RESEARCH PAPER TEMPLATE

North American University

Education Department
M.Ed. in EDLE & CUIN
EDUC 5312: CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Name:_TAKHLEEQ LASHARI__________________________ Date:

2/17/2020______________________

Instructional Project 3

Directions:

This is a research assignment. Use your textbook, web articles, and NAU library to conduct research
when writing this paper.

Use APA style references and in-text- citations. You need to use at least 3 different resources
besides Castronova (2002), and Moore (2015).

Part 1. DISCOVERY LEARNING:

Download and read the following article:

• Castronova, J. A. (2002). Discovery learning for the 21st century: What is it and how
does it compare to traditional learning in effectiveness in the 21st century. Action
Research Exchange, 1(1), 1-12. Retrieved from
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.594.6363 HYPERLINK
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• After reading this article and conducting additional research, answer to the following
questions.

What is discovery learning?

Discovery learning encompasses an instructional model and strategies that focus on active, hands-on learning
opportunities for students (Dewey, 1916/1997; Piaget, 1954, 1973).
Discovery learning is not like traditional classroom learning. It consists of three main attributes (BicknellHolmes &
Hoffman, 2000): § Through exploration and problem solving students create, integrate, and generalize knowledge §
Student driven, interest-based activities which the student determines the sequence and frequency § Activities to
encourage integration of new knowledge into the learner’s existing knowledge base The five major differences between
discovery learning and traditional learning are (Bonwell, 1998; Mosca & Howard 1997; Papert, 2000): § Learning is
active rather than passive § Learning is process-based rather than fact-based § Failure is important § Feedback is
necessary § Understanding is deeper Discovery learning can be facilitated through various strategies, or architectures, in
the classroom.

How does this form of teaching compare to traditional, teacher-centered instruction?

Advantages/Disadvantages of Discovery Learning versus Traditional Learning

A significant advantage of the discovery learning method is its capacity to motivate

students. Discovery learning allows learners to seek information that satisfies their natural
curiosity. It provides the opportunity for students to explore their desires and consequently
creates a more engaging learning environment. Simply put, discovery learning makes
learning fun (Schank & Cleary, 1994).

Preparation time should be less, however, learning time will be greater because students must be given time to explore.
In the Nelson and Frayer (1972) study, it was noted that the students learning through a discovery learning method
spent more time studying the lessons than those in the expository group.
Three major barriers exist, but research has found some advantages in the areas of motivation, retention, and
achievement. More research in the comparison of the discovery learning method versus traditional teaching on
process-based content would be very beneficial. However, current school structure, in terms of class sizes, curricula and
grade levels, and accountability requirements, including standardized tests, hinder the use of the discovery learning
method in the classroom.

What educational theories support the discovery learning model?

Discovery learning is an inquiry-based, constructivist learning theory that takes place in

problem solving situations where the learner draws on his or her own past experience and
existing knowledge to discover facts and relationships and new truths to be learned[1].
Students interact with the world by exploring and manipulating objects, wrestling with
questions and controversies, or performing experiments.

Recognizing motivation, information retention, and achievement as positive effects of

discovery learning that are grounded in research, the question becomes, why do teachers
and school systems hesitate to adopt discovery learning. Some reasons are based more on
self-imposed misconceptions and attitudes than on discovery learning’s creative and
practical demands (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000). Some reasons are because of
imposed accountability and the structure of the educational system. Three major reasons
teachers do not teach using discovery learning are that they believe 1) discovery learning will
not cover the course content, 2) discovery learning will require too much preparation and
learning time, or 3) class sizes are too big or too small to permit the strategy’s use (Bonwell,
1998).

What is the most important thing you discovered about discovery learning?

I read Castronova Article there is a lot of knowledge about discovery learning like
Discovery Learning is a method of inquiry-based instruction, discovery learning believes that
it is best for learners to discover facts and relationships for themselves.

• encourages active engagement

• promotes motivation
• promotes autonomy, responsibility, independence
• develops creativity and problem solving skills.
• tailors learning experiences.

