Exploratory Learning

Written by Raina Isaacs, Instructional Designer, CITAL

Exploratory learning is an active and inclusive activity that is the reverse of traditional instruction. In traditional instruction, we teach students the underlying concepts and then ask them to solve problems. In exploratory learning, students are presented with a novel problem first, before learning the underlying concepts.

At first glance, it seems counterintuitive to have students attempt to solve problems before receiving relevant information, but there are many advantages to using exploratory learning over traditional instruction. Researchers have identified at least four learning mechanisms that contribute to the effectiveness of exploratory learning: activation of prior knowledge, awareness of knowledge gaps, curiosity, and discernment of deep problem features. 

When students attempt to solve a novel problem, they must activate their prior knowledge to help them generate or invent solutions. Activating prior knowledge can help them process the subsequent instruction at a deeper level resulting in improved conceptual knowledge. 

As students activate their prior knowledge, they become aware of their knowledge gaps, what they know and do not know. During subsequent instruction, students process the information more deeply by paying close attention to the relevant information needed to fill in their knowledge gaps. 

Awareness of one’s knowledge gaps can foster curiosity. That is why learning environments that include novel or complex problems stimulate curiosity in students more than a worked-out problem does. 

Lastly, during exploration, students can identify, explain, and organize deep problem features of the target knowledge. In exploring the problem space, they must search for new information to help update their current knowledge base or schema. 

At the University of Louisville, I worked on a three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to implement exploratory learning in several STEM courses. In one study, we worked with two physics professors to create an exploratory learning activity in their Introductory Mechanics, Heat, and Sound course. 

Students from each section were divided into two groups that were randomly assigned to the “explore-first” or “instruct-first” condition. The professors created their activity by using a previous homework problem and then adding one new, novel element. Students in both conditions were presented with a figure that showed two blocks that have been connected by a massless string that runs across a massive pulley. Students were given the values for mass, angle, and radius and told that the blocks were initially at rest. They were asked to calculate the speed of both blocks after they had moved a certain distance. 

Each professor then gave their own version of a lecture on rotational kinetic energy, accompanied with PowerPoint slides, verbal explanations, and a worked-out problem. Finally, students completed a post-assessment that measured their conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and transfer. 

We found that students in the explore-first condition had significantly higher conceptual scores compared to the instruct-first condition. This finding demonstrates that exploratory learning does not require intensive time or novel materials. A carefully chosen problem might be just as useful. 

Several of us who worked on the NSF grant also used exploratory learning activities in our own courses. For example, before discussing personality trait theory in Introductory Psychology, professors put two opposite traits on the board (e.g., introversion and extraversion) and had students move to the side of the room where they think they land on that trait. This allowed students to explore how most people are not strictly one trait or the other, but rather in the middle, demonstrating how personality traits are on a spectrum. 

In another class, students were given lists of words to remember. The first list asked students to read each word and try to remember it. The second list asked students to visualize how useful the item might be if you were stranded on a deserted island. After the demonstration, students discussed why they might remember certain lists better than others. Through the demonstration, students are able to explore human memory theories such as deep versus shallow processing. 

Two other professors in a class on developmental psychology gave students a list of different developmental milestones and asked them to put them in order from those that are met first to last. Then they were asked to think about what skills develop first and what skills build on each other. This helped students to think about and explore various developmental theories. 

In conclusion, exploratory learning does not require intensive effort to implement. I will leave you with key aspects to keep in mind when designing and implementing exploratory learning.

1. Build on what students have already learned so that students have enough prior knowledge to work with the activity.
2. Ensure that the activity is challenging but not too challenging.
3. Guide students with a handout or specific prompt.
4. Tell students to explore and that it is okay if they do not know the answer.

If you would like to incorporate exploratory learning in your classes, I would be happy to work with you. Just contact me via the CITAL portal at cital@valpo.edu.

Finally, below are some excellent articles on Exploratory Learning:

DeCaro, M. S., Isaacs, R. A., Bego, C. R., & Chastain, R. J. (2023). Bringing exploratory learning online: Problem-solving before instruction improves remote undergraduate physics learning. Frontiers in Education, 8. doi:10.2289/feduc.2023.1215975

DeCaro, M. S., McClellan, D. K., Powe, A., Franco, D., Chastain, R .J., Hieb, J. L., & Fuselier, L. (2022). Exploring an online simulation before lecture improves undergraduate chemistry learning. International Society of Learning Sciences. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10333905

Loibl, K., Roll, I., & Rummel, N. (2017). Towards a theory of when and how problem solving followed by instruction supports learning. Educational Psychology Review, 29, 693-715. doi:10.1007/s10648-016-9379-x

Weaver, J. P., Chastain, R. J., DeCaro, D. A., & DeCaro, M. S. (2018). Reverse the routine: Problem solving before instruction improves conceptual knowledge in undergraduate physics. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 52, 36-47. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.12.003