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,

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

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

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.

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