The intent of this case study is to understand profoundly gifted students’ perceptions of virtual programs. The participants for this study were five profoundly gifted students who were enrolled in a fully virtual writing course hosted by a school that serves the profoundly gifted population. The researcher gathered data via asynchronous focus groups on an online discussion board, observations of synchronous sessions in their virtual classroom, and individual interviews with the participants. The participants reported a preference for frequent interactions with classmates and the instructor, but expressed concern about the lack of social opportunities. While technical difficulties did occur, these were mostly due to operator error or disuse of available tools. Finally, in terms of curriculum and pedagogy, the participants saw little difference between brick-and-mortar and virtual classrooms, suggesting that for profoundly gifted students, the quality of the content and instruction outweighs the realities of the learning environment. This information can be used either to improve online gifted education, or create new programs, thus diversifying opportunities.

中文翻译：

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天才学生对虚拟课堂的认知

本案例研究的目的是了解极具天赋的学生对虚拟课程的看法。这项研究的参与者是五名极有天赋的学生，他们参加了由一所服务于极有天赋人群的学校主办的完全虚拟的写作课程。研究人员通过在线讨论板上的异步焦点小组、对虚拟教室中同步会话的观察以及对参与者的个别访谈收集数据。参与者报告说更喜欢与同学和导师频繁互动，但对缺乏社交机会表示担忧。虽然确实出现了技术困难，但主要是由于操作员错误或未使用可用工具造成的。最后，在课程和教学法方面，参与者认为实体教室和虚拟教室之间几乎没有区别，这表明对于天资聪颖的学生来说，内容和教学的质量超过了学习环境的实际情况。这些信息可用于改善在线资优教育，或创建新计划，从而使机会多样化。