Jerome Bruner

Learning as Discovery Sylvie Golec, Kaitlyn Cowden, Caroline Woody

Who is Jerome Bruner? American Psychologist Born in New York, 1915 Studied Psychology at Duke University Earned his doctorate in Psychology from

Harvard Taught as a professor at Harvard, Oxford and

NYU

Contributions to Psychology A pioneer of the cognitive psychology movement Studied how children learn Coined the term “scaffolding” Described learning as active, not passive. Described children's development in 3 stages:

enactive stage, iconic stage, and symbolic stage Helped found the Center of Cognitive Studies at

Harvard.

Children’s Cognitive Development

Enactive Stage (0-3): Children only perceive environment through own actions

Iconic Stage (3-8): Visual memory increases

Symbolic Stage (8-on): Children begin to use symbols

Learning as Discovery Constructivism Exploration and manipulation Inquiry-based instruction Discovering facts from

Past experience Existing knowledge New truths Relationships

Advantages to Bruner’s Theory

Encourages active engagement Promotes A tailored learning experience

Motivation Autonomy Responsibility Independence The development of creativity and problem solving skills.

Related to Education Examples

• Enactive stage Learning through motor skills

• Iconic stage Accommodating visual learners through icon

imagery• Symbolic stage

Pictures and symbols to represent a whole

Enactive Stage

Iconic Stage

Symbolic Stage

Discovery Education http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ Resources for school administrators, teachers, parents, and students Covers K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 Subjects include: Math, Science, English, Social

Studies, Health, World Languages, Technology Resources include: lesson plans, virtual field

trips, live webinars, homework help, and more

Webquests  http://webquest.org/ Uses the internet to help guide students' learning 6 parts: introduction, task, process, resources, evaluation, conclusion Teachers can create their own or select from a variety available on the web Useful for introducing or concluding a unit Example "What's it like to visit Italy?" http

://questgarden.com/100/69/8/100410120623/index.htm

Resources http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm http://webquest.org/ http://questgarden.com/100/69/8/100410120623

/index.htm

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ http://www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html http://www.learning-theories.com/discovery-learn

ing-bruner.html