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The Discovery Learning Cycle
In her research paper, “A Theoretical Foundation for Discovery Learning,” Marilla D. Svinicki of the Center for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Texas at Austin describes how students are asked to make connections between what they are learning and their real-life experiences. She says, the discovery method is a version of science in the real world as scientists live it rather than science calcified in textbooks.
The learning theory behind discovery learning focuses on what happens in the learner’s mind as new information is acquired. According to this model, learning occurs when new information is incorporated into the learner’s existing network of associations. To do this, the learner must constantly monitor new information and search memory for related ideas to make connections.
If no related ideas exist, new but very tenuous networks are formed using whatever links to prior knowledge can be made; then, with repeated use, these new networks are strengthened and elaborated until they become well integrated into the learner’s long-term memory and worldview. Connections to prior knowledge are either pointed out by a mentor or discovered by the learner.
Active Learning
A major benefit of discovery learning is that active learners are more interested and attentive to the key ideas or processes under examination, rather than merely observing. Active involvement forces the learner to construct a response by drawing on prior knowledge. Information that is processed deeply is more easily recalled later because it has more connections to prior knowledge.
When learners are actively involved in solving problems, gaps in knowledge cannot be ignored. Feedback comes from the process itself: you are successful or not. If not, rethink the process, assumptions, and evidence, and continue the discovery-learning process.
Meaningful Learning
Another benefit of discovery learning is that it is more meaningful for the learner to be actively involved in problem-solving and in the connections made, and the organization imposed is based on their prior knowledge rather than imposed by someone else.
Discovery learning forces the learner to confront their current ideas about a topic, many of which may be misconceptions, and reconcile them with what they actually observe to be the case. Hearing someone refute a misconception is not as powerful as having the evidence as a result of your own investigation.
Discovery learning is more concrete and, therefore, easier for beginners. Most discovery tasks are based on real problems or real situations, making them easier to visualize and relate to. Because discovery learning is intended to be done in a “real-life” context, learners understand the context along with the information, increasing the likelihood that they remember what to do when a similar situation arises.
Changes in Beliefs and Attitudes
Discovery learning supports the belief that understanding can be constructed by the learner rather than received from a higher authority. Advances in science, business, and government are often made when learners feel the need to test what authorities say is true.
Discovery learning supports the attitude that science is a process, not a set of facts. It is designed to provide opportunities to understand and apply the steps in the process itself.
Finally, discovery learning places responsibility for learning on the learners themselves. When they are placed in a position of having to figure out a problem, they have much more responsibility to take charge of their own learning process and become who they want to be, rather than what someone else wants them to be. Marilla D. Svinicki,“A Theoretical Foundation for Discovery Learning,” Advances in Psychological Education, Vol. 20, No. 1, December 1998.