Students’ Perceptions when Learning Mathematics Online: A Path Analysis

Due to the inherent flexibility that online courses provide, the number of students enrolled in online courses has increased substantially both in higher education and K-12 environments. However, the amount of research on effectiveness of online learning fails to parallel its growth. To address the important question of whether learning online is an effective tool for learning mathematics, this study looks at high school students’ perception of the over all usefulness of online synchronous and asynchronous modes of delivery in learning mathematics. The study shows the students feel that the online content and its respective activities are effectives in learning mathematics. However, the results of the effectiveness of synchronous activities and threaded discussion boards are inconclusive and pinpointing the nature their effectiveness is challenging lend themselves to further research.