Utilising direct instruction to train primary school children in decision-making skills in the science classroom

A longstanding debate in educational and psychological research is the effectiveness of constructivist teaching methods over direct instruction. Although constructivism can take many forms (such as discovery learning, inquiry learning, etc.), one common assumption widely shared in the research community is that learning is constructed by the individuals, who are active sense-makers, rather than being just a reflection of external events (Mayer, 2004; Tobias, 2009). However, advocates of direct instruction (e.g. Kirschner et al., 2006) have provided evidence that it is significantly more efficient than discovery learning (minimal guidance during instruction) in teaching scientific concepts and processes. Moreover, through a review of the literature, Alfieri et al. (2011) illustrate that unassisted discovery generally does not generate beneficial learning outcomes, and emphasise the need for teachers to support learners with scaffolded tasks, feedback and worked examples. In the case of