It’s All About Discovery
Recently I was at a self-serve restaurant and sat in awe as a watched a child go to up to the soda fountain to pour soda into their cup. You may ask, “what can be so fascinating about a soda fountain?”. The fascination occurred by watching the child put a flavor in the cup, taste it, then add another flavor. The flavor mixing continued until suddenly their face light up with excitement. The child had found the perfect soda concoction.
Some people may have viewed this as a child just having fun. However, I viewed this from the perspective of an educator who values discovery learning. Discovery Learning is a method that focuses on inquiry and letting the learner figure out facts and relationships on their own[1]. The mixing of the soda was a simple way for the child to explore their senses through tasting, smelling, and seeing all the different flavors.
Discovery Learning has been around since the beginning of time, and it is instinctual. Early man had to learn about the power of fire through problem-solving, at their own pace, and on their terms. I wonder how many burns it took for them to understand the concept of “hot”. Through the burns, they discovered the danger of fire and how to harness its powers safely. Discovery allowed them to use fire for cooking, warmth, and protection against animals.
We are continuously learning in our everyday lives from studying to real-world experiences. As children, we try all kinds of things to learn, grow, and expand our knowledge. As adults, we use discovery learning every time we try a task we’ve only seen done. We unclog drains and change tires through trial and error problem-solving.
A great example of discovery learning is YouTube. YouTube has changed our lives. Need to replace a door handle? Just go to YouTube where you can find thousands of “how-to” videos. Watch the video, and then try it for yourself and hope you get it right the first time. If not, you can keep watching and discovering different options that may solve the problem.
Discovery Learning has many benefits for learners, such as:
increasing engagement because it requires active involvement. Learners need to infer, try, and apply on their own to gain an understanding.
allowing learners to work at their own pace, which promotes autonomy and independence by putting the learner in the lead and not the teacher.
increasing knowledge retention.
At Athena Scholastic, we use Discovery Learning strategies when designing learning experiences to ensure mastery of content. Whenever possible we have students interacting, manipulating, and applying during the learning and assessment processes.
For a free Discovery Learning science lesson, please visit the Athena Scholastic store on teacherspayteachers.com
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Athena-Scholastic
[1] Bruner. (2019). Learning Theories volume 1: Discovery Learning. eBook from LearningTheories.com.