Discovery Learning Method

Posted on April 23, 2018

It’s a picture we’ve seen all too often: an elementary school student slumped over at his desk,
bored and restless, his face barely supported in his hands. He is trying not to fall asleep as his
teacher drills content about basic anatomy: the heart is here, the lungs are here, the kidneys are
here…The teacher gives the class a worksheet asking them to fill in which body parts go where.
It’s due at the end of the period and the only way to measure whether the students have learned
anything is based on this worksheet and the inevitable unit test.

Now imagine this: elementary students walk into a classroom and see a basic skeleton with a
models of the heart, lungs, kidneys, stomach, and intestines laying on a table in the center of the
room. Students gather around in a circle, see the model organs, giggle, and begin to guess the
name of each body part, its function, and, through trial and error, figure out where each organ fits
in the model.
Both lessons have been used by teachers, but one lesson has students actively involved, curious,
and engaged. The other relies on direct instruction, rote memorization, and knowing information
“for the test.” One lesson is memorable for students. The other relies on a student memorizing
information. Which lesson will have a lasting impression?
Teaching methods that rely on student-centered learning are considered a more effective style of
teaching because, as the name suggests, lessons are based on the student and meeting his or her
psychological needs to achieve learning outcomes. If an educator takes a child’s development
into consideration, he or she can prepare lessons that will not only engage the student but also
leave a lasting impression.
John Dewey famously wrote about student-centered learning in the early part of the 20th century.
In his book The Child and The Curriculum, he stressed that children need a chance to explore,
experience and connect information in order to truly understand and internalize abstract
principles. Dewey also felt that curriculum shouldn’t be made interesting to students, but should
instead already be of interest to students in order to avoid apathy.
One of the most used versions of student-centered learning is the Discovery Learning Method.

Background and Characteristics

The Discovery Learning Method is an active, hands-on style of learning, originated by Jerome
Bruner in the 1960s. Bruner emphasized that we should be “learning by doing.” With this
method, students actively participate instead of passively receiving knowledge. Students interact
with their environment by exploring and manipulating objects, wrestling with questions and
controversies or performing experiments. They are encouraged to think, ask questions,
hypothesize, speculate, cooperate and collaborate with others. They develop confidence in
problem solving and feel comfortable using knowledge they already have. Instead of a student
being an empty vessel for a teacher to fill with knowledge, the Discovery Learning Method takes
into consideration that all students have some background knowledge that they may be able to
apply to the current subject at hand.
The Discovery Learning Method is a constructivist theory, meaning it is based on the idea that
students construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing
things and reflecting on those experiences. Willy Wonka very famously said “We are the music
makers. We are the dreamers of dreams.” Willy Wonka was a constructivist and his factory
constantly used the Discovery Learning Method. That’s what made his Chocolate Factory so
exciting to children and adults alike–there was hands-on learning and trying in his factory.
Granted, some of the results weren’t favorable, but each time something happened to a child, an
Oompa Loompa would sing a song not only reiterating the lesson, but also reminding the
children and adults that they should have known something would happen based on their prior
knowledge. This hands-on approach created lifelong lessons nobody (not even the people
watching it from the comfort of their own homes) would ever forget.

The Discovery Learning Method is also unique in how it presents problems. Teachers will give
students a problem and some resources to solve it. This concept alone is very different from
standard science experiments you may remember when you were growing up. Most science
teachers would give the instructions for an experiment, perform the experiment, show the result
of the experiment, and then grade the students on their write-ups of the experiment. There’s not
much discovery happening when students see every step and the desired outcome before they
even attempt it on their own. Students are simply performing a task they watched someone else
do.
The Discovery Learning Method may have a specific end result, but the focus is on the steps and
the critical thinking involved in getting there. Teachers have to observe the process, not just
grade a written paper at the end of the experience.
Educational Psychologist Jean Piaget viewed children as little philosophers and scientists
building their own theories of knowledge. The book Hands-On Science Teaching best
summarizes this:
“Piaget’s research clearly mandates that the learning environment should be rich in physical
experiences. Involvement, he states, is the key to intellectual development, and for the elementary
school child this includes direct physical manipulation of objects.”

Implementing Across The Curriculum

Even though most people associate the Discovery Learning Method with science classes, it can
be applied to all parts of a curriculum. In an English class, for example, teachers may introduce
the “dreaded” Shakespeare unit with lists of vocabulary for each act and a make students fill out
a worksheet while watching a biographical video about Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre. If
using the Discovery Learning Method, however, a teacher could give the students a handout to
create their own “Shakespearean Insult” by choosing a word from each of three columns. After
everyone gets a chance to hurl their best insult (“saucy lily-livered moldwarp” or “peevish evil-
eyed crutch” for example), they have a better understanding of Shakespeare’s language and
could keep a notebook of insults they come across during the play.

Why Educator Training is Important

The Discovery Learning Method, if used incorrectly, can also be a barrier to learning. If teachers
are having activities just for the sake of having activities, then students will not learn concepts.
Formal training in this method is necessary for teachers and teachers also have to reflect about
how their activity is helping students master a concept. Teachers have to remember that just
because something is “hands on” does not mean that it is “minds on”. Canadian educational
researchers Scardamalia and Bereiter further explain:
“The shallowest forms engage students in tasks and activities in which ideas have no over
presence but are entirely implicit. Students describe the activities they are engaged in (such as
planting seeds or measuring shadows) and show little awareness of the underlying principles that
these tasks are to convey.”

