COMPARISON BETWEEN DISCOVERY AND LECTURE METHOD OF TEACHING
Opportunities for discovery activity
occur whenever inadequacy of knowledge (of concepts and/or skills) produces a
situation where students don't know "what to do next" so they must
think on their own, and are allowed to think.
These opportunities for discovery can be accidental (when a teacher
doesn't realize that students are struggling) or the obstacles can be
intentional, designed into a lab as thinking activities that let students
practice existing skills or learn new skills.
If a particular lab has a sufficient amount of discovery activities
compared with other types of thinking activities,
so the ratio of discovery/non-discovery
is high, it can be called an discovery lab.
A well-designed discovery lab, like a well-written mystery story, aims
for a level of challenge that is "just right" so students will not
become bored with problems that are too easy, or become frustrated because the
problems they encounter are too difficult and frequent. Ideally, students will struggle temporarily
but eventually they will succeed, and in doing so they will feel genuine
emotional-and-intellectual satisfaction.
They will place a high personal value on their own success because they
were able to overcome challenging obstacles during the process of problem
solving.
Forms of
Discovery learning
Dr. Roger Schank
and Chip Cleary (1994) have proposed five main Discoveries for categorizing the
Discoveries for discovery learning.
incidental learning,
learning by exploring/conversing,
learning by reflection,
Simulation-based learning. By utilizing
these Discoveries, teachers can build activities to allow their students to
discover the desired concepts.
Incidental Learning
Incidental
learning is probably the most entertaining form of discovery learning. In
incidental learning, students gain knowledge “in passing” (Schank & Cleary,
1994; Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000). Learning is a by-product of an
incidental learning task in which the students are engaged. My experience has
been that students typically love participating in incidental learning because
many times the task takes the form of a game. Incidental learning activities
work well with dull topics and rote memorization because they provide
motivation to learn topics or skills that are typically perceived by students
as not very interesting but are in the curriculum.
Two examples of incidental
learning would be to have a classroom game show or to make a crossword puzzle
on the desired topic. Incidental learning, because of its game-like quality,
can be motivational to students. Students often become interested in the topic
of study and look for answers because they want to do the activity and must
have the knowledge to do it. Many incidental activities are also suited to
students being involved in the creation process; hence, additional discovery
opportunities result.
Learning by
exploring/conversing
Learning by
exploring is also known as learning by conversing. This type of discovery
learning is based on an organized collection of answers to questions
individuals can ask about a particular topic or skill (Schank & Cleary,
1994). The learning by exploring method is much like the Socratic method of
questioning, answering, and questioning more. Students are given a mystery to
solve and they can only solve it by asking questions. In this Discovery,
curiosity is intended to serve as a dramatic motivational tool. An example of the learning by exploring
Discovery is playing “What’s in the bag?” (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman,
2000). In this game, a bag containing an item is placed where it is visible.
The object in the bag should reflect the desired topic for learning, for
example, an elephant when studying animals. The students then ask questions to
figure out what is in the bag. The students’ mesh their past experiences and
learning and the answers given to formulate new questions to solve the mystery
of what is in the bag. For example, in the case of the elephant in the bag, students
may begin by asking if the object is living. When they receive the response
that it is living, the students then begin to think of all the things they know
that are alive and how the next question can narrow down the field. This
process allows the students to not only learn that an elephant is an animal,
but also discover new ways that the information they know about animals can be
categorized.
Learning by reflection
In learning by
reflection, students learn to apply higher-level cognitive skills by using an
interrogative approach and reflecting on what they know in comparison to the
qualities they are examining (Schank & Cleary, 1994). Learning by
reflection allows the student to learn to ask better questions (Bicknell-Holmes
& Hoffman, 2000). By learning to ask better questions, the students learn
to do more sophisticated analyses (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000). A
teacher who employs the learning by reflection Discovery typically answers
questions with more questions to model how to better ask questions so that
answers can be found.
As you can see
in this dialogue, the teacher does not answer the student’s question directly.
Instead, the teacher leads the student through reflecting on what he or she
already knows and then guides the student in finding the answer.
