Guided Discovery Learning

Working as an undercover agent, the teacher

makes sure that the students are guided to
their discoveries. That discovery made by the
students with guidance and support from the
teacher is known as guided discovery learning.

This becomes clear if we compare with

Discovery Learning, which is unguided and
Reception Learning, which is over guided.
Discovery Learning: An approach, which
capitalizes on the childs natural curiosity and
urge to explore the environment. The child
learns by personal experience and experiment
and this is thought to make memory more
vivid and help in the transfer of knowledge to
new situations. This method is associated with
liberal educationists such as Dewey and
Montessori. It has the support of Piagets
theory, which stresses the importance of the
effects of informal experience during
childhood.
What is Discovery Learning?

Students discover knowledge without guidance,

developing their own
understanding.

Children are Little Scientists. Jean Piajet.

Can you think of an example from your own

experiences?

As a young boy/girl, what were some of the simplest

things you learned yourself without the help of elders
or teachers?
Reception Learning: People acquire knowledge
primarily through reception rather than through
discovery. Concepts, principles, and ideas are
presented to them and received by them, not
discovered by them. The more organized and
focused the presentation, the more thoroughly the
person will learn. This is David Ausubels view in
contrast to Jerome Bruners discovery learning.
Ausubel believes that learning should progress, not
inductively as Bruner recommends, but deductively:
from the general to the specific, or from the rule or
principle to examples.
Limitations: Discovery learning is not appropriate in
every situation other than young children. Often
children dont have sufficient time to learn all they need
to know by personal discovery. On the other hand as in
reception learning, if the teacher presents concepts,
principles, and ideas to children, students may not put
in much effort and it becomes spoon-feeding.

Hence the middle path is guided learning. Teachers

should retain the important role in guiding children to
their discoveries. Level of guidance should be in
accordance with learners ability. Some learners need
little guidance and some may need more. Teachers
should provide right amount of guidance and support
depending on an individuals ability.
Steps in Guided Discovery:
1. Present a problem, question, or situation that is interesting or exciting, and
provoke student questions.

2. Ask students to define or explain terms, working toward a precise definition of

the problem, question, or situation to be studied.

3. Aid students in the formation of specific questions to focus the enquiry and
facilitate the collection of data.

4. Guide students toward a variety of sources, including yourself and your

students, to provide necessary data.

5. Assist students in checking the data by clarifying statements or judgments

about the problem or situation.

6. Support the development of a number of solutions from which choices can be

made.

7. Provide opportunity for feedback and revision. Assist in testing the

effectiveness of solutions.
To each the concept the sum of angles of a triangle always equal
to 180 degree, five different approaches are given:

1. Teacher provides triangles and instruments like rulers, compasses, and protractors, and
simply allows learners to play with materials giving no specific direction.

2. After providing triangles and instruments like rulers, compasses, and protractors,
teacher says See if you find any interesting facts about the angles of a triangle.

3. Teacher gives instruction Measure the angles of a triangle and add the result
together. Repeat this for a number of triangles and see if can state any conclusion
which applies to all the triangles.

4. Teacher draws number of triangles on the board and asks various students to come
forward to measure the angles and perform the requisite addition, and then invite the
class to formulate a generalization.

5. Teacher gives generalization and then have various children to confirm it with
examples drawn on the board.

Which of the above approach are Discovery Learning, Guided Discovery

Learning, and Receptive Learning.