Constructivist Theories

Discovery learning, reception learning and assisted learning are based on cognitive views of learning and constructivist principles. Since they are all based on the constructivist model, they all suggest that the goal of teaching is to get students to ask themselves, "what if" or "why" when they are learning any subject. The goals of instructors are to put students in a self-discovery mode while they are guiding and monitoring progress.

However, Discovery learning is a somewhat pure model developed by Jerome Bruner, where students are encouraged to learn on their own through active involvement with concepts and principles. Teachers play a small role in the classroom, mostly encouraging students to have experiences and conduct experiments that will teach them ideas. There appear to be no structured lesson plans, but they suggest that teachers can use demos and photographs to explain more difficult concepts to students. This model appears to be most useful in the science field. For example, students could conduct various experiments to bring to life abstract principles behind the laws of physics.

The discovery learning model postulates that students will learn more when they follow their natural interests rather than having to be directed. This way, they will satisfy their curiosity. Students learn from doing and seeing reality rather than having the teacher tell them about the truth.

Discovery learning also seeks to arouse students' curiosity and give them a hidden motivation behind learning. Not only are they involved in real-life situations, they're also learning problem-solving and critical-thinking skills that would be very useful in real-world situations.

Although the reception learning model is also based on the constructivist principles, the reception learning model stems out of the argument that students are not always able to discern what elements are important in learning. Therefore, the receptive learning model asserts that students need external motivation (much like the behaviorists would argue) to guide them in their cognitive learning. Basically, the reception learning theorist wants to add a bit of structure to the discovery learning model.

Receptive learning theorists - headed up by David Ausubel - argue that the teacher's job is to structure the learning situation. Instead of allowing the students to self-guide their own lessons, teachers should structure a presentation that progresses from general to specific ideas. This structured instruction method is called expository teaching, which is a well-planned systematic instruction focused on the salient points of a lesson.

Although the receptive and discovery learning models disagree on the role of the teacher, they do agree that the student must be involved throughout the lesson. They both also stress that teachers must engage prior learning in lessons and projects if the information is to encode or be lasting. They both also assume that knowledge will continue to evolve inside a learners' mind long after the instructor and other learners are gone.

Assisted Learning, also known as scaffolding, is based on Vygotsky's idea that higher mental functions, including cognitive learning, are mediated behaviors. Specifically, these behaviors are affected by culture and as a consequence are similar to psychological tools. Like reception learning, in the assisted-learning model the teacher also guides instruction. But the assisted learning teacher considers the needs of the student before figuring out the method of instruction. For example, the assisted learning instructor may give students more structure in the beginning because they are younger or less-experienced. Over time, though, the idea is to give students responsibility for their own learning, similar to the discovery learning model.