Should We Implement Discovery-Based Learning?

1. SHOULD WE IMPLEMENT
DISCOVERY-BASED
LEARNING?
By Dave Rutt

2. History
 Discovery-Based Instruction dates from at
least the 50s
 Other similar approaches:
Problem-Based Learning
Situated Learning
Constructivism
Inquiry-Based Learning

3. A Definition
 “discovery learning occurs whenever the
learner is not provided with the target
information or conceptual understanding and
must find it independently and with only the
provided materials”1

4. For example…
 Imagine teaching a grade 6 lesson on Growing
Patterns2
 Sample Problem: Find the pattern: 3, 7, 15,
31, 63…
 Students would be given several examples
and expected to find the patterns, then make
general connections between the types of
patterns

5. Versus…
 The other end of the spectrum: Direct
Instruction

6. For example…
 Remember the sample problem on growing
patterns? (3, 7, 15, 31, 63…)
 The Direct Instruction approach would be to
show the pattern (multiply by 2, add 1), teach
the general type of pattern (multiply by x, add
y), and then assign questions

7. It’s Worth Noting…
 We don’t actually have a good model for how
people think and learn3
Maybe people learn better through Direct
Instruction
Maybe we learn better through discovery
The science isn’t there yet!
 The brain is so complicated, cognitive science
and neuroscience are still rapidly evolving
fields

8. The Brain is Complicated and We
Don’t Understand it

9. Results
 Unassisted Discovery leads to worse
outcomes than Direct Instruction1
 Enhanced-Discovery approaches have better
outcomes than either extreme

10. Enhanced Discovery? What is
that??
 The optimal approach lies somewhere in the
middle

11. An Aside About Educational
Research
 The results from the previous slides come from
Alfieri’s meta-analysis of over 500 educational
studies on discovery approaches to teaching
 There is a lot of cutting-edge educational
research being done; we, as teachers, should
pay attention to it

12. How to Enhance Discovery4
 Worked examples
 Process worksheets
 Timely feedback
 Scaffolding
 Elicited Explanation

13. e.g. Worked Example
 Teacher provides one (or more) solved
example

14. In Summary
 Be careful about making activities too open-
ended
 Some research suggests that younger children
need more direct instruction, and the extent to
which instruction should be discovery-based
increases with age (all the way up to adults)
 Look for ways to achieve guided discovery
 But, YES! We should use discovery-based
learning, as long as it’s used properly.

15. References
 1. Alfieri (2011)
 2. Ontario Math Curriculum
 3. Anderson, Reder and Simon (2000)
 4. Kirschner, Sweller and Clark (2006)