Describe the teaching strategies of direct instruction and discovery learning, noting the advantages of each
What will be an ideal response?
Answer will include that in direct instruction, factual information is presented by lecture, demonstration, and rote practice. In discovery learning, teachers create conditions that encourage students to discover or construct knowledge for themselves. Both approaches have certain advantages. Students of direct instruction do slightly better on achievement tests than students in discovery classrooms. However, students of discovery learning do somewhat better on tests of abstract thinking, creativity, and problem solving. They also tend to be more independent, curious, and positive in their attitudes toward school. At present, it looks as if a balance of teaching styles is the solution to a balanced education.
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Suppose that you study for your next examination in this course by reviewing each topic and asking how the information might be relevant to the career you want to pursue. Your study technique makes use of
a. the encoding-specificity principle. b. the self-reference principle. c. the Pollyanna Principle. d. the shallow-rehearsal technique.
Which of the following behaviors is consistent with Vygotsky's theory?
A) When his mother takes him to the grocery store, Tom is well-behaved because he knows that his mother will reward him with candy. B) When playing on the beach, Kehaulani builds the same sort of sand castle that she observed her younger sister building a few days ago. C) Yesica, a Brazilian child candy seller with no schooling, develops sophisticated mathematical abilities as a result of her work. D) When trying to solve a math equation, Otto tries several formulas before he stumbles on the correct one and solves the equation.