Discovery Learning

Definition

Discovery learning is a general approach that involves mindful participation and active inquiry in the acquisition of concepts and strategies. In classroom contexts, it refers to a form of curriculum in which students are encouraged to actively explore and figure out the concepts, solutions, or strategies at hand. A widely accepted idea is that discovery learning is the most appropriate and effective approach to facilitating deep and lasting understanding. This approach is often contrasted with direct instruction or expository learning, which typically refers to traditional, content-oriented methods whereby the instructor lectures to students. Learning associated with direct instruction is often believed to be less engaged and less active, and thus less effective.

The spirit of discovery learning can be traced back to philosophical traditions. The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that children do not learn well via instruction and therefore should be given maximum freedom to explore their surroundings. He claimed that children learn primarily from spontaneous exploration of the environment and from interactions with people and objects. John Dewey posited that the essence of education is learning by doing and exploring. According to Dewey, discovery learning provides the ‘intimate and necessary relation between the processes of actual experience and education.’

Discovery learning is at the core of the constructionist view of education. According to Jean Piaget, children learn by interacting with the environment, both physically and mentally. He emphasized the importance of ‘cultivating the experimental mind.’ Educators must teach children how to use discovery as a tool for constructing and acting on their worlds. Another constructionist, Jerome Bruner, was an early advocator of discovery learning environments. He believed that allowing students to learn by constructing knowledge structures would lead to improved intellectual ingenuity and persistence, as well as increased motivation to learn. He claimed that

Thus, discovery learning is effective at helping the student uncover the underlying principles of a domain and in generalizing that knowledge to other tasks and contexts. Despite the widespread appeal of discovery learning and strong endorsements by a wide range of theorists and educational researchers, major issues and controversies remain regarding the role of discovery in learning and the evidence supporting this approach.

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