Students not
familiar with discovery learning find learning by reflection exasperating until
they become better at the skill of asking good questions (Schank & Cleary,
1994). Learning by reflection requires a great deal of patience on the part of
the teacher also because the purpose of this Discovery is to discover better
lines of questioning and reflect on previous knowledge (Schank & Cleary,
1994). Teachers must watch as students struggle and follow errant lines of
questioning when seeking an answer. The students must make the mistakes and
learn from them in order for their ability to ask sophisticated questions to
develop so that they might better reflect on topics.
Simulation-based learning
Simulation-based
learning is essentially role-playing. Students are given an artificial
environment that allows for the opportunity to develop and practice a complex
set of skills or witness the application of abstract concepts (Bicknell-Holmes
& Hoffman, 2000). The benefit of students learning in a simulation rather
than a real life situation is that time and or the natural environment can be
manipulated to guide discovery (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000). Also,
students do not have to worry about the impact of failing in a simulation. For
example, in a simulation where students are learning about adaptations of
animals, students can put an elephant on the top of a mountain and see what
happens without having to worry about a real elephant being harmed by their
mistake in thinking that is where elephants live.
Simulations also allow for
things to occur that would be impossible in real life. For example, students
could plan a space mission and actually take the mission through a simulation,
whereas, taking an actual space mission would be impossible.
Technology has
played a major role in making simulations easier to incorporate into the
classroom. Computers allow for variability in more components of the simulation
environment by taking the burden of manually manipulating data. Through
technology, simulations can be much more realistic and authentic than without
the use of the technology. Technology has provided a great advantage in
implementing this Discovery (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000).
Lecture Method
A lecture is an
oral presentation of information by the instructor. It is the method of
relaying factual information which includes principles, concepts, ideas and all
theoretical knowledge about a given topic. In a lecture the instructor tells,
explains, describes or relates whatever information the trainees are required
to learn through listening and understanding. It is therefore teacher-centred.
The instructor is very active, doing all the talking. Trainees on the other
hand are very inactive, doing all the listening. Despite the popularity of
lectures, the lack of active involvement of trainees limits its usefulness as a
method of instruction.
The lecture
method of instruction is recommended for trainees with very little knowledge or
limited background knowledge on the topic. It is also useful for presenting an
organised body of new information to the learner.
To be effective in promoting
learning, the lecture must involve some discussions and, question and answer
period to allow trainees to be involved actively.
Preparation and delivery of a lecture
As stated
earlier, during the lecture, the trainees merely listen to the instructor. It
is therefore very important to consider the attention span of trainees when
preparing a lecture. The attention span is the period of time during which the
trainees are able to pay full attention to what the instructor is talking
about. It is estimated to be 15-25 minutes only. It is difficult to hold the
trainees attention for a long period of time and careful preparation of
lectures is very necessary.
The instructor should
have a clear, logical plan of presentation. He/she should work out the
essentials of the topic, organise them according to priorities and logical
connections, and establish relationships between the various items. Careful
organisation of content helps the trainees to structure and hence, to store or
remember it. When developing a theme in a lecture, the instructor should use a
variety of approaches. A useful principle in any instruction is to go from the
known to unknown; from simple to complex or from parts to a whole. Knowing the
trainees and addressing their needs and interests is very important. For
example, in explaining technical processes the instructor should search for
illustrations that will be familiar to the trainees. Unfamiliar technical words
should be introduced cautiously. New terminologies should be defined and
explained and examples given.
In order to gain
and focus the attention of trainees, the instructor should be adequately
prepared, fluent in his/her presentation and should use various teaching aids
and illustrations such as charts, transparencies, codes and even the real
objects during presentation. Question and Answer periods should be included in
the lecture.
Qualities of a
good lecture
A good lecture should not be too long as
to exceed the trainees attention span (up to 25 minutes).
A good lecture should address a single
theme.
In a good lecture technical terms are
carefully explained.
Familiar examples and analogies are
given.
A good lecture establishes fluency in
technical content.
A good lecture uses illustrations and
examples.
A good lecture builds on existing
knowledge.
A good lecture employs a variety of
approaches.
