DISCOVERY LEARNING
Discovery
Learning at UT is promulgated primarily by the College of Natural Sciences but I first encountered it in an English course, the Freshman English sequence at Amherst College taught from 1938 to 1966. That course in turn influenced the Natural Sciences, particularly the two-semester Physics course required of all Freshmen. As you can see in the course description the emphasis on discovery learning was extraordinary.
Discovery
learning is known as active learning because you participate
actively in the learning process rather than passively receiving
knowledge as if you are an empty vessel to be filled by the
instructor.
The chief advantage of discovery learning is that
questioning and solving problems without expecting someone to
give you the answer enables you develop confidence in your own
ability to handle problems in this area, which in turn encourages
you to go further.
Active learning supports the belief that knowledge
can be constructed by you rather than received from a
higher authority.
Discovery learning is based on the assumption that
education is a process, not a set of facts.
Active learning puts the responsibility on you. When
you are placed in the position of having to figure out a
problem, you are much more likely to take charge of your
own learning.
Discovery learning also has the following benefits:
[1] while you are participating, you are paying more
attention;
[2] the activities focus your attention on the key
ideas or techniques that are being examined;
[3] active involvement forces you to construct a
response and this results in processing of information
deeper than mere memorization;
[4] discovery learning provides you with an
opportunity to get early feedback on your understanding:
gaps in your understanding cannot be ignored;
[5] active learning results in "episodic
memory," a deeper kind of memory specific to an
event so that if you cannot at first remember the idea or
technique you can reconstruct it from the event;
[6] discovery learning can be more motivating,
incorporating the pleasures of solving puzzles and
controlling an environment.
Discovery learning is considered more meaningful because
[1] it makes use of your own personal associations as
a basis for understanding vs. parroting back the
instructor's version of a concept;
[2] figuring out the process rather than just
following directions results in a solution unique to the
learner, one ultimately easier to reconstruct;
[3] you are forced to confront your current ideas
about the subject, many of which may be misconceptions,
and reconcile them with what you now observe to be the
case;
[4] because you are able to see the principles
actually at work, you have a better grasp of the ideas;
[5] because you learned in a context similar to the
eventual context of use you will be able to recognize an
opportunity to use the information more easily;
[6] because you began connecting the information to
the "real world" its value is clearer to you.
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