Discovery learning increases student achievement when the students are learning skills rather than facts. In Hardy’s
(1967) archaeological study, the students who were taught with the discovery learning method showed a positive
significant difference in achievement on pre- and post-tests measuring anthropological understandings over those
students taught using the lecture method. Rachel Mabie and Matt Baker in 1996 also showed an increase in
achievement with their study of students learning about nutrition. Mabie and Baker studied three groups of fifth and
sixth grade students who were taught about food and fiber using three different methods. One group was taught over a
10-week period using garden projects. A second group was taught using short, in-class projects, and the third group
was taught using traditional methods. Both the garden project and in-class project groups showed an improvement in
pretest knowledge of 70-80% compared to an 11% increase in the group taught using traditional methods. Nelson and
Frayer (1972) and Peters’ (1970) studies contradict Hardy (1967) and Mabie and Baker (1996). The traditional methods
were found to be significantly better for achievement; however, the content taught in the Nelson and Fayer and Peters
studies measured fact-based information and did not provide for open-ended responses that are more consistent with
the discovery learning method

How can you apply this method to your future classroom?

Teachers must focus on helping students construct understanding of concepts themselves. Instead of spending time
memorizing material, filling in the blanks on worksheets, and repeating large numbers of similar problems, students
need to learn to solve novel problems, integrate information, and create knowledge for themselves. The teacher’s role is
to foster and direct this work on the part of
students. The teacher encourages students to use active techniques (e.g., experiments, real-world problem solving) to
create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understandings are
changing. The teacher makes sure he or she understands the students’ preexisting conceptions and guides the learning
to address them and then build on them. Constructivist teachers encourage students to constantly assess how the
learning activity is helping them gain understanding. By questioning themselves and their strategies, students in the
constructivist classroom ideally become “expert learners,” which gives them ever-broadening tools to keep learning.
With a well-planned classroom environment, the students learn how to learn. Teaching is getting students to see things
in new ways, and one of the biggest jobs becomes asking good questions.
Part 2. ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS

• Select one of the following chapters to conduct research: Chapter 2, 3, 5 or 12. Review
the chapter and respond to related questions for that chapter by conducting your own
research.

Chapter 2- Teaching Diverse Students

1. Teaching all students. Remember that a teacher’s job is to teach all students and assume an
attitude that all students can learn. Research techniques and strategies that can be used to
accomplish this task. Sources of information include the library, the Internet, current journals, and
recent books.

2. Intelligence profile. Evaluate your own intelligence profile according to Gardner. In what frames
of mind (intelligence areas) do you come out strongest?

Chapter 3- Managing Classroom Environment

 
1. Discipline approaches. Analyze the three approaches to classroom management. Which
approach, if any, do you prefer? Can you put together parts of the different approaches and come up
with an eclectic approach that you think would work for you? Can you identify some basic concepts
that appear to be true of all three approaches?

2.   Causes of misbehavior. Think back over the classes you have attended in which there have
been disciplinary incidents. List the possible causes for any such misbehavior. How might knowledge
of the causes of these incidents influence a teacher’s actions? Some behavior problems are teacher
created and some are student centered. Can you think of examples?

Chapter 5- Using Classroom Technology

1. How does technology enhance the teacher’s ability to plan instruction? Use one of the available
search engines to explore the web for technological tools such as lesson planning software,
worksheets and puzzle tools, poster and bulletin board production tools, and time management tools
that will assist you in planning. Share your findings with your class.

2. Technology offers tools that can help students learn. To what technology should students have
access? Do you have any educational concerns about the use of these technologies in schools? If
so, what are they? If not, why not?

Chapter 12- Teaching Effective Thinking Strategies

1. Teaching methods. What teaching methods and procedures can be used to improve students’
critical thinking abilities? Creative thinking abilities?

Many formal classroom activities focus upon developing students’ critical thinking skills. Students
reference their personal value systems while evaluating messages and judging the integrity of
conflicting information from different perspectives. Wellcultivated critical thinkers formulate vital,
precise questions of inquiry; interpret information against relevant criteria; think open-mindedly within
alternative systems of thought; and communicate solutions to complex problems.
Ordinary thinking is not critical thinking. Critical thinking is more complex and is based on standards
of objectivity and consistency. Students must be taught to change their thinking from (a) guessing to
estimating, (b) preferring to evaluating, (c) grouping to classifying, (d) believing to assuming, (e)
inferring to inferring logically, (f) associating concepts to grasping principles, (g) noting relationships
to noting relationships among relationships, (h) supposing to hypothesizing, (i) offering opinions
without reasons to offering opinions with reasons, and (j) making judgments without criteria to
making judgments with criteria.
A good way to develop critical thinking skills is by teaching students to recognize propaganda, a
form of persuasion that is intended to influence the audience by the use of exaggerations and
emotional appeals. Students often enjoy looking for examples of propaganda that are readily found
in political promotions and product advertisements. Samples from newspapers, magazines, and
television can be analyzed for evidence of misleading statements, biased or one-sided reports, false
assumptions, avoidance of issues, exaggerated statements, and emotional appeals.

