Effective Learning

Abstract

This article describes a case study of a gifted high achiever in learning science. This learner was selected on the assumption that drawing attention to the characteristics of a successful learner may improve learning effectiveness of less successful learners. The first author taught the gifted learner and collected data through participant observation over a 3-year period when the learner was in Grades 8 to 10. The data corpus was composed of audio-recorded lesson observations and interviews, field notes, and written material. We operated in an interpretive paradigm, and data collection, analysis, and interpretation were done in an inductive, cyclic manner associated with the constant comparative method. We identified three general strategies and a number of associated tactics that characterized his successful learning. These strategies are interrogating information, thinking it through, and organizing and linking.