In this study 7th grade students were observed completing a series of lessons in an online science course to explore their thinking and strategies for using curriculum resources for learning, to explore their thinking and strategies for self-assessing their readiness for lesson assessment, and to explore the relationship between resource use and (1) student grade in Science, (2) end-of-lesson assessment score, and (3) student learning style. A convergent-parallel mixed methods research design was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data in the same phase of this time-limited study, in order to merge the results and gain a greater understanding of student learning in the online environment. Observations of students completing lessons online and survey data were collected. Results indicate that students demonstrated various levels of metacognitive strategy use in using online curriculum resources and in determining their readiness for lesson assessment. Resource use was higher for multi-media learning resources and lower for notes-based resources. Use of at least 70% of lesson resources showed a relationship with higher student grade in science and higher end-of-lesson assessment score; student learning style showed mixed results related to resource use. Continued mixed-methods research observing student learning in the online environment is needed to better understand the student experience of learning online, and to inform specific interventions within the online learning environment to support effective learning strategy use as students transition into more self-directed learners in the online environment. Keywords: Online Learning, e-learning, K-12 learning, metacognitive strategies, self-directed learning, student learning style, self-assessment, online curriculum. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]