2.  Thinking. What type of thinking is emphasized in most schools? Is critical thinking rewarded?
Creative thinking? Is school success based on students’ ability to think critically? Creatively?
What is thinking? • Some experts contend that few schools teach students to think critically and
creatively. Does your own experience support this view? If you agree with the experts, why aren’t
critical and creative thinking taught more widely or effectively?
Creative thinking can lead to “fasten-ating” results! As George de Mestral removed sand burrs from
his dog’s coat after a nature walk, he realized the tiny hooks could lead to a new form of fastener—
velcro. Spencer Silver invented a new adhesive, and Arthur Fry realized it could be used for
removable page markers, resulting in the invention of Post-it® Notes. All people have the potential
for experiencing those feelings of “Aha!” or “Wow, guess what I just figured out?” Such thinking is
creative thinking. It occurs as the result of questioning and learning beyond the gathering of rote
information.
Critical thinking tends to require higher levels of thinking—that is, more evaluation and synthesis
than application or analysis. Indeed, it should be remembered that Bloom’s Taxonomy is hierarchical;
therefore, operation at the evaluative level requires the use of the previous thinking levels as well.
3.  The environment. What type of classroom environment would be conducive to developing critical
thinking? Creative thinking? What problems can you foresee in establishing this environment?

Students can be taught strategies for assessing their own understandings and how to choose
effective plans of attack to study or solve problems. For example, in reading a book, students are
bound to come across a paragraph that they don’t understand on first reading. What do they do?
Perhaps they could reread the paragraph more slowly. Perhaps they should look for other clues,
such as pictures, graphs, or glossary terms, to help them understand. Perhaps they should read
farther back in the chapter to see whether the difficulty arose because they did not fully understand
something that came earlier. These are all examples of metacognitive skills; students need to learn
how to know when they are not understanding and how to correct themselves. Another important
metacognitive process is the ability to predict what is likely to happen or to tell what is sensible and
what is not. Other metacognitive strategies that students can be taught to use include the following: •
Consciously identifying what they already know • Determining how performance will be evaluated •
Estimating the time required to complete a task • Planning study time into their schedule and setting
priorities • Making a checklist of what needs to happen when • Organizing materials • Taking the
necessary steps to learn by using strategies such as outlining, mnemonics, diagramming, and so on
• Reflecting on the learning process, keeping track of what works and what doesn’t work •
Monitoring learning by questioning and self-testing • Providing their own feedback • Keeping
concentration and motivation high Although many students will develop adequate metacognitive
skills, some will not. Teaching metacognitive strategies to students can lead to a marked
improvement in their achievement. Students can learn to think about their own thinking processes
and apply specific learning strategies to think themselves through difficult tasks (Schunk, 2012).
Self-questioning strategies are particularly effective (Zimmerman, 1998). Essentially, students can be
taught to talk themselves through activities in which they are engaged, asking themselves or each
other the questions you would ask.

Part 3. REFERENCES:

• Cite at least 5 References in APA.

• You need to use at least 3 different resources besides Castronova (2002), and Moore
(2015).

• You may use http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-journal for citing your sources

in APA style.

References:
1) Discovery Learning for the 21st Century: What is it and how does it compare to traditional
learning in effectiveness in the 21st Century?
Joyce A. Castronova
2) https://www.learning-theories.com/discovery-learning-bruner.html

3) Bruner, J. S. (1961). The act of discovery. Harvard educational review.

4) Bruner, J. S. (2009). The process of education. Harvard University Press.

5) Effective Instructional Strategies by Kenneth d (Moore,2015,P. 621 to 627).