A case study of a high achiever's learning of physical science.
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Date
2002
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Abstract
This is a case study of the learning of physical science of a high achiever, selected on the
assumption that instruction in learning strategies and styles used by successful learners
may improve learning effectiveness of less successful learners.
Operating in an interpretive paradigm, qualitative data was gathered by participant
observation aimed at sensing the complexities of the case. A rich, holistic description is
given, enabling readers to form naturalistic generalisations of their own. The data corpus
spans three years and is composed of audio-recorded lessons and interviews, field notes
and written material. Data collection, analysis and interpretation were done in an
inductive, cyclic manner, guided by research questions about learning strategies used by
the learner, instructional strategies used by the teacher, and the roles played by intrinsic
factors, practical work and problem solving, in contributing to effective learning of
physical science by the high achiever.
The study implies that effective learning, even by the highly intelligent, involves
struggle and requires the use of a variety of strategies. This fits a constructivist, rather
than transmissionist, view of learning, and thus supports learner-centered
transformations in South African education. The learner is interpreted to be intrinsically
motivated by interest and a high regard for knowledge precision, elegance, and
transferability, to use a large number of learning strategies, particularly while solving
open-ended problems and performing practical investigations, in order to come to a deep
understanding of physical science. The study suggests that teaching children how to
learn, particularly by addressing their outlook on learning and introducing them to a
variety of strategies, should be an aim of physical science instruction, and that
interesting, open-ended, learner-centered tasks should be used in attempts to induce self-regulated learning.
Description
Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.
Keywords
Learning, Psychology of., Gifted children--Education., Theses--Education., Physical sciences--Study and teaching (Secondary)