INDUCTIVE DISCOVERY METHOD
From its name “inductive”, it refers to of reasoning – proceeding from particular facts to general principles. The inductive discovery method is a process, providing the students with the result and having them figure out what happened leads to a different sort of learning than doing it the other way around. The inductive method is referred as the scientific method, a process of using observations to develop general principles about a specific subject.
Instead of starting with general principles and eventually getting to applications, the teacher begins with specifics - a set of observations or experimental data to interpret, a case study to analyze, or a complex real-world problem to solve. As the students attempt to analyze the data and solve the problem, they generate a need for facts, rules, procedures, and guiding principles, at which point they are either presented with the needed information or helped to discover it for themselves. That is why this method is called inductive discovery method.
This method of teaching is a learner-centered (also known as student-centered. It imposes more responsibility on students for their own learning than the traditional lecture-based deductive approach. It is supported by research findings that students learn by fitting new information into existing cognitive structures and are unlikely to learn if the information has few apparent connections to what they already know and believe. It can be also characterized as constructivist methods, that students construct their own versions of reality rather than simply absorbing versions presented by their teachers. The method involves students discussing questions and solving problems in class (active learning), with much of the work in and out of class being done by students working in groups (collaborative or cooperative learning).
Steps of the method
Using the inductive discovery method, the teacher presents the students with a...