By: Nicole Hingston & Carolyn Jonkman

 Born in New York  Graduated from Duke University with a major in psychology and an A.B degree  Earned M.A, and Ph.D. From Harvard University  Professor of psychology at Harvard University  Professor at Oxford University  Present- Research Professor of psychology and senior research Fellow in Law at New York University

 The Process of Education  Acts of Meaning  The Culture of Education- 1996

 1) Theory of Value: What knowledge and skills are worthwhile learning? What are the goals of education?  2) Theory of Knowledge: What is knowledge? How is it different from belief? What is a mistake, and what is a lie?  3) Theory of Human Nature: What is a human being? What are the limits of human potential?

 4) Theory of Learning: What is learning? How are skills and knowledge acquired?  5) Theory of Transmission: Who is to teach? By what methods? What will the curriculum be?  6) Theory of Society: What is society? What institutions are involved in the educational process?  7) Theory of Opportunity: Who is to be educated? Who is to be schooled?

 8) Theory of Consensus: Why do people disagree?

 Cognition: “Means whereby organisms achieve, retain, and transform information.”- Jerome Bruner Knowledge is viewed as symbolic, and as a mental construction in the minds of individuals. Bruner created this theory in opposition to the Behaviourist Theory which focused on the observable behaviour of students, whereas the Cognitive Theory is the focus on mental processes of students.

 Constructivism: “Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in.” (  Bruner suggests that if the subject holds meaning, the student will grasp the concept easily.  He also suggests that in order for teachers to instruct children properly, they must encourage students to pursue concepts on their own.

Curriculum:  Readiness for Learning: Any subject can be taught effectively to any child at any stage of development.  “Spiral Curriculum”- Curriculum should re- visit the basic ideas repeatedly, building upon them until the student has grasped the entire concept.

Instruction:  Teachers differentiate their instructional strategies to student responses and also must encourage students to analyze, interpret, and predict information.  Promotion of active mental processing on the part of the learner.  Teachers rely heavily on open-ended questions and promote extensive dialogue between students.

Assessment:  Teachers should use forms of assessment as opposed to evaluation.  Students play a larger role in judging their own process.

 Ms. Mercer does not actively encourage Sara to pursue learning on her own  The learning content is not meaningful enough.  The instructions given to the class were not differentiated according to students’ needs.

 Give Sara the opportunity to play a larger role in judging her own learning.  Make the learning more meaningful: include more creative thinking, etc.  Ms. Mercer should ensure that all students thoroughly understand all directions. If they do not, the instructions should then be modified.

  sm.cfm  ure/bruner.html  struktur-834.htm  e-seymour-bruner/  Goodnow, Jacqueline, Austin, George., Bruner, Jerome A Study of Thinking