Successfully Implementing the Discovery Learning Method in the

Classroom
To effectively use the Discovery Learning Method in a classroom, a teacher needs to not only be
flexible, but also well-prepared, organized, and have an understanding of how what is discovered
in class is educationally valuable and can lead to further investigations for the student. Teachers
need to be able to help young children, who are already curious about the world around them,
learn how to ask questions that will help them understand their surroundings.
Teachers also have to know where their student is developmentally and how that will play in a
role in a child finding success in a lesson. This may sound like a lofty goal, but most educators
have to take classes in developmental psychology that are specifically geared to the age with
which they want to work. Additionally, teachers using the Discovery Learning Method cannot
wait until the end of the activity to access a child. Instead, they interact with students to see what
the student is doing, what kind of questions are being asked, and help them apply any new skills
that may be necessary to solve problems and draw conclusions. The teacher must also recognize
that there is more than one way to get to an end goal.
The Discovery Learning Method is a great choice for ESL students, as well as students with
behavioral or developmental problems. The student who can’t sit still in class will have a chance
to actively take part in the learning process. The student whose first language is not English will
be exploring ideas instead of being told what to think and possibly not understanding the concept
because of a language barrier. When the Discovery Learning Method is used,students are on task
more often because they are actively part of the learning process instead of just being spectators.
Conclusion
Overall, the Discovery Method is highly supported by educational psychologists. They agree
with Kant, Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner as well as educational philosopher Dewey that learning
is based on knowing and doing. If a teacher takes into consideration that a child already has
some prior knowledge, then that teacher will be able to show students how their lives are
connected to the content without having to work to create that connection.
It takes work to successfully use the Discovery Learning Method in the classroom, and teachers
have to be careful to not have class activities just for the sake of having activities. The Discovery
Learning Method is hands-on, focuses on the process, and encourages students to look for
solutions. Instead of just teaching students to memorize rules or concepts, this method lets them
apply ideas to their lives, creating memorable lessons that will help turn them into lifelong
learners.
What is Discovery Learning

Discovery Learning was introduced by Jerome Bruner, and is a method of

Inquiry-Based Instruction. This popular theory encourages learners to build on
past experiences and knowledge, use their intuition, imagination and creativity,
and search for new information to discover facts, correlations and new truths.
Learning does not equal absorbing what was said or read, but actively seeking
for answers and solutions.

The 5 Principles of Discovery Learning Model

The Discovery Learning Model integrates the following 5 principles:

 Principle 1: Problem Solving.

Instructors should guide and motivate learners to seek for solutions by
combining existing and newly acquired information and simplifying knowledge.
This way, learners are the driving force behind learning, take an active role
and establish broader applications for skills through activities that encourage
risks, problem-solving and probing.
 Principle 2: Learner Management.
Instructors should allow participants to work either alone or with others, and
learn at their own pace. This flexibility makes learning the exact opposite of a
static sequencing of lessons and activities, relieves learners from
unnecessary stress, and makes them feel they own learning.
 Principle 3: Integrating and Connecting.
Instructors should teach learners how to combine prior knowledge with new,
and encourage them to connect to the real world. Familiar scenarios become
the basis of new information, encouraging learners to extend what they know
and invent something new.
 Principle 4: Information Analysis and Interpretation.
Discovery learning is process-oriented and not content-oriented, and is based
on the assumption that learning is not a mere set of facts. Learners in fact
learn to analyze and interpret the acquired information, rather than memorize
the correct answer.
 Principle 5: Failure and Feedback.
Learning doesn’t only occur when we find the right answers. It also occurs
through failure. Discovery learning does not focus on finding the right end
result, but the new things we discover in the process. And it’s the instructor’s
responsibility to provide feedback, since without it learning is incomplete.
The Discovery Learning Model Techniques
The discovery learning educational sessions should be well-designed, highly
experiential and interactive. Instructors should use stories, games, visual aids
and other attention-grabbing techniques that will build curiosity and interest, and
lead learners in new ways of thinking, acting and reflecting.
The techniques utilized in Discovery Learning can vary, but the goal is always the
same, and that is the learners to reach the end result on their own. By exploring
and manipulating situations, struggling with questions and controversies, or by
performing experiments, learners are more likely to remember concepts and
newly acquired knowledge.

The Discovery Learning Model Key Advantages And Drawbacks

Discovery learning has many key advantages, such as:

 It encourages motivation, active involvement, and creativity

 It can be adjusted to the learner’s pace
 It promotes autonomy and independence
 It ensures higher levels of retention
However, as all models, it has also few drawbacks that can be summarized as
follows:

 It needs a solid framework, because the endless wandering and seeking for
answers might be confusing.
 It shouldn’t be used as a main instruction method, because it has limitations in
practice and might produce inadequate education.
 Instructors need to be well prepared and anticipate the questions they may
receive, and be able to provide the right answers or guidelines.
 At a certain level, it rejects the idea that there are significant skills and
knowledge that all learners should need to learn.