Discovery learning in a Classroom situation

Discovery is an important concept in the philosophy of child-centred education to which Bruner's theory culminates.It is characterized as progressive learning as at its roots is an attempt to plan the curriculum on child .It seeks from a philosophical perspective, a justification of the content of education not in the nature of child, the one who is being educated .This concept originated in the idea of such prominent educationists Rousseau,Freire,Pestalozzl,Dewey and Piaget before Bruner refined it.
Discovery learning maybe taken to mean a teaching strategy that avoids instruction and encourages children to find out things for themselves. Deardon(1972)suggests that by discovery learning the teacher may reasonably expect children to learn something new and to do so through some initiative of their own .Bruner's remarks on learning,"discovery like surprise ,favours the well prepared mind."
Bruner argues that children learn most actively and remember best when they generate concepts and principles on their own.Discovery learning encourages the learner to become active in making the learning meaningful to himself. It is interesting to note that Bruner 's approach is similar to what Freire advocates.
Discovery learning can be practiced in two ways .These are :
Guided discovery:where the learner is provided with certain amount of information and then given instructions on how to proceed inorder to find out the unknown.
Unguided discovery:the learner is given problems and asked to find out the solution without recourse to further information.
Implications of the theory of instructions for the teacher and teaching:
Children learn best through actions,through practice,should be made to act situations ,through role plays ,dramas etc.
Use of discovery method when teaching.Spiral curriculum should be followed in which knowledge learned, in earlier stages is later revisited with more complex details.
Teach from simple to complex/known to unknown.Take into account the nature of teaching , the nature of the learner , the nature of knowledge to be learned and nature of learning process.
Cognitive development is hierarchial and therefore learning should follow the hierarchy of cognitive development according to Piaget.
The wonderful ideas that Bruner has given to us need not to look mysterious to the outside world. We should see this as no difference from contributions of other people and wonderful ideas that have yet happen .That is the nature of creative intellectual acts remains the same ,regardless of whether one is an infant or an adult in their route throughout life.
The more we help children to have their wonderful ideas and learn good about themselves for having them, the more likely it is that they will some other day happen upon before.Note that adults do not grow of earlier stages but they can employ the enactive and iconic thinking when the situation is appropriate.