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Syntactically branching out beyond the traditional classroom: A report on the discovery method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Jean Costa-Silva and
Vera Lee-Schoenfeld
Jean Costa-Silva*
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
Vera Lee-Schoenfeld*
Affiliation:
University of Georgia
*
Costa-Silva, 142 Gilbert Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, [jeancosta@uga.edu]
Lee-Schoenfeld, 209 Joe Brown Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, [vleesch@uga.edu]
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Abstract

This article reports on the successful implementation of the DISCOVERY METHOD in an undergraduate Generative Syntax course. Rather than reading textbooks on syntactic analysis and doing exercises to apply what was read, students embark on a nine-stage learning cycle consisting of interactive, guided, and independent work. They engage with problem sets to build their own analyses of syntactic phenomena step by step. This method—meant to resemble the work of real-life scientists—allows students to hypothesize, experiment, and build knowledge from trial and error (Kolb 1984, Prince 2004). To measure the effectiveness of our pedagogy, we analyzed course evaluations submitted from 2012 to the present. Learner feedback shows that they find the assignments and activities helpful, that the course challenges them to think and learn, and that they consider the weekly write-ups demanding, yet highly beneficial for their learning.

Keywords

scholarly teaching in linguisticssyntaxdiscovery methodacademic writing

Information

Type
Teaching Linguistics
Information
Language , Volume 100 , Issue 3 , September 2024, pp. e99 - e123
Copyright
Copyright © 2024 Linguistic Society of America

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