ED 530 Theorist Presentation Summer 2010 Brian Keating

Background Born October 1, 1915 in New York, NY. B.A. from Duke University in 1937 Ph.D in Psychology from Harvard University in 1942 Image from:

Bruner’s Early Work Worked as a social psychologist exploring propaganda, public opinion, and social attitudes for U.S. Army intelligence during World War II Worked on ways in which needs, motivations, and expectations (or 'mental sets') influence perception with Leo Postman in 1940’s Was highly interested in the role of strategies in the process of human categorization, and more generally, the development of human cognition, especially in children

The Process of Education Bruner’s landmark book, published in 1960 Had a direct influence on education policy formation in United States Influenced the thinking and orientation of a wide group of teachers and scholars Was an crucial factor in the generation of a range of educational programs and experiments in the 1960’s Heavily influenced curriculum development in U.S. schools Portrayed children as active problem-solvers who are ready to explore difficult subjects

The Process of Education (cont.) Four Key Themes of The Process of Education : 1. The role of structure in learning and how it may be made central in teaching –The teaching and learning of structure is more important that the simple mastery of facts and techniques. 2. Readiness for Learning – the idea that any subject, regardless of the level of difficulty, can de taught in some form at any age of development. 3. Intuitive and Analytical Thinking – essential features of productive learning 4. Motives for Learning – the idea that genuine interest in the material to be learned is the best stimulus to learning as opposed to grades and other goals

The Process of Education (cont.) Image from: education.html

MACOS Project Man: A Course of Study (MACOS) Social studies program (mid 1960’s) designed largely by Bruner and others, including Howard Gardner Sought to produce a comprehensive curriculum drawing upon the behavioral sciences A landmark in curriculum development

Bruner’s Constructivist Theory According to Bruner… Learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their current and past knowledge. The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the individual to "go beyond the information given".

Bruner’s Constructivist Theory (cont.) Role of Instructor in Learning: To encourage students to actively discover principles on their own To translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner's current state of understanding To organize curriculum in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds upon what they have already learned

Bruner’s Later Work The Culture of Education Published in 1996 Displays changes in Bruner’s thinking since the 1960’s Focuses on how one’s culture and social surroundings shape learning. Image from:

References Smith, M.K. (2002) 'Jerome S. Bruner and the process of education', the encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved May29, 2010 from Constructivist Theory (J. Bruner). Retrieved May 29, 2010 from