Uniqueness of the learner

One of the most substantial findings from this study, showed how important it is to take the uniqueness of one's learners into consideration to teach more effectively. My learners' uniqueness in terms of their preferred learning styles, their personalities, their ZPD's and so on, was evident from the fact that the interventions allowed the informants to realise their preferred techniques for enhancing metacognition, as well as their interests which encouraged their metacognitive moments. The importance of my learners' uniqueness was further apparent as different informants' metacognition developed at different rates and to varying degrees.

The uniqueness of each individual learner influences how they personally adapt to, reflect on, and develop, with the adapted teaching procedures. Noma was able to reflect on the fact that she learns best when speaking out loud, especially when teaching someone else. She also noted that she preferred the 'I DREAM A' technique more than the SRLP method. Her metacognitive awareness was therefore revealed in her improved metacognitive knowledge and awareness of her own preferred learning methods and styles.

In response to a question about how the five week process had informed her about her preferred ways of thinking and learning, Zayaan responded:

Thinking about what you learned, and making sense of it, really helps you answer a question thoroughly. Using a concept map helps me study much better ... and understand the work [better]. Teaching someone else also helps me understand the work. Mind maps on the other hand doesn't [don't] really help me. (Zayaan: Open-ended questionnaire)

As was mentioned in Section 4.2.1.3, some informants felt that doing the reflections required immense effort (particularly in the beginning) whereas others commented:

This implies that each individual learner experiences the teaching techniques in a unique way. As a teacher, one needs to be conscious of this so that the teaching procedures can be adapted accordingly.

In connection to the uniqueness of each learner, this research has shown that a learner's personal interest in a topic can also significantly influence their learning of the specific topic. Interpretation of the data, collected in this research, revealed how important it is for a teacher to adapt the lesson content to target the learners' interests.

I'm more interested in biology work, therefore I pay better attention to it and I participate in class. Physics I don't like at all so I tend to focus less in class because I'm not interested in it (Lesley: Reflection).

Not only does Lesley's comment above reveal the importance of stimulating learners' interests to improve their focus, but it also shows an episode of enhanced metacognitive awareness for Lesley.

Saskia commented in her reflections, and in the focus-group interview, that for her, the incorporation of concept maps and flow diagrams was more interesting than writing in point form, and for this reason she found it easier to study from them.

From the data, in my research journal, it was evident that I also reflected on improved conditional knowledge and ability to transfer, when the learners were interested in the subject content, in comparison to when they were not. When dealing with issues of the menstrual cycle for example, a topic relevant to many teenage girls, many of the informants reported to have used the knowledge learnt in class, and applied it to their own lives.

It was clear from the data that many of the learners came to realise that their personal interest in a topic has a significant impact on their learning. Zayaan commented in the focus-group interview that with one of the sections of work covered in the five weeks, she was very interested in the content, and was therefore more motivated to do her work. I asked her what she planned to do when she encounters sections of work in the future that do not interest her. Her response to this was:

Not only does this realisation of the importance that interest plays in learning reveal the learners' improved metacognitive awareness, but it also emphasises the importance for teachers to be aware of their learners' interests. Teachers will then be more knowledgeable about how to make topics more interesting and relevant for their learners, and link the work to their ZPD (Chaiklin, 2003; Karpov, 2003).

Motivation can also go hand in hand with interest, as the level of interest that a learner has in a particular section of work, can determine the extent to which they are motivated to actively engage with that work (Woolfolk, 2010). It is quite clear from Saskia's response in the focus- group interview that she found it easier to be motivated to do work when the topic is interesting. Motivation can also stand alone as an independent variable that effects learning (Woolfolk, 2007). In response to my question as to why they were motivated to work towards achieving better results in Natural Sciences, one informant's reasoning was that:

... you feel better about yourself. (Lesley: Focus-group interview)

Not only does this indicate the importance of a learner's motivation in learning, but the teaching procedures incorporated over the five weeks also facilitated the learners' personal goal setting in Natural Sciences. This involves not only the motivation to achieve certain goals, but it also requires metacognition in the nature of planning, monitoring, evaluating and regulating one's cognition in order to attain those goals. Lee's reasoning behind setting goals was:

... you want good marks so that you can tell yourself that you set yourself that goal and you worked hard to get there. And you can tell yourself, well I'm not doing too well, you must work harder to get there. (Lee: Focus-group interview)

The general consensus gained from the informants was that many of the metacognitively adapted teaching procedures, that I employed in my Natural Sciences classroom, required the learners to become more actively engaged with their work. They also had to set small personal goals to motivate themselves along the way. Not always having had to work as independently and be as actively engaged in their Natural Sciences work, a lot of effort and personal motivation was required from the learners, which they initially seemed to resent and were reluctant to put in. An interesting phenomenon actually happened over the five week period: the general trend was for these same learners, who initially complained, to realise the positive effects of their increased efforts and engagement. This realisation had further

positive effects because it motivated the learners to continue to put in the hard work; as the process compelled them to start working towards internalised goals of better understanding, more conscious learning and so forth. One of these metacognitively motivated moments is highlighted by Lesley's comment in the open-ended questionnaire:

If I participate in class I feel more focused on my work.

Another significant incident which had to do with motivation, in connection to the graphic organisers and the reflection activities, was made evident in the data. In the beginning of the five week process, when I gave my learners various graphic organisers and reflections to complete, many learners in the class were not motivated to do them. Many gave the impression that it required an immense amount of effort that they were not happy to put in. A fascinating trend over the five weeks was identified: while I continued to get the learners to do reflections and graphic organisers, by the end of the process, the learners were asking to do concept maps and reflections as they found that these techniques provided them with the most effective learning and 'minds-on' opportunities.

Dylan's improved metacognitive awareness, over the five week period, made her realise that:

I have to participate more. I have to study more and really think when doing my work. I must not be lazy. (Dylan: Open-ended questionnaire)

From what she reported in the data, Dylan's laziness was one of the areas that she recognised needed improvement. This once again emphasises the importance that a learner's motivation plays in their improved learning and metacognition. It was also interesting to note that in the focus-group interview, Dylan commented that she found the SRLP method to be one of her favourite techniques, due to the fact that she got to 'cheer' herself on. She liked this because: "I tell myself I can do it". This clearly indicates the relevance of motivation in learning and the benefits that these teaching procedures can have on enhancing motivation. Responsibility and self-discipline are also likely to play a role in this, but these have already been discussed in Section 4.2.2.

The data presented here, clearly indicates the importance of being aware of the uniqueness and diversity of the learners in one's classroom, if one aims to construct learning opportunities that are meaningful.

Now that the main research findings have been presented under the relevant themes, the next section will involve a discussion of these findings.