The best way to learn is by doing.
For more than 36 years, Bright Horizons®, a family care and early education organization, has enacted this creed at 1,000+ on-site child care centers worldwide through a process called Discovery Driven Learning®.
What is Discovery Driven Learning?
Much more than mere daycare providers, Bright Horizons early learning centers provide a robust and specifically tailored curriculum designed to engage children and capture their imagination by teaching them the skills they need to thrive as they progress through their academic journeys.
At the heart of our balanced learning curriculum is our proprietary Discovery Driven Learning framework. Children are naturally curious and tactile. They are scientists, inventors, and explorers, and want to connect with the world around them and learn through action. Discovery Driven Learning puts their natural curiosity at the center of every experience, focusing on what interests each child the most.
How does it work?
Rather than talking at children for hours on end, our specially trained teachers encourage children to ask questions and roll up their sleeves to find answers with a hands-on learning experience. Some of the hallmarks of the Bright Horizons Discovery Driven Learning framework include:
- Promoting curiosity; valuing the process of learning and discovery
- Exploring through children’s own interests, rather than a rigid and outdated curriculum
- Building future-ready skills such as social-emotional learning, creativity, and problem-solving for school readiness and beyond
- Providing joyful, playful, and inclusive environments and experiences that combine multiple learning domains
- Integrating care and learning through our exclusive proven instructional method
- Blending traditional early childhood curriculum with contemporary science and research
Discovery Driven Learning leverages three basic modes of learning to maximize knowledge absorption and more fully prepare children for kindergarten and beyond.
- Project and play-based
Cliché as it sounds, we truly want learning to be fun. This approach rejects traditional flash cards and lesson plans in favor of more immersive learning experiences that foster a joyful childhood, encourage relationship-building, and develop a foundation for future success.
For example, at one Bright Horizons location, students divided into groups and designed their own marble runs by using paper tubes, cardboard, rocks, popsicle sticks, glue, and tape. Children had fun while experimenting with the effects of changing slopes, the direction of incline planes, and the positional directions of rolling objects, angles, and more.
- Whole child curriculum
Academic curriculum is only one part of learning. While we certainly aim to establish a strong foundation of knowledge in our young learners, we recognize how essential it is to focus on all aspects of child development in these crucial formative years.
As such, Discovery Driven Learning goes beyond just academics, aiming to give children the social-emotional, physical, and linguistic skills needed to better interact with others and the world around them. Through a balanced learning curriculum, we hope to build the foundation of future learners, leaders, and upstanding citizens.
- Individualized learning
Every child is different and learns in different ways. Therefore, a one-size-fits-all curriculum and approach to thinking and learning would be a disservice.
Discovery Driven Learning utilizes a one-of-a-kind child assessment process that provides teachers with real-time insights into children’s development that can inform lesson planning and teaching. Our teachers aim to truly get to know each child in their charge and help them learn in a way that’s most comfortable and impactful.
A proven approach for school readiness
Our unique curriculum offers every child the crucial skills and multi-discipline knowledge they’ll need to succeed in school and in life. The curriculum covers a wide range of subjects such as:
- STEM
- Language and literacy
- Social and emotional learning
- Health and wellness
- How to think and learn
- Visual and creative arts
- Community, character, and inclusion
The results
Discovery Driven Learning really puts the academic and social-emotional development process in the hands of the children, allowing them to maximize their growth. But just how effective is this approach? The results speak for themselves.
Among surveyed parents of Bright Horizons graduates and elementary school teachers:
93% of parents report Bright Horizons’ Discovery Driven Learning framework played an important role in school readiness and preparation
Yes, we are helping children establish strong academic foundations. But we aren’t just telling them what to learn; we’re showing them how to learn. We’re giving them the tools they need to continue their academic growth on their own, well into their advanced schooling years.
94% of Bright Horizons parents agree that their child entered elementary school with a strong enthusiasm for learning
School shouldn’t be a chore for children. We strive to make learning fun — we encourage children to ask questions and find answers on their own. And this plants a seed of curiosity and intrigue about the world and how things work that will continue to grow throughout their academic journeys.
92% of parents said their child entered school with the ability to approach a challenge in an innovative or creative way
Executive function skills are among the most critical to develop in any early childhood curriculum. Too many kids learn how to do well at school without ever learning how to problem solve or creatively approach challenges. They’re two separate skillsets. Discovery Driven Learning helps them build and flex this muscle early in life so that it can continue to serve them in school and beyond.
93% of elementary school teachers agree that the Bright Horizons graduates in their classrooms were well prepared with the literacy and math skills needed for academic success
We aim to develop well-rounded people, not just students, through Discovery Driven Learning. But having said that, reading, writing, and arithmetic are still important life and academic skills to have. We focus on all aspects of child development while also ensuring school readiness.
95% of parents said that Bright Horizons graduates were ready to work and play collaboratively with peers
In early childhood, a strong emotional foundation is just as important as academics. During this time, children are learning how to engage with their peers, families, and friends. Our goal is to give children the skills to express themselves in a healthy way, resolve conflicts, and cooperate with their teachers and classmates.
In conclusion
Bright Horizons Discovery Driven Learning focuses on all aspects of child development, offering children freedom to explore their interests and the world in a nurturing, safe environment. Backed by experts, this framework helps children learn the way they want to and develop the critical academic and social-emotional skills that will serve them for years to come.
Unlock the magic of Bright Horizons Discovery Driven Learning today.