Discovery Learning

The Process of Discovery

Discovery learning refers to obtaining knowledge for
oneself.
Discovery is a type of inductive reason because students
move from studying specific examples to formulating
general examples, general rules, concepts, and principles.
Discovery learning also goes by other names such as
problem-based, inquiry, experiential, and constructivist
learning.
Discovery is a form of problem solving not letting students
do what every they want to do.

Teaching for Discovery

Teaching for discovery requires presenting questions,
problems, or puzzling situations to resolve and encouraging
learners to make intuitive guesses when they are uncertain.
Teachers could ask questions that have no readily available
answers and tell students that their answers will not be
graded.
Greater teacher structure is beneficial when students are not
familiar with the discovery procedure or require extensive
background knowledge.
It may not be appropriate with well-structured content that is
easily presented.

Meaningful Reception
Learning

Meaningfulness and Expository

Teaching
Meaningful learning refers to learning of ideas,
concepts, and principles by relating new information to
knowledge in memory.
Prior experiences determine whether students find
learning meaningful.
This is considered more deductive reasoning that
requires teachers to break the material into smaller
ideas.
Meaningful reception learning requires much teacherstudent interaction.

Advance Organizers
Advance organizers, or broad statements, help students
to connect new material with prior learning
Organizers direct learners' attention to important
concepts in material to be learned, highlight
interrelationships among ideas presented, and link new
material to what students know.

Conditions of Learning

Learning Outcomes
Outcomes are distinct when learning requires different
types of cognitive information processing and when
learning enables different types of of performances.
There are five types: intellectual skills, verbal
information, cognitive strategies, motor skills, and
attitudes.

Learning Events,
Internal conditions are prerequisite skills and cognitive
processing requirements.
External conditions are environmental stimuli that
support the learner's cognitive processes.

Learning Hierarchies
Learning hierarchies are organized sets of intellectual
skills.
Hierarchies are not linear ordering some of skills.
One must often apply two or more more prerequisite
skills to learning to learn a higher-order skills.

Phases of Learning
Instruction is a set of external events designed to
facilitate internal learning processes.
Preparation for learning includes introductory learning
activities.
Transfer of learning phases include cueing retrieval and
generalizability.

Models of Instruction

Learning Time
Time Needed for Learning
aptitude for learning the task
ability to understand instruction
quality of instruction

Time Spent is Learning

Time allowed for learning

Time the learner is willing to spend learning
Degree of learning = time spent/time needed
Block scheduling (AB schedule, deeper learning)

Mastery Learning
Mastery: objectives and exam aligned and reviewed.
Planning for mastery: corrective feedback procedures
Teaching for mastery: entire class, small groups,
independent, remedial materials
Grading for mastery: summative tests to assess the
objectives taught
Mastery instruction easily creates more time spent
learning.
Individual differences in learning decrease over time.

Inquiry Teaching
Minimally guided
Problem-based
Experiential
Constructivist learning
Discovery learning
Can be structured to have greater teacher direction

Instruction with Worked

Examples
Worked examples: present problem solutions in step-bystep fashion and often include accompanying diagrams
Self-explanations

Cognitive Level
Intrinsic cognitive load:
depends on the unalterable properties of the information to be
learned
eased only when learners acquire an effective cognitive schema to
deal with the information

Extrinsic cognitive load:

The manner in which the material is presented or the activities
required for the learner
Depends on how the material is taught
Giving clear directions and expectations helps minimize extrinsic
cognitive load

Peer-Assisted Learning
Peers serve as active agents in the learning process
Modeling, peer tutoring, reciprocal teaching,
collaborative
Promotes achievement
Proven to be most effective with younger, urban, lowincome, and minority children
Consider desired learning

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Teaching Then and Now

Then:
Teacher activities led to student learning
Teachers heavily influenced student learning
Learning could occur with little interaction between
student and teacher
Focused on behavioral research

Now:
Learning involves reciprocal interactions between
teacher, instruction, cognitive processes of the student,
and the environment
Focusing now on cognitive and constructivist research

Planning Models
Model 1: Linear model of lesson planning
What should teachers do to promote student
learning?
1. Start with objective, 2. Plan activities, 3.
Organize instruction, then 4. Determine
Assessment

Model 2: Means and Ends of teaching are

integrated
1. Start with how students will be assessed, 2.
Objectives arise 3. Plan activities aligned with
objectives , then 4. Main goals determined

Planning Models
Research lends to support the exploration of the thought
process of teachers throughout the planning process
Before: How do I anticipate my students to respond to this
activity? What are specific and guiding questions needing to be
answered?
During: how are students receiving the instruction? Does a
change need to be made before moving on?
After: What worked well in the lesson? When did I notice a
change in my students motivation? How could this activity
have gone differently?

Planning Models
Motivational Concerns:
Consider the setting and content
Student involvement and participation
Deviate from lesson when motivation is low

Expert Teachers:

Focus on individual students

Plan multiple ways to teach the content
Long term curriculum planning
Less lesson plan writing (scripting)

Novice Teachers:

Consider the class as a whole

Keep to the lesson plan in class and have few adaptations
Address short-term planning for immediate goals
Script most of their lessons

Instructional Grouping
Competitive
Negatively link individuals goals
Highlights importance of ability and promotes social comparisons
Motivation can improve if students believe they are performing better than
others
Motivation can decline if students feel they are being outperformed.
Usually few students receive a majority of the rewards

Cooperative
Positively link individuals goals
The outcome of groups affected students perceptions of their abilities and
feelings of satisfaction
Group success lessens negative self-perceptions
Group failure led to lowered positive self-perceptions
Cooperative learning works best when a task is given to each participant

Individualistic
No link between individuals goals
Students compare their own effort in previous situations.
Self-improvement leads to better self-efficacy

Instructional Practices
Effective Teaching- Expert teachers develop competency
in these three areas:
Content Knowledge
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Pedagogical Knowledge

As teachers develop in all areas, their classrooms

become more student-driven and less teacher-driven
Part of the cognitive and constructivist theories
Working memory of students is limited. Presenting too much
new material is overwhelming to students

Effective Teaching
Teaching structured content:

Effective Teaching
Instructional approach

Material broken into smaller steps

Practice each step before moving forward
Connect new information with prior knowledge
Give additional practice

Works best with factual information, math processes,

writing, grammar
Not as relevant for less-structured content

Teaching Functions
Rosenshine and Stevens (1986)
Six teaching functions based on cognitive information
processing

Review and check previous work; reteach if needed

Present new content
Guided practice for students
Offer quality feedback
Independent practice
Periodically review content (weekly, monthly, etc)