Susan C. Lawson
Dr. Richard Clark
Wilkes University
ED 530 Spring 2010
Jerome Bruner Background
10/1/15 oBorn in New York, New York to Herman
and Rose (Gluckmann) Bruner.
oThe youngest of four children, Dr. Bruner
was born blind until receiving two cataract
surgeries while still an infant.
oReceived B.A. from Duke in 1937
oReceived Ph.D. From Harvard in 1941
oWorked with Leo Postman, during 1940s,
studying effects of motivation, needs and
expectations on perception. Referred to as
groundbreaking research known as the
“New Look” in psychology.
oWorked with U.S. Army Intelligence
during World War II as a social
psychologist at General Dwight D.
Eisenhower’s headquarters in France.
Dr. Bruner ‘s Background Continued…
oA psychologist, U. S. Schooling became point of
interest for Dr. Bruner during the late 1950s and
went on to contribute greatly to cognitive
psychology, cognitive learning theory in educational
psychology.
oOpened the Center for Cognitive Studies at
Harvard in 1960, with George Miller.
oDr. Bruner left Harvard in 1972 to teach at Oxford
University.
oIn 1979 returned to Harvard as a visiting professor.
oDuring 1981 Dr. Bruner joined the new School of
Social Research in New York City.
oCurrently is a senior research fellow at the New
York University School of Law.
The Educational Icon
oPublished first book, The
Process of Education in 1960.
oAkin to Piaget’s fundamental
beliefs of development,
Bruner’s research led him to a
contrasting belief of how and
when children learn.
oConstructivist Learning
Theory – the belief that
learners construct knowledge
themselves. New ideas and
concepts are based on current
and past knowledge of the
learner.
In 1966 Bruner determined that instruction should address four
major aspects:
•Predisposition towards learning
•Structure for learning being easily grasped
•Effective sequence of material
•Nature and pace of rewards and punishments
Eventually these four aspects became known as following three
major principles:
•The instruction must appeal to the student’s willingness and ability
to learn by coinciding with experiences and contexts the student has,
this is readiness.
•Instruction must be organized and structured to be easily grasped
(spiral organization)
•Instruction needs to be designed in order to facilitate an atmosphere
where learning beyond current information given is created .
The teacher is to present information in a logical and
interesting way while the student is to be allowed the
opportunity to learn for themselves. Having the new
information taken in, generated and understood by
the learner to his or her own interpretation and
understanding. The teacher is available for helping
the student intermittently and reinforcement of
understanding.
Three Modes
In 1966 Bruner proposed three modes of learning:
 Enactive or action-based
 Iconic or image-based
 Symbolic or language-based
Each mode of learning is integrated and interact
with one another. Unlike Piaget, with his
definitive beliefs on when a learner has the
ability to learn new instruction, Bruner
contends that a learner can learn any new
material if present in an appropriately organized
way for the learner at any age. Similar to Bloom's
Taxonomy, Bruner believes a system of coding is
developed by the learner, where a hierarchy is
developed, while being categorized.
 Each new level of
learning revisits the
previously learned
lessons and is built
upon, allowing the
learner to expand his or
her knowledge to form
their own interpretation
of the material
presented.
The drawing represents learning being built
upon and expanded.
o Similar to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, Bruner teaches us that
while developmental stages can not be rushed, they can be helped to progress
by a knowledgeable adult.
o The learner constructs his or her own meaning to the material learned.
o Learning starts at infancy and continues through experiences, including,
perhaps most importantly for children, through play.
o The best way to learn is to experience. The focus is on environmental and
experiential factors for each learner’s own learning pattern to develop.
o Jerome Bruner argues the cognitive revolution, with its current fixation on
mind as "information processor," has led psychology away from the deeper
objective of understanding mind as a creator of meanings. Only by breaking
out of the limitations imposed by a computational model of mind can we grasp
the special interaction through which mind both constitutes and is constituted
by culture. (Review of Harvard University Press)
The video clip directly involves a student of Dr. Bruner’s briefly discussing a
program called Squeakers. The clip offers a small glimpse of Dr. Bruner’s
personal beliefs on learning in his own words.
References of Dr. Bruner’s Work
To look up at your discretion, here is a list of some of Dr.
Bruner’s Published works:
Bruner, J. (1960). The Process of Education. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J. (1973). Going Beyond the Information Given. New
York: Norton.
Bruner, J. (1983). Child's Talk: Learning to Use Language. New
York: Norton.
Bruner, J. (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of Meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Bruner, J. (1996). The Culture of Education, Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J., Goodnow, J., & Austin, A. (1956). A Study of
Thinking. New York: Wiley.
"Health Care Industry, Bruner, Jerome S.." Health Care Industry. 06 04 2001. Health Care
Industry, Web. 17 Feb 2010.
<http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0000/ai_2699000048/>.
"Jerome Bruner." FutureU Bookstore. Web. 13 Feb 2010.
<www.futureu.com/bookstore/aisle07.html>.
"Jerome Bruner." Gardner Writes. Web. 13 Feb 2010.
<http://www.gardnercampbell.net/blog1/?m=20080108>.
"Jerome Bruner." Youtube - Jerome Bruner. Web. 14 Feb 2010.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2H_swMUlOg>.
"Jerome Bruner." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, Web. 13 Feb 2010.
<http;//wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Bruner>.
"Jerome Bruner." Zalfonada Lee. Web. 13 Feb 2010.
<zaragozaciudad.net/zalfonadalee/2007/abril.php>.
Review of Harvard University Press. Bruner, Jerome. "Acts of Meaning." Harvard University Press
unknown: 1. Web. 12 Feb 2010. <http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BRUMEA.html>.