Kyle likes research work, particularly where it involves some form of active enquiry. An example of this is his interest in taking things apart to discover how they work. In the excerpt below, he talks about taking apart a television set (as shown in Figure 4 below). As it shows, Kyle is fascinated by the way that the components of this dynamic system interact and he has actively investigated to form his own understanding of how it works.
Figure 4, Taking apart a television set, photograph supplied by Kyle, 2013
Kyle: “So I got to take apart the small one because it would be an interesting adventure.
Researcher: And the reason that you wanted to take it apart was?
Kyle: I really like technology and stuff. I have our old internet router that’s permanently apart ... It’s actually quite amazing.
Researcher: Tell me about it, tell me more …
Kyle: How a little “blip” of electricity, becomes 1’s and 0’s, which become words, which become letters, which can become colours and pixels, which make an image or words or text ... Like there’s a setting on my web browser, and you press a button and it comes up with all the settings just in a little line of code up the top and you can just scroll through everything. Of course, you can’t make any head or tail of it, but if you look at that, that simple line of code is all of that, broken down by the computer and it started out as little blips of electricity going together on a big circuit board that makes an image.” (A2:5)
Kyle likes to spend time designing and creating artefacts, ranging from models to creating his own language. His ideas are very detailed and purposeful. He particularly enjoys using and creating within the three dimensional computer programme, Minecraft.
[Figure 5, Lego model of man with camcorder, photograph supplied by Kyle, 2013]
Other interests include photography and video making. Kyle recently researched and then bought his own camcorder. He photographed a little Lego ™ man (see Figure 5 above) that he had made when he was thinking about buying the camcorder. His parents told me about the experience:
Kyle’s Mum: “He bought himself a video/camera the other day and then decided the video function wasn’t quite as good as he was hoping. So we’ve returned the item and he’s decided he’ll save up more money to try and get something a bit better.
Kyle’s Dad: But he loves videoing, he loves … that’s one of the areas where you’ll go into the shops and he knows more about the camera than the sales guy that’s trying to sell the stuff”(A4:19).
His parents recalled how the specialist that saw Kyle at age 6, when his visual
disability was discovered, had commented on the exceptional concentration and focus that he must have, given that he had successfully learned to read in spite of the
severity of his disability. Kyle recalled his process for me as he learned to read, saying that he mainly sounded out words and also that he would listen to people as they spoke and in that way he learned “how to say the words in my head” (A1:1)
while also ascribing meaning to words heard in a particular context. Kyle also described his ability to visualise as part of his planning process. He told of lying in bed at night and coming up with ideas that he would then get up the next day and follow up on.
Often during our conversations, Kyle demonstrated his remarkable metacognitive ability. I gained the very clear impression that thinking about and discussing his experiences of “learning” as a concept, was something that he enjoyed and found stimulating. He offered well thought through and fascinating insights that
demonstrated his exceptional facility in thinking about abstract and complex ideas. He also showed that he has well developed critical thinking skills and that he makes connections as he classifies, analyses and evaluates ideas and solves problems. At one point in our interview, Kyle replied to a question that I had asked him twenty or so minutes earlier. His response just “popped out” after we had, in the ensuing time period, talked about a number of different ideas. His answer was comprehensive and well reasoned, evidence that this mental planning is an on-going, cumulative process and that he appears to hold, and continue to work with, information in his working memory for an extended time.
His gifted programme teacher also commented on this: “He is very good at thinking about ideas and developing them in more depth and detail. He’s good at bringing in other things, so if you’ve taught a topic, he can link it in and transfer it beautifully.” (A3:1)
She also laughingly told me how Kyle is one of those kids that, if involved in off-task behaviour that happens whilst the students are meant to be listening to her, can, when questioned, happily cite back to her exactly what she has just said.
Kyle described to me the typical format of learning that occurs within his gifted programme. One component of this is a research phase. He told of how, following a whole class discussion, students independently researched aspects of the topic and then presented their findings back to the whole group. His description included that he often buddies up with another student who has a complementary skill set to his own.
Kyle: “It’s usually half and half with me and my friend, but he writes everything down. I just remember key points that I look into, while he writes the stuff that he looks into. Like if it’s a topic that I already know something about, I’ll maybe show him a picture and explain what’s in that picture and then he’ll maybe come up with something as well, and then he’ll write down both.
Researcher: O.k., so he … we call that scribing, he’s the scribe, he does the writing.
Kyle: Yeah, he also looks into different stuff and I look into different stuff but if I can …I’ll maybe teach him some things as well.” (A2:8)
He is described by his gifted programme teacher as being good at interpersonal relationships. His positive attitude and ability to work well with others place him naturally into a leadership role within the class. She credits him with an ability to use trial and error confidently and considers his ability to listen to be superior to most other children.