“It should feel like cutting fingernails,” Teri Everett coaches her students as they slice into the exoskeleton of their crayfish. She demonstrates on her own crayfish, making small precise cuts to reveal the organs underneath. 

With gloved hands, the students follow her lead, carefully maneuvering their scissors through the tough shell of their crustaceans. 

It seems like a typical high school biology class dissection, but these students are dissecting crayfish through Zoom. 

Throughout the dissection, Teri alternates between prepared slides with diagrams, live video of her dissecting her own crayfish, and her students’ cameras where they each have their own tray, crayfish, and set of metal dissecting tools. As she teaches, students chime in via chat and ask questions out loud. 

The result is an interactive, in-depth dissection that brings biology to life and showcases God’s intricate design in creation. Watch a clip from Mrs. Teri Everett’s Biology class as students examine a crayfish up close.

Highly engaging, interactive lessons aren’t an exception at Wilson Hill; they’re the standard. Across subjects, our master teachers use technology to foster classroom environments that are just as—if not more—engaging than their brick-and-mortar counterparts

Students have direct access to their teachers.

In a traditional classroom setting, there’s not always time for questions. With crowded classrooms and the pressure to teach toward standardized testing, students can get left behind. At Wilson Hill, students always have access to their teachers. Throughout class, students have the opportunity to use the online chat function to ask questions and reflect on the lesson in real time—resulting in lively discussion that keeps students engaged in learning.

Creative tools keep students focused.

Students learn differently, and a diverse toolkit allows teachers to fully engage all students. Through virtual polls, chat box responses, and whiteboard work, students are able to respond in real time and fully grasp concepts before moving forward. 

“I love the way Wilson Hill does hands-on labs,” says Brock M. “If you need to ask the teacher a question or need to help out another student, it’s always available.”

Discussion-based learning encourages engagement.

Socratic discussion is the hallmark of a classical education. In a brick-and-mortar setting, students would sit at the Harkness Table—an oval table that fosters debate and the sharing of ideas. At Wilson Hill, each classroom operates as a virtual Harkness Table. With master teachers as skilled guides, students learn how to think critically, speak concisely, and debate with confidence and humility.

Small class sizes allow all students to be seen and known.

In a recent physics class, Shannon Galloway included the name of her student’s dog in a word problem—to the delight and giggles of the class. Moments like this are possible when teachers know their students. An average class size of 16 allows students to form genuine friendships and fully engage in discussions with their peers and teachers.

Online. On Purpose.

On the surface, online learning and a classical Christian education could seem incongruent, but our cofounder Bob Donaldson refutes this notion. Not only can they go hand in hand, but the technology of the 21st century brings a richness to the classical Christian model. 

“We are merely leveraging technology [to enable] master teachers to engage effectively with students regardless of location, and to guide them as they seek to gain wisdom from those who have gone before us that can apply to the challenges God brings our way in the future,” he writes. “And as with previous technological innovations, the internet allows us to deliver this education much more broadly and at a much lower cost.”

At Wilson Hill, we teach online on purpose. Through the gift of technology, we can develop lasting friendships, prepare students for future academic success, and, most importantly, raise up young men and women to live purposefully for the Kingdom of God. 

Do you have doubts that an online school could foster genuine community and provide a robust education? Not all online schools are created equal. Before you choose an online school, here are five key questions to consider if you are looking for an education that is both academically rigorous and deeply engaging.