Bruners 2

Categories
Bruner believed that the process of learning involved organizing the world around us into mental categories invented by the learner. Every category, its name, the
items in it, and their shared features compose a concept, a cognitive structure that helps people hold information in an abstract form and use it to think with
(Pritchard 4).
When we encounter something new, we place it into a mental category or we make a new category for it, a process similar to Piaget's assimilation. “To categorize
is to render discriminably different things equivalent, to group the objects and events and people around us into classes, and to respond to them in terms of their
class membership rather than their uniqueness” (Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin 1).
Categories help people:
 Reduce the complexity of their environment

 Identify objects in the world
 Reduce the need for constant learning
 Provide direction for activity
 Order and relate classes of events rather than deal with individual events
Cognitive development is evident in our ability to understand categories and discern the particular attributes that distinguish one category from another
Learning Modes
People move through three stages of cognitive development in the way the mind is used to translate experiences into a model of the world (Bruner, "Toward a
Theory of Instruction" 44-45).
1. Enactive: During earliest childhood, learning occurs through movement or action (as when babies learn to walk or a child learns to ride a bike).
2. Iconic: During middle childhood, learning occurs through images or icons that represent or summarize objects or events (as when children draw pictures
of their families or a summer vacation).
3. Symbolic: During adolescence, learning occurs through abstract symbols (as when students are able to represent mathematical functions using equations
or understand metaphorical language such as “Too many cooks spoil the broth”)
As children develop, they tend to rely more dominantly on symbolic learning. But even during the symbolic stage, all three modes continue to remain available and
can be highly developed. Professional athletes and musicians, for example, are highly skilled enactive learners, while great artists employ finely tuned iconic skills.
Instruction
Instructional plans must consider four key themes:
1. Readiness: A predisposition toward learning. This predisposition results from curiosity brought on by uncertainty and ambiguity. “Readiness … is a
function not so much of maturation as it is our intentions and our skill at translating ideas in the language and concepts of the age level we are teaching”
(Bruner, “On Knowing” 108).
2. Structure: The key concepts and organizing principles that form the core of the field of study. When students learn the structure of a subject, and not
simply memorize facts about it, they can begin to incorporate new information into that structure and see relationships between and among bodies of
knowledge. Bruner claimed, “Knowing how something is put together is worth a thousand facts about it” (qtd. in Gardner 92). “Any idea or problem or body
of knowledge can be presented in a form simple enough so that any particular learner can understand it in a recognizable form” (Bruner, “Toward a Theory
of Instruction” 44). Effective methods of structuring knowledge result in simplifying, generating new propositions, and increasing manipulation of
information (Constructivist Theory).
3. Sequence: The order in which material is presented. The best sequence to promote learning depends on “a variety of factors, including past learning,
stage of development, nature of the material, and individual differences (Bruner, “Toward a Theory of Instruction” 49). But it is likely that the optimum
sequence moves from economical to complex and follows the stages of cognitive development: enactive to iconic to symbolic.
4. Motives: Types and timing of rewards and punishments. “Mental life moves from a state of outer-directedness, in which … reinforcement [is] crucial, to a
state of inner-directedness, in which the growth and maintenance of mastery become central and dominant” (Bruner, “On Knowing” p. 92). Effective
reinforcement comes at a time when the student can use it, e.g., after a period of trial and error when the student is comparing the results of his attempt to
the desired goal. Reinforcement before this time may not be
understood or remembered, while reinforcement after this
time may arrive too late to guide future choices.
Bruner's view of a learner actively constructing meaning from the earliest ages holds significant implications for curriculum design, classroom activities, teacher
and student responsibilities, and the role of the school library.
Spiral Curriculum
To address readiness, structure, sequence, and motives, Bruner introduced the spiral curriculum, “in which ideas are first presented in a form and language …
which can be gasped by the child, ideas that can be revisted later with greater precision and power until, finally, the student has achieved the reward of mastery”
(Bruner, “On Knowing” 107). In this design, students return to topics throughout their
academic careers, continually building upon what they have already learned as they develop
and mature.
Discovery Learning
Bruner advocated a “discovery learning” approach to education, “Permitting the student to put things together for himself, to be his own discoverer” (“On Knowing”
82). “Discovery… is in its essence a matter of rearranging or transforming evidence in such a way that one is enabled to go beyond the evidence … to new
insights” (Bruner, “On Knowing” 82).
Several attributes characterize discovery learning:
 The creation, integration and generalization of knowledge through exploration and problem solving.
 Interest-based activities in which the learner exercises some control over the sequence and frequency
 Activities that strive to integrate new knowledge with the learner's existing knowledge base
 Emphasis on learning rather than content
 Recognition of the importance of "failure" as a tool for examination, reflection, and refocused efforts
 Involvement of students in higher levels of cognitive processing, such as synthesis, evaluation, extrapolation, and analysis
 Integration of feedback opportunities into instruction or activities
Discovery occurs through a continuous process of representing things. First students need an opportunity to manipulate. When learning about measurement, for
example, students can begin by pacing off a yard or measuring with a ruler. Then by reflecting on and comparing their actions, students can discover and devise
formulas for measurement to represent and simplify their actions. In fact, Bruner claimed
that discovery is a byproduct of making things simpler (“On Knowing” 100).
Methods for offering discovery learning can include
 Case-based learning: Students learn vicariously through stories or vignettes

