EDU201 Highlighted Handouts Lectures 23-45 by S Malik

Lesson no 23 · DISCOVERY LEARNING….CONT · Topic 133: Jerome Bruner

He wrote a book: On Knowing: Essays for the Left Hand and discussed in detail how people construct knowledge based on prior experiences.

In most matters of achieving mastery, we also want learners to gain good judgement, to become self-reliant, to work well with each other. And such competencies do not flourish under a one way “transmission regimen”. (Bruner)

Topic 134: Theoretical approach

Bruner viewed the goal of education to be intellectual development, as against rote memorization of facts:

Curriculum to help develop problem solving skills through inquiry and discovery. Curriculum to be designed so that the mastery of skills at one level leads to the mastery of skills at the next level. Subject matter to be in line with the way the learner views the world. Teaching by way of organizing concepts and learning through discovery. Culture forms concepts through which people organize views about self and others, and the world they live in.

Bruner put forwarded that:

The intellectual development progresses through three stages:

• Enactive · • Iconic · • Symbolic

However unlike the Piaget’s stages, Bruner did not insist that these stages were necessarily agespecific or are unvarying in nature.

Enactive (birth- 3)

Action based: (concrete)

Children view their environment in terms of what they can do with it. At this stage demonstrating to a child is most effective. A child will better show than tell.

Iconic (3-8 years)

Image-based: (pictorial)

Children visualize how to do something without actually doing. View things as they perceives their environment, not how it is explained to them.

Symbolic (8-up)

Language-based: (abstract)

Knowledge is stored mainly as words, mathematical symbols or in other symbol systems.

Topic 137: Jerome Bruner and Education

Unlike Piaget and Vygotsky, neither of whom tailored their work directly towards education, Bruner’s work relate to education process in every respect. Bruner’s theory is most useful in teaching mathematics – which is primarily conceptual – it begins with a concrete mode and progresses to an abstract or representation. Unlike Piaget, Bruner believes that teachers can help sped up the child’s process of cognitive development. Like Vygotsky, Bruner believes that scaffolding provided by more competent one is an essential part of the teaching process.

Accordingly, Role of teacher is seen as important. And so as the role of language and communication that facilitates scaffolding and use of language (symbolic mode) by the child.

Topic 138: Critical Perspectives

Support: this theory:

Actively engages students in the learning process. Motivates students to participate. Encourages autonomy and independence. Helps develop creativity and problem solving skills. Provides an individualized learning experiences.

Criticism: this theory:

May be overwhelming for learners who need more structure. May allow for possible misunderstanding. May prevent teachers from gauging whether students are having problems.