Advantages/Disadvantages of Discovery Learning
versus Lecture Learning
There has not
been a great deal of research done comparing the discovery learning method and
lecture teaching. From research that does exist, there appear to be four main
areas of focus. These areas are
motivation
retention
achievement
transference
A significant
advantage of the discovery learning method is its capacity to motivate
students. Discovery learning allows learners to seek information that satisfies
their natural curiosity. It provides the opportunity for students to explore
their desires and consequently creates a more engaging learning environment.
Simply put, discovery learning makes learning fun (Schank & Cleary, 1994).
In a study conducted by D.W. Hardy (1967), the students learning the principles
of archaeology and anthropology through the discovery method of an
archaeological dig were better organizers of information, more active in the
task of learning, and more highly motivated than those who were taught in a
lecture, lecture method. It is easy to imagine that students find it a lot more
fun to dig out artifacts from an archaeological dig and figure out that the
children that lived near the school 2,000 years ago played with rocks that they
used as marbles than it is to read the same fact in a textbook.
In terms of
information retention, discovery learning appears to be at least similar to the
level found when using lecture teaching methods and possibly increases
information retention. Alleman and Brophy (1992) conducted research with
college students by asking them to report memorable kindergarten through eighth
grade social studies activities.
More students recalled activities that
involved opportunities for experiential learning and higher order applications,
characteristics of discovery learning, than activities that involved
repetitive, low level seatwork. Students remembered more of what they learned
in discovery learning activities than lecture activities. An older study also
looked at the level of information retention among kindergarteners over a
shorter timeframe.
Peters (1970)
compared kindergarten students learning mathematics through a discovery
learning method and a verbal didactic instructional method. The students taught
using a discovery learning method had equal retention to those taught using a
lecture method.
In agreement
with Peters (1970), Nelson & Frayer (1972) looked at the retention of
concepts in their study comparing a discovery learning method and an expository
learning method. Nelson & Frayer studied 228 seventh grade students
learning four geometry concepts (quadrilateral, rhombus, trapezoid, and
parallelogram) and found that the students scored equally on retention tests
Discovery
learning increases student achievement when the students are learning skills
rather than facts. In Hardy’s (1967) archaeological study, the n v\students who were taught with the
discovery learning method showed a positive significant difference in
achievement on pre- and post-tests measuring anthropological understandings
over those students taught using the lecture method. Rachel Mabie and Matt
Baker in 1996 also showed an increase in achievement with their study of
students learning about nutrition. Mabie and Bake r studied three groups of
fifth and sixth grade students who were taught about food and fiber using three
different methods. One group was taught over a 10-week period using garden
projects. A second group was taught using short, in-class projects, and the
third group was taught using lecture methods.
Both the garden project and
in-class project groups showed an improvement in pretest knowledge of 70-80%
compared to an 11% increase in the group taught using lecture methods. Nelson
and Frayer (1972) and Peters’ (1970) studies contradict Hardy (1967) and Mabie
and Baker
(1996). The
lecture methods were found to be significantly better for achievement; however,
the content taught in the Nelson and Fayer and Peters studies measured
fact-based information and did not provide for open-ended responses that are
more consistent with the discovery learning method.
The fourth area
of discovery learning versus lecture learning is transference. D. W. Chambers
(1971) did a study that compared discovery learning with over learning. Over
learning is a lecture method of drill and practice in which students practice a
skill many times. Chambers found that students learning with the over learning
method were better at transferring what they had learned than those who learned
the concept through discovery learning. This study is greatly flawed due to the
topic the students were learning which was rote memorization of math facts.
Again, the fact that discovery learning does not work well with rote
memorization impacted this study greatly.
Recognizing
motivation, information retention, and achievement as positive effects of
discovery learning that are grounded in research, the question becomes, why do
teachers and school systems hesitate to adopt discovery learning. Some reasons
are based more on self-imposed misconceptions and attitudes than on discovery
learning’s creative and practical demands (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman,
2000). Some reasons are because of imposed accountability and the structure of
the educational system. Three major reasons teachers do not teach using discovery
learning are that they believe 1) discovery learning will not cover the course
content, 2) discovery learning will require too much preparation and learning
time, or 3) class sizes are too big or too small to permit the strategy’s use
(Bonwell, 1998).
