the next seven weeks, I'll be thinking about my students too. I'll ask the instructor about opportunities for students to work ahead and their overall success with advanced online classes. I'll also continue to look for studies that address the characteristics of successful online students.

Reference
Wang, A., & Newlin, M. (2000). Characteristics of Students Who Enroll and Succeed in Psychology Web-Based Classes. Journal of Educational Psychology. 92(1). Retrieved March 14, 2008 from http://psycnet.apa.org.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/index.cfm?fa=main.showContent&id=2000-03003-012&view=fulltext&format=pdf