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