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      The Equivalence of Learning Paths in Early Science Instruction: Effects of Direct Instruction and Discovery Learning

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      Psychological Science
      Wiley

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          Abstract

          In a study with 112 third- and fourth-grade children, we measured the relative effectiveness of discovery learning and direct instruction at two points in the learning process: (a) during the initial acquisition of the basic cognitive objective (a procedure for designing and interpreting simple, unconfounded experiments) and (b) during the subsequent transfer and application of this basic skill to more diffuse and authentic reasoning associated with the evaluation of science-fair posters. We found not only that many more children learned from direct instruction than from discovery learning, but also that when asked to make broader, richer scientific judgments, the many children who learned about experimental design from direct instruction performed as well as those few children who discovered the method on their own. These results challenge predictions derived from the presumed superiority of discovery approaches in teaching young children basic procedures for early scientific investigations.

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          Most cited references13

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          Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning? The case for guided methods of instruction.

          The author's thesis is that there is sufficient research evidence to make any reasonable person skeptical about the benefits of discovery learning--practiced under the guise of cognitive constructivism or social constructivism--as a preferred instructional method. The author reviews research on discovery of problem-solving rules culminating in the 1960s, discovery of conservation strategies culminating in the 1970s, and discovery of LOGO programming strategies culminating in the 1980s. In each case, guided discovery was more effective than pure discovery in helping students learn and transfer. Overall, the constructivist view of learning may be best supported by methods of instruction that involve cognitive activity rather than behavioral activity, instructional guidance rather than pure discovery, and curricular focus rather than unstructured exploration. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)
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            Cognitive Tutors: Lessons Learned

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              All Other Things Being Equal: Acquisition and Transfer of the Control of Variables Strategy

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Psychological Science
                Psychological Science
                Wiley
                0956-7976
                October 01 2004
                October 01 2004
                : 15
                : 10
                : 661-667
                Article
                10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00737.x
                15447636
                84e172a6-3f47-4d39-8733-041342bfa47d
                © 2004
                History

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