Discovery Learning: What It Is And How It Develops
Each and every one of us carries out a large number of learnings throughout our lives. And throughout history, institutions such as schools have been created, which allow part of this knowledge to be transmitted to new generations and provide them with tools to develop in today’s world.
But the same methodologies have not always been used: there are different ways of learning and teaching, some of which are more advantageous than others to achieve and develop knowledge. One of them is discovery learning which we are going to talk about throughout this article.
Discovery learning can be understood as a way to obtain knowledge which is characterized by the fact that the acquisition of knowledge is produced by the subject himself Thus, the information does not come from outside, but is limited to providing means through which the user himself comes to acquire it.
Thus, it starts from the establishment of starting hypotheses from which the subject reaches his or her own conclusions, in a self-regulated manner and enhancing the research itself by being based on the identification of problems to be resolved actively.
It is one of the main ways in which new content can be presented in the psychic structure, allowing the subject himself to generate the learning, assimilate it and shape it for himself.
This type of learning is much more frequent and useful in the field of science, in which the understanding of cvoknowledge part of the discoveries carried out by the individual himself rather than coming directly from the repetition of information.
Discovery learning, defended by Bruner, part of constructivism which states that the fact of learning depends on the construction of knowledge by the learners or students: it is an active and not a passive process, in which through processes of assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge the subject acquire knowledge.
It is relevant that knowledge must be significant, that is, that new information must be able to be linked to previous knowledge and schemes in order to be able to understand them and give them meaning. It also pays great attention to the intrapsychic and contextual factors of the educational process, highlighting among the first intellectual abilities and especially the motivation to learn.
However, although it may seem that discovery learning is necessarily linked to meaningful learning, the truth is that this modality or route alone does not imply per se that the learning is significant, in such a way that a correspondence cannot be established.
And it is possible that significant learning occurs through reception, as long as the information from outside allows the construction of knowledge from previous schemes through assimilation and accommodation.
The apprentice: an active subject
One of the most relevant elements of discovery learning is that allows the student or learner to be an active subject in the construction of knowledge so that you can more easily give meaning to new material and organize it based on your interests and prior knowledge.
It also allows the subject to develop the ability to think for themselves and critically with the already existing material, in addition to being able to enhance lateral thinking and increase the feeling of self-efficacy in the long term. It is also linked to high levels of interest and motivation on the part of the student to learn.
Unlike in a more traditional and mechanistic teaching, in which the teacher is a transmitter or source of the knowledge that the students receive and from which they acquire information, in discovery learning the role of the teacher changes.
In discovery learning, the teacher or teacher acts as a guide that provides the instruments for the subject to develop knowledge for himself, instead of acting as a source of knowledge that transmits it to passive recipient subjects.
In this sense, a scaffolding is generated, in such a way that the learner builds based on the help that the professional provides in an adjusted manner but without stopping building knowledge for himself.
Points in favor of this type of learning
Discovery learning has a series of great advantages in relation to other types of learning. To begin with, it is a type of learning that encourages creativity as well as the fact of taking advantage of and promoting intrinsic motivation towards learning in such a way that the learner seeks to learn not for possible external motivators but for the pleasure of learning itself.
It also helps the student learn to learn, promoting metacognition and the ability to search for information, synthesize it and be critical of it. It also favors the acquisition of problem-solving and hypothesis-verifying search skills as well as acceptance and learning from mistakes.
In addition, it should be taken into account that this type of learning can be adapted more easily to the tastes, desires and abilities of the students, by not focusing so much on one type of knowledge but on what the subject wishes to explore.
In addition, it makes it easier for the subject to feel more qualified and have a more active and creative role in their daily life. It also empowers the subject by making him the protagonist of his learning process, contributing to his greater independence.
Possible disadvantages
Given the previous points, it may seem that discovery learning is always something positive and advantageous for the development of knowledge, but it also presents a series of disadvantages that have led some authors to criticize this type of procedure.
In this sense, it has been suggested that the learning obtained can be positive and useful, but it may be ineffective due to the high difficulty of transferring this type of learning to classrooms with a large number of subjects.
On the other hand, depending on the motivation of the subject can cause the discoveries made to leave aside material or elements that, although not appealing to the subject, may be useful on a daily basis. It can also make it more complicated to manage frustration when faced with having to do undesirable or interesting tasks.
