This article describes a group students in an elementary gifted class used discovery to learn about life in industrial New England. Taking multiple days to analyze this topic, students used artifacts (chairs), discussion, and primary sources to explore the politics of the 1830s. They examined the workings of Hitchcockville, CT, and a Massachusetts…

This booklet can help college instructors breathe life into sociology classes by showing students how sociology is "done" in the real world. Twenty-nine exercises demonstrate to students how data are collected, how data are used to support or refute ideas, how data are interpreted, and the questions raised by different methods of research. The…

In a study comparing the acquisition of information and the understanding of significant concepts by 5th grade children who studied science from two different approaches, the results lent support to the belief that science programs which allow students to discover solutions for themselves are more effective than a content-oriented approach. (EH)

Questions and questioning play a major role in both formal and informal educative processes. They are the means by which a child expresses the desire to understand the world outside and they subsequently become the means by which a teacher assesses whether or not a child has satisfactorily assimilated something. This book considers questions from…

This paper describes part of a course for college freshmen entitled "Computation, Reasoning, and Problem Solving," which uses the LOGO programming language to integrate computer programming skills, collaborative problem solving skills, and writing skills. Discussion of the computer programming component includes two of the LOGO problem…

THIS STUDY RELATED TO DISCOVERY METHODS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING WAS CONCERNED WITH TWO MAJOR QUESTIONS. FIRST, CAN "WHAT IS LEARNED" THROUGH MATHEMATICAL DISCOVERY BE IDENTIFIED AND TAUGHT BY EXPOSITION WITH EQUIVALENT RESULTS. SECOND, HOW DOES "WHAT IS LEARNED" DEPEND ON PRIOR LEARNING AND ON THE NATURE OF THE DISCOVERY…

A series of 13 questions is offered for sequencing student writing activities according to a problem solving model of the composing process. The questions are organized in a cyclical framework for approaching any problem solving task that writing students may face. The questions fall into four progressively developed categories, including…

The unit approach to instruction in the kindergarten and primary grades is considered as an example of learning by doing. In guiding a unit, the teacher must have thorough basic plans but must be willing to let the students substitute their ideas for hers. Part of the purpose of unit work is to let children discover for themselves what process is…

Using mathematics as an example, the nature of the confusion between "knowledge" and "coming to know" is elucidated. The range of curriculum choices available to structuralists once the distinction is clarified is larger, and teaching a body of knowledge and teaching by discovery are compatible. (Author/MLF)

Reports on a part of a report on primary schools in England. States that science instruction tends to be superficial, and that the teaching and the content require more planning. (GA)

Modern science programs introduce more than scientific knowledge. They also encourage active student participation in the processes of scientific investigations. However 11 to 13 year olds generally lack the motivation to initiate such investigations. This is partly due to a logical conflict between learning and discovering. What is learned is…

Describes an experiment which compared demonstration and discovery teaching methods in two urban British junior schools. Concludes that the demonstration method resulted in higher test scores, better comprehension, and application of basic knowledge in a unit on magnetism and electricity. (Author/DB)

A description is given of a lesson on two digit multiplication with nine-year olds that utilizes trial and error and partitioning of the problem in a discovery type approach. (MN)

An approach is illustrated that introduces selected models of addition and subtraction to students who have previously learned a model for either operation. (JT)

There is a place for the discovery model in science education, but it should not be the exclusive instructional model. Reception and discovery learning should be used. In reception, scientific concepts are sequentially transmitted to the learner followed by clarification and reinforcement. Reception has not been supported by teacher training…