Educators fear
that discovery learning will not cover the course content. This belief may stem
from the fact that discovery learning is a square peg that is being placed in a
round hole. Current curricula for K-12 education do not outline broad concepts
to be learned. Instead, curricula detail isolated facts that students should
know by a certain age (Schank & Cleary, 1994). Also, the structure of grade
levels hinders discovery learning’s natural progression. Students are given 180
days to learn a certain amount of content. Teachers cannot offer the amount of
time some students would require to discover the content the teachers are held
accountable for teaching. Discovery learning does not work well on the same
timeframe or with such specific, fact-based, information. A second reason for a
lack of discovery learning strategies in education is the belief that discovery
learning will require too much time for preparation and learning.
Theoretically, it should require less time for preparation (Schank & Cleary,
1994). The idea in discovery learning is to teach processing skills so that the
initial investment in preparation is high, but the exercises and activities can
be used repeatedly with minor adjustments to address different content areas
(Bonwell, 1998). The preparation done by the teacher in discovery learning is
simply to guide students as they build the investigation skills and then allow
their investigation of the topic.
Since the skills are easily transferable,
creating new lessons do not take a great deal of time. Preparation time should
be less, however, learning time will be greater because students must be given
time to explore. In the Nelson and Frayer (1972) study, it was noted that the
students learning through a discovery learning method spent more time studying
the lessons than those in the expository group. With current school structures
and curricula, many times it is impossible to allow the time needed for
discovery learning. It was not stated in the Nelson and Frayer study, but past
experiences with discovery learning could play a part in the additional time
spent. The skills needed to be efficient learners in a discovery learning
environment must be learned; therefore, students’ first attempts at learning
through discovery learning would be different from their later attempts in
terms of time needed (Schank & Cleary, 1994). A third barrier to discovery
learning is that class sizes are too large or too small for discovery learning.
When looking at
Dewey (1916/1997), Piaget (1954), and Vygotsky (Rice & Wilson, 1999), class
sizes are almost always too large to use discovery learning in the way
described because of the importance of one-on-one interaction.
On the other
hand, group interaction is also important so that the collective experiences of
the group can assist in the creation of new knowledge; therefore, if class
sizes are too small, the collective experiences are limited. The key to
addressing this disadvantage is finding the Discovery that best fits the
circumstances (Bonwell, 1998). Three major barriers exist, but research has
found some advantages in the areas of motivation, retention, and achievement.
More research in the comparison of the discovery learning method versus lecture
teaching on process-based content would be very beneficial. However, current
school structure, in terms of class sizes, curricula and grade levels, and
accountability requirements, including standardized tests, hinder the use of
the discovery learning method in the classroom.
Conclusion
Guided discovery
method contradicts sharply with lecture method because it enhances students’
academic achievement in biology going by the result of this study. The method
is practical oriented, student-centered and enables students to be actively
engaged in a lesson. Some difficulties encountered in biology teaching like
poor performance, topic difficulty can be reduced using the guided discovery
method which is teacher-guided and effective. The method can stimulate
students’ interest to learn due to activity-oriented nature of the method.
There is every reason to encourage teachers to use the guided discovery method
in biology teaching because the method has proved effective by the result of
this study.
Essentially
there are five basic Discoveries found in discovery learning. Discovery
Description Example Case-based Learning Very old Students examine cases and
discuss how to solve problems. Groups of students are given a case to read and
examine. The class then discusses possible solutions to the problem described,
Incidental Learning and Game-like activities. Motivational Jeopardy game
Crossword puzzle learning by Exploring/Conversing Students asking questions.
Encourages thinking of multiple ways to categorize what’s in the bag? Game
Learning by Reflection, Learning to ask better questions and Builds analysis
skills Teacher answers a student’s questions with additional questions for the
student to answer Simulation-based Learning, Experimenting in an artificial
environment and allows for trials without fear of failing Planning and taking a
space mission
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