The Training of Student-Teachers in Discovery Methods of Instruction and Learning [and] Comparing Guided Discovery and Expository Methods: Teaching the Water Cycle in Geography. Research in Teacher Education Monograph Series No. 1/92

This monographic series volume contains two separate monographs. The Training of Student Teachers in Discovery Methods of Instruction and Learning, (John Heywood, Sarah Heywood) discusses the polarization of discovery learning and expository teaching. It describes a unit in the applied psychology of instruction, commonly known as the student teacher as researcher programme, which is included in a secondary teacher education course at an Irish university. Students compared two methods of teaching, expository and guided discovery or discovery, utilizing experimental methods. The evidence indicates that, while guided discovery and discovery techniques produce no better pupil test results than expository methods, they do create a better learning environment, one that is more conducive to pupil motivation. Difficulties encountered by student teachers implementing discovery techniques included devising assessment procedures and confusion and reluctance on the part of pupils. The report includes statistical breakdowns on the results of student teachers' experiments and examples of their lesson plans.