Several individuals on listservs I follow have recently been focused on what they perceive as efforts to end hands-on learning. Educational Psychologists may also have encountered a recent article in the American Psychologist by Richard Mayer – “Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning?” (2004, 59, 14-19).
First, I do not read standards to exclude some student-guided work. In fact, I would argue that standards require students participate in some tasks that require decision-making, problem-solving, critical thinking, etc. I also think Mayer is correct in suggesting that allowing students to flounder about without guidance (scaffolding) is largely unproductive. I hope this issue is merely a matter of balance.
