Online High School World History: Does Interaction Make a Difference?

This study investigated the online interaction between students and teachers as well as student interaction preferences, student perceptions of learning and of online classes, and student performance. High school students, in an online world history course, participated in multiple activities that offered opportunities to interact with their teacher and classmates. Data was collected throughout the action research using student surveys, participant interviews, teacher records of daily interaction, pretests and posttests, and assignment grades. Students indicated that interaction with the teacher was very important, while interaction with their peers was less vital to learning. Interaction appeared to have little effect on student performance. Although this study took place over a three-week period rather than over an entire semester (e.g., Pelowski, Frissell, Cabral, & Yu, 2005; Picciano, 2002), results indicate that high school students may view online interaction differently than their counterparts in higher education (Northrup, 2002; Swan, 2002).