COGNITIVE- JEROME BRUNER

• Jerome Bruner

• October 1, 1915

• A.B degree from Duke University in 1937

• Ph. D in 1947 from Harvard University

• faculty in the department of Psychology at Harvard University from 1952 - 1972

PRINCIPLES OF BRUNER’S THEORY

Readiness – must be concerned with the experiences and contexts that make the student willing and able to learn.

Spiral organization – must be structured so that it can be easily grasped by the student.

Bruner’s theoretical framework is based on the same theme that learning is an active process and learner’s construct new ideas and concepts based upon existing knowledge.

Facets of the process include selection and transformation of information, decision making, generating hypothesis and making meaning from the information and experiences.

Bruner believed that intuitive and analytical thinking should both be encourage and rewarded.

He believed the intuitive skills were under-emphasized and he reflected on the ability of experts in every field to make spontaneous bound.

He investigated motivation for learning. He felt that ideally, interest in the subject matter is the best stimulus for learning. Bruner did not like external competitive goals such as grades or class ranking.

Four features of Bruner’s theory of instruction

1. Preposition to learn – experiences which move the learner toward a love of learning in general or of learning something in particular.

2. Structure of knowledge – enables the learner to most rapidly gasp the information.

3. Modes of representation – visual, word and symbols.

4. Effective sequencing – sequencing or lack of it, can make learning easier or more difficult.

BRUNER’S THREE MODES OF

REPRESENTATION

ENACTIVE(O-3 years.)- Involves encoding action based information

and storing it in our memory.

IONIC(3-8 years.)- Information is stored visually in the form of

images.

SYMBOLIC(8 years onward)- Information is stored in the form of a code or

symbol, such as language.

CHACTERISTICS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM THEORY

1. Constructivist learning environments provides multiple representation of reality.

2. Multiple representation avoid oversimplification and represent the complexity of the real world.

3. Constructivist learning environments emphasize authentic tasks in a meaningful context rather than abstract instruction out of context.

4. Constructivist learning environments provide learning environments such as real-world setting or case-based learning instead of predetermined sequences of instruction.

5. Constructivist learning environments encourage thoughtful reflection on experiences.