Discovery learning
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Discovery Learning is a method of inquiry-based instruction and is considered a constructivist based approach to education. It is supported by the work of learning theorists and psychologists Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, and Seymour Papert.
Jerome Bruner is thought to have originated discovery learning in the 1960s, but his ideas are very similar those of earlier writers (e.g. John Dewey). Bruner argues that “Practice in discovering for oneself teaches one to acquire information in a way that makes that information more readily viable in problem solving" (Bruner, 1961, p.26). This philosophy later became the discovery learning movement of the 1960s. The mantra of this philosophical movement suggests that we should 'learn by doing'.
Discovery learning takes place in problem solving situations where the learner draws on his own experience and prior knowledge and is a method of instruction through which students interact with their environment by exploring and manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and controversies, or performing experiments.
[edit] A Critique of Discovery Learning
Several groups of educators have found evidence that discovery learning is a less effective as an instructional strategy for novices, than more direct forms of instruction (e.g. Tuovinen and Sweller, 1999). While discovery learning is very popular, it is often used inappropriately, to teach novices (Kirschner et al, 2006). According to Kirschner et al, learners should be given some direct instruction first, and then later, be allowed to apply what they have learned.
People can "learn by doing." A debate in the instructional community now questions the effectiveness of this model of instruction (Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006). Bruner (1961) suggested that students are more likely to remember concepts if they discover them on their own. This is as opposed to those they are taught directly. However, Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) report there is little empirical evidence to support discovery learning. Kirschner et al suggest that fifty years of empirical data does not support those using these unguided methods of instruction.
[edit] External links
[edit] Further reading
- Bruner, J. S. (1961). "The act of discovery". Harvard Educational Review 31 (1): 21–32.
- Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., and Clark, R. E. (2006). "Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: an analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching". Educational Psychologist 41 (2): 75–86. doi:.
- Instruction vs. Exploration in Science Learning by Rachel Adelson Monitor on Psychology APA Online, Vol 35, No 6, Jun 2004
- Tuovinen, J. E., & Sweller, J. (1999). "A comparison of cognitive load associated with discovery learning and worked examples". Journal of Educational Psychology 91 (2): 334–341. doi:.
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