Discovery Learning

Published by discoverylearningadmin

After nearly 40 year of college level teaching, I finally discovered during my last year, a superior way of helping students learn. Using story-centered learning in 2009, i divided my class of 214 engineer students into 17 teams of 8-12 students; and by using my first novel, successfully engaged them in discovery-learning to re-engineer electrical or electronic products. They each selected a different product, then used their agency, talents, curiosity, and creative problem solving abilities to re-design a product by eliminating hazardous materials (lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, etc.); and making the product easy to disassemble and reclaim useful materials. My final examination question, "What did you learn in this class that you didn't know before?" brought a plethora of reassuring and rewarding comments. Instead of the usual 60% failure rate, there was a 98% success rate. Because of the successful outcome, I have started the non-profit Discovery-Learning Association (https://discovery-learning.org) to help other teachers learn how to use a template to create engaging stories; then illustrate, animate, narrate, and incorporate these stories into courses that address authentic personal, inter-personal, and community needs -- for global distribution and access -- using smart phones for anywhere, anytime learning. View more posts