Focus: More effective for Students: Discovery Learning Model or Direct Instruction?
Pros of DL
lessons are based on the student and meeting his or her psychological needs to achieve learning outcomes
children need a chance to explore, experience and connect information in order to truly understand and internalize abstract principles
Goal 3
Discovery Learning is a constructivist theory, meaning it is based on the idea that students construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing things and reflecting on those experience
Cons of DL
Formal training in this method is necessary for teachers and teachers also have to reflect about how their activity is helping students master a concept
just because something is “hands on” does not mean that it is “minds on”
the working memory can greatly interfere with learning if it is cluttered with extraneous details characteristic of discovery learning.
IN math for eg. It encourages students to develop their own techniques for basic arithmetic, thus de-emphasizing practice in the use of the efficient standard techniques evolved over the centuries.
BALANCE BETWEEN DI and DL
1. Aim for guided discovery
2. Instruct first, then guide
3. Incorporate guided play
4. Consider the context
Looking at Both
Pros of DI
Students work closely with an instructor and have multiple opportunities to practice and demonstrate mastery of a skill before they are moved to a higher level group
Students, for their part, do not suffer much confusion in determining which part of the lesson is important and which part is not.
SubBaker et al. (2013) describe the “compelling evidence indicat[ing] that explicit [direct] instruction has a positive impact on a range of student academic outcomes, particularly for students who are at risk for academic difficulties” (p. 334).
Direct Instruction is where teachers use explicit teaching techniques to teach a specific skill to their students. This type of instruction is teacher-directed, where a teacher presents information. Teachers match their instruction to the task to enhance students’ understanding of a topic.
Subtopic
Cons of DI
rigid enough to hinder the creativity of the teacher. There is very little room to improvise because this method follows a step-by-step procedure
the teacher must have a mastery of the subject matter, must prepare well-organized content, and must have excellent communication skills
Learners can’t learn at their own pace and Loss of creativity