Students often want to accelerate their studies for a number of reasons. One student might want to graduate as early as possible. A different student might want to prepare for college coursework while still in high school. Another student may find that he or she is bored with the slow pace of a traditional classroom and knows that more can be accomplished in an online setting.
Regardless of a student’s reasoning, online high school programs will give students the opportunity to accelerate their learning. High school students will be able to study and learn at their own pace and potentially graduate sooner than some of their peers.
Accelerated Learning in Online High School vs. Traditional High School
Accelerated learning can be a wonderful, enriching experience for a student. However, many students find traditional high school courses and curriculums to be limiting. In traditional high schools, high-achieving students often have to compete for attention from their teachers and may not be effectively challenged with their coursework.
In online high school courses, each student has the opportunity to take many exciting and academically challenging courses – electives as well as core requirements – toward their high school diploma.
Online high schools offer a welcomed alternative to academically gifted students. Students in online schools control their own pace and offer ways for more challenging coursework all the time.
Online students also have opportunities that their traditional school peers don’t often get.
Opportunities for Individual Learning
Both students and teachers are finding that online technology helps individualize the learning process and makes better use of learning time. Any successful learning program is going to include some form of individual learning. After all, education is about making sure each student reaches his or her full potential. In online education, individual learning is key.
Taking courses online allows for each student to explore his or her interests at their own pace, on their own time, and at their individual skill level. Each learner progresses through the material at different speeds, according to his or her own learning needs and abilities.
For example, a student might take longer to progress through a given topic, skip topics that cover information already known, or repeat topics on which they need more help. For academically gifted students, this often means advancing quicker than they would be able to in a traditional school setting.
Opportunities for Personalized Learning
Personalized learning has and always will have a place in online education. In contrast to individual learning, personalized learning is tailored to the preferences and interests of each learners, as well as instruction that is paced to a student’s unique needs.
Personalized learning involves the student in the creation of learning activities and relies more heavily on a student’s personal interests and innate curiosity. Rather than having education be a thing that happens to the student, each student is actively involved in making education happen with the student.
In online education, each high-achieving student has the opportunity to tailor their educational journey to meet their individual needs. Rather than having to fight for personalized academic goals and plans, online high schools prioritize personalized learning.
Early High School Graduation
Online high schools attract students who aren’t afraid to operate outside of the norm. That’s why some of these students work toward graduating early – in less than the traditional four years.
Accelerated learning through online education gives high school students the unique opportunity to maintain a plan for early graduation or speed up graduation from a traditional high school.
For example, a high-achieving student may want to graduate a semester early to begin college coursework or spend time saving money for college. Online education allows that student to speed up their coursework in order to meet that early graduation deadline.
With a counselor’s guidance, students can also take an extra course each semester. Students must have the capacity and time, however, to pull it off.
With solid time management, a set of clear goals and a focus on studying and completing work, any high-achieving student will be able to shave months off the time it takes to graduate with accelerated learning.
How Achieve Virtual Can Help
Achieve Virtual is Indiana’s first online high school from an Indiana public school district. It is operated by the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Indianapolis and is backed by the district’s rich academic history and 14 years of online learning experience.
We welcome all academically gifted students and always work to meet their individual needs. Contact us today about how you or your student can accelerate learning.
