Discovery learning is Jerome Bruner's proposal, from his 1961 Harvard Educational Review essay The Act of Discovery, that learners understand and retain concepts best when they arrive at them through their own exploration rather than direct exposition. Bruner counted as discovery all forms of obtaining knowledge for oneself by the use of one's own mind, and claimed benefits in problem-solving capacity, intrinsic motivation, transferable heuristics and retention. It is distinct from his later scaffolding concept, which concerns the tutor's external support; discovery concerns the learner's internal reorganization of evidence.
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Core ClaimLearners understand, retain and transfer knowledge more effectively when they actively discover concepts and relationships themselves rather than receiving them through direct instruction. 1 Kirschner, Sweller and Clark's widely cited 2006 paper argues from cognitive load theory that minimally guided discovery is less effective than guided instruction for novices; guided-discovery hybrids are more broadly accepted than the pure form. This is one of education's most active instructional-design controversies, not a settled question. Connections
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1. The Marginalian
Jerome Bruner on the Act of Discovery essay, quoting the 1961 paper
Discovery is in its essence a matter of rearranging or transforming evidence in such a way that one is enabled to go beyond the evidence so reassembled to new insights.
Jerome Bruner on the Act of Discovery essay, 1961 publication
Discovery, like surprise, favors the well-prepared mind.
Jerome Bruner on the Act of Discovery essay, later naming
To the degree that one is able to approach learning as a task of discovering something rather than 'learning about' it, to that degree there will be a tendency for the child to work with the autonomy of self-reward.
Developed By: Jerome Bruner, Jerome Bruner on the Act of Discovery essay, attribution
the pioneering Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner explores in a magnificent essay titled The Act of Discovery
In Approach: Constructivism, Jerome Bruner on the Act of Discovery essay, constructivist framing
Emphasis on discovery in learning has precisely the effect on the learner of leading him to be a constructionist, to organize what he is encountering.
In Category: Learning Theory and Concepts, Jerome Bruner on the Act of Discovery essay
the pioneering Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner explores in a magnificent essay titled The Act of Discovery
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Wikimedia FoundationIn Approach: Inquiry-Based Learning, Inquiry-based learning pageView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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