Discovery+Learning+Theory

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=Discovery Learning Theory=

Theory
====Jerome Bruner was a psychology professor, and the cofounder and director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard (Bruner,2001,p1). He created Discovery Learning Theory, which is a constructivist learning theory. It states that teachers do not need to tailor lessons to make them relevant to students; the students will learn the subject because they are naturally curious.====

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====Teachers are trying to finding ways to make subjects relevant to their students, but Bruner’s theory of discovery learning does not agree with this idea. Instead he theorized that subjects and topics must be presented according to the “structures of the academic disciplines which are the essence and reflection of accumulated human curiosity” (Takaya,2008,p7). He feels students will learn on their own because people are curious in nature. He feels this curiosity alone should motivate students to learn the information. The structure of the lesson will “facilitate the learning process” and “allow students to be active participants of their own leaning, and hence, would make lessons meaningful” (Takaya,2008,p7). He claims each subject has some form of information that students will be curious about learning and they will want to take the time to learn the information. The theory also comments that “academic subjects have intrinsic attraction, and that they do not always have to be related to children’s daily experience in order for children to be interested in learning” (Takaya,2008,p7). The students will find information they like and in turn this will be the motivation they need to learn about a particular subject or topic. Instead of trying to make it relevant to children’s lives they need to learn the information just like everyone else. For example, “the child will make what he learns his own, will fit his discovery into the interior world of culture that he creates for himself” (Takaya,2008,p8). The student takes the information and makes it relevant to him or herself, not the other way around.==== T echnology and Learning ====Technology is especially conducive to this theory. Students are able to apply this theory by using the Internet, along with their curiosity, to do their own individual research on any given topic. Teachers can take this curiosity and apply computer-based learning. For example, a teacher can take a lesson on World War II and tell the students to research the topic via the Internet. By allowing the students to use the technology they can navigate their way to websites that are interesting to them. Therefore, it allows for the students to create their own interest in the topic while still leaning the material for the class. Students can then apply the information to numerous technological applications.====