Discovery Learning

 Discovery learning is the idea of "learning by doing" a concept developed by Jerome Bruner in the 1960's.  In discovery learning a student uses prior knowledge and past experiences to interact with their environment.  By doing this they they can discover new concepts and ideas.  According to the theory this makes the learned information more readily available to the learner.  By discovering these concepts and ideas for themselves students make them their own.

Critics of the theory claim that discovery learning is less effective that traditional instruction for novices and is frequently used with this group.  They claim that direct instruction is needed to provide adequate background knowlegde to allow for effective discovery learning.

Following is an example of discovery learning: 

In a multimedia class where students learn various computer programs that allow them to manipulate different types of media they are given their first assignment in a video editing software.  First the instructor gives them some basic instruction such as how to navigate the program, how to use the different tools, and what the program is capable of producing.  Once the basic background knowlegde is taught to the students they are free to use their own creativity and experimentation to produce their project.  Through trial and error they will learn the many different aspects of the program and will tailor their learning to their own needs.  The instructor is there to facilitate and answer questions along the way.  By doing this the students will become familiar with those features of the program that most interest them and help them accomplish the given task in a manner that suites them.

http://www.learning-theories.com/discovery-learning-bruner.html                        http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/discovery.html