The acquisition of information—however brief or extensive—remains inferior to the development of genuine understanding. No matter how exhaustive the search across sources such as newspapers, books, or social media, if the faculty of inquiry is not exercised, learning remains a mere collection of facts rather than an engagement with knowledge itself.
When educators speak of discovery in learning, they refer to a sincere attempt to search, question, experiment, and arrive at solutions. Regardless of how small the outcome, discovery represents an exciting empirical observation. Knowledge is generated firsthand through hands-on experimentation. Driven by purpose and guided by objectives, discovery learning is fundamentally rooted in problem-solving.
Problem-solving lies at the heart of scientific thinking and emerges from a natural human instinct. Children learn through curiosity and experimentation—an instinctive process that matures and becomes formalized in scientific practice. Discovery begins with a question or a problem, and the pursuit of its solution guides learners toward deeper understanding and truth.
In classroom settings, discovery can be initiated through simple yet thought-provoking questions that pose problems for students to explore. For instance, asking “What makes iron rust?” encourages investigation, whereas stating “Iron rusts due to moisture and air” merely invites verification. Similarly, “What is water made of?” prompts inquiry, while “Water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen” conveys information. Asking “What do plants need for growth?” fosters exploration, whereas stating “Plants need nutrients, water, and sunlight” simply delivers facts.
This question-driven approach is formative in nature. It demands experimentation, reasoning, and inquiry, allowing students to actively construct knowledge. In contrast, a statement-driven approach is informational, prioritizing factual recall over process and positioning students as consumers rather than creators of knowledge.
Effective science teaching places greater emphasis on the method of discovery than on the mere accumulation of facts. T.H. Huxley, a prominent educationist and advocate of liberal science education, argued that such an approach trains the mind to function as a “cold logic engine,” encouraging learners to question, investigate, and think critically. Similarly, Indian educationist Prof. G.R.S. Raghavachar distinguishes between formative and informational teaching methods. In the formative approach, students learn how to learn and develop essential cognitive skills through the learning process itself.
In contrast, the informational approach may enable students to gather large amounts of factual knowledge, but genuine understanding often remains limited. For example, a student may learn about magnets theoretically, but true comprehension of magnetic repulsion only emerges when they physically hold magnets and experience the force firsthand.
The reality of classroom practice presents a familiar challenge. While teachers may aspire to adopt formative, discovery-based methods, constraints of time, resources, and assessment pressures often compel them to rely on conventional, exam-oriented informational teaching.
Large class sizes—often ranging from 30 to 80 students—leave little room for personalized engagement. While building a foundational stock of knowledge is necessary before nurturing problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity, the current content-heavy curriculum prioritizes information delivery. As a result, students are frequently shaped into passive recipients rather than active producers of knowledge.
Given these limitations, a balanced, middle-ground approach offers a practical solution. Instead of applying discovery learning uniformly across all topics, teachers can selectively identify chapters that lend themselves to inquiry and experimentation. As Prof. G.R.S. Raghavachar aptly notes, “Not every topic needs an inquiry-based lesson, but every student deserves the chance to experience discovery.” Such opportunities ignite curiosity, build confidence, and foster enduring understanding that extends beyond examinations.
Teachers play a crucial role in creating environments that encourage exploration and problem-solving. Educationist Robert Gagné regarded problem-solving as the highest form of learning—one that begins and ends with concrete, hands-on experience. To facilitate this in classrooms, teachers can guide students in exploring reliable information, identifying patterns, analyzing data, and asking meaningful questions. Students can then be supported in forming hypotheses, testing them experimentally, and drawing general conclusions from their observations.
This approach makes discovery learning both practical and engaging, enabling students to build understanding through experience rather than rote memorization—and restoring the spirit of scientific inquiry to school education.
By Dr. Karuna Simha, Senior Researcher – Education Research, Prayoga, and
Ms. Manaswini Vijayakumar, Education Researcher, Prayoga