Bruner Constructivism

Page 1

Bruner Constructivism:

(Influenced by Piaget’s Cognitive Development)

Constructivism-learners construct new ideas or concepts based on preexisting knowledge.

-Each child brings an individual prior knowledge.

-The instruction should fit the students’ current state of understanding.

-Discovery process is very important.

-Learning is an active process

-Selection and transformation of information

-Decision-making

-Hypothesizing

-Making meaning from information and experiences

Mental Sets: needs, motivations, expectations

Structure is VERY important!

Readiness for learning emphasized.

Spiral Curriculum emphasized-revisiting basic ideas over and over again to build upon them and elaborate until mastery.

When he was influenced by Vygotsky he turned to more social and political views of learning.

Bruner’s Instruction Theory:

1. Predisposition to Learn-motivational, cultural, and personal factors contribute. Learning emerges from exploration, so teachers should maintain and direct the explorations.

2. Structure of Knowledge-can enable learning (categorization)

3. Modes of Representation-visual, words, and symbols

4. Effective Sequencing-not for all learners, but should increase in difficulty. The sequence can either make learning easier or harder.

Effective Instruction:

1. Personalized (altered based on interests and current levels)

2. Content Structure

3. Sequencing

4. Reinforcement

Intellectual Development: (not linked to age or physical development)

1. Inactive-Learns world through actions on physical objects and the outcomes.

2. Iconic-Learning obtained through models and pictures.

3. Symbolic-Learner develops capacity to think in abstract terms.

Recommends going from concrete, to pictorial, to symbolic (CRA) Concrete-Representational-Abstract