Jerome Bruners Theory Effects of Social Interaction and

Jerome Bruner's Theory: Effects of Social Interaction and Culture on Cognitive Development "Learners are encouraged to discover facts and relationships for themselves. " Jerome Bruner

Cognitive Development The term cognitive development can be defined as continual learning and development through engaging in activities that prevent deterioration of existing skills and nurture new ones. For Bruner, the outcome of Cognitive Development is THINKING.

Three Modes of Representation Bruner proposed three systems by which he believed people represent their understanding of the world: "We always have to construct what we think the world is" - Bruner 1. Enactive Representation – Iconic Representation – Symbolic Representation

Enactive Representation a. Enactive Representation: Representing past events through action or patterned motor acts. • For example: o Keyboarding o o o Kickline or cheerleading squad Telephone number or password

Iconic Representation a. Iconic Representation: the child summarizes events by organizing perceptions and images. b. For example: a. Illustrating a poem visually b. Interpret a dream, memory or feeling visually

Symbolic Representation a. Symbolic Representation: the child is able to use abstract ideas, symbols, language, and logic to understand represent the world. • For example: o Sign Language Alphabet

Curriculum Goals a. Stem from a desire to develop self-propelled thinking in learners. • Adequate theory of instruction must bring together the nature of knowledge, the nature of the knower, and the nature of the knowledge getting process. • Bruner recommended strategies that promote discovery in the exercise of problem solving. • Activity of problem solving is influenced by the culture in which it is embedded.

Effective Instruction There is a fine line between economy of representation and power of representation to convey important meanings. a. Economy relates to how much information must be kept in the mind at one time in order to achieve comprehension (Bruner, 1966). a. Instructional issues of reinforcement and motivation o Feedback o Extrinsic reinforcement o Discovery learning

Discovery Learning "all forms of obtaining knowledge for oneself by the use of one's own mind" —Bruner, 1961. What conditions promote true discovery? a. Prior Knowledge b. Guided Practice c. Reflection & Contrast a. Reflecting back on a problem and how it occurred may help students better understand how they solved it, making the knowledge their own. o Contrasts—a surprising event may provide an avenue for discovery. (learning from your mistakes)

Culture & Cognitive Growth "Intelligence is to a great extent the internalization of 'tools' provided by a given culture" —Bruner How does Culture interact with human development? a. Members of different cultures, because of the unique demands of their environments, make sense of their experiences in different ways. a. For example, let's look at the culture of students versus student athletes.

Illustrative examples from group member's experiences Outside in — mastering of techniques and cognitive tools passed on by the agents of the learner's culture (facilitated and even accelerated through effective instruction)

Applications to Educational Technology Jerome Bruner's theory on learning was that it is an active, social process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on their current knowledge. The goals of education, according to Bruner, are to free society and assist students in developing their full potential. Applications to Educational Technology: a. Communication and Collaboration o Skype and Google Documents • Problem Solving - "By turning learning into problem solving. . , teachers challenge the students more than by any other teaching method. " - Collins & Stevens, 1983. o Creating and editing a program,

Constructivist Theory Bruner (1966) states that a theory of instruction should address four major aspects: 1. Predisposition towards learning – The ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be most readily grasped by the learner – The most effective sequences in which to present material – The nature and pacing of rewards and punishments.

Group 2 Members (4: 40 pm Section) Steven Wowk Wendy Binger Kelley Springer Velisha Simms Geri Zorskas