 Incidental learning: Students learn through fun, game-like activities, such as a game show or a crossword puzzle
 Exploring: Students learn through an organized question-and-answer session with the instructor and other students
 Reflection: By modeling the instructor or online system, students learn how to ask better questions
 Simulation: Students learn by practicing skills or witnessing their application in a realistic but artificial environment
Discovery learning offers multiple benefits (Bruner, "On Knowing" 83-95):
 Increased intellectual potency: Mastering a variety of problem-solving techniques and using them to transform information
 Intrinsic rewards: Feelings of increased awareness and understanding that sustain students and provide gratification during independent problem-
solving.
 Learning the heuristics of discovering: Practicing problem-solving and identifying the underlying skills that can be applied to new situations.
 Conserving memory: Organizing knowledge around one’s own interests and cognitive structures, thereby increasing the likelihood that knowledge can be
Teacher’s Role
Bruner cautioned against a solely lecture-oriented instructional approach: “Teaching by telling [is] out of the context of action” (qtd. in Presno). Instead, teachers
should use a variety of instructional|approaches consistent with the cognitive development of their students. For example, a teacher wanting to help children learn
about dinosaurs could ask students to construct models of dinosaurs (enactive); they might watch a film about or involving (iconic); or they could consult reference
texts and then discuss their findings (symbolic) (Hollyman).
In a Bruner classroom, the teacher is transformed from the “sage on the stage” to the “guide by the side.” Specific teacher behaviors include:
 Identifying the key elements of an academic discipline

 Designing activities and tools matched to students’ cognitive abilities
 Translating information into the learner’s mode of representation
 Constructing interesting, challenging exercises that incite curiosity and create a motivation to learn
 Activating problem solving by modeling trial and error, curiosity, and enthusiasm
 Facilitating the student’s reflection and recoding processes by providing aids and dialogues
 Helping the students see relationships and patterns
 Leading students to develop concepts and make sense of operations
 Coaching students to discover principles for themselves
 Interacting one-on-one with students
 Providing timely feedback and reinforcement
Student’s Role
According to Bruner, “The student is not a bench-bound listener, but is taking a part in the formulation and at
times may play the principal role in it” (“On Knowing” 83). Student behaviors in a discovery-learning classroom
include:
 Participating in the knowledge-getting process

 Testing hypotheses
 Interacting with the environment
 Solving problems
 Developing generalizations
 Engaging in dialogue and collaborating with the teacher and other students
 Creating products such as new ideas, solutions, processes, presentations, blogs, or research papers

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Categories

Categories help people:

 Reduce the complexity of their environment

Several attributes characterize discovery learning:

Methods for offering discovery learning can include

 Case-based learning: Students learn vicariously through stories or vignettes

Discovery learning offers multiple benefits (Bruner, "On Knowing" 83-95):

 Identifying the key elements of an academic discipline

 Participating in the knowledge-getting process

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