Hall of Fame

Jerome Bruner (1915-)

Jerome Bruner has long been in favour of educational reform. The Process of Education (1960) laid out his general views on the subject but Bruner is still an active writer and his books continue to win acclaim. The Culture of Education (1997) makes an appeal for a broad based culture of learning beyond the narrow confines of traditional schooling.

Influenced by Vygotsky, he emphasises the role of the teacher, language and instruction. He thought that different processes were used by learners in problem solving, that these vary from person to person and that social interaction lay at the root of good learning. He wrote an introduction to Vygotsky’s Thought and Language in 1962. The background to his theories on instruction is based on a social constructivist view of development based on the gradual exposure to socially mediated narratives and explanations.

Theory of Instruction

Jerome Bruner is a social constructivist, in the sense that he sees learning as a dynamic process where learners construct or build knowledge, based on their existing knowledge. This is an active process of selection, construction and decision-making that builds on existing mental models. It is this that brings meaning to the new knowledge allowing the learner to move beyond their existing structures.

Bruner builds on the Socratic tradition of learning through dialogue, encouraging the learner to come to enlighten themselves through reflection. Careful curriculum design is essential so that one area builds upon the other.

His theory of instruction addresses four principles:

1. Readiness. The learner must have a predisposition to learn and so their experiences and context must be considered.
2. Structure. The content must be structured so that it can be grasped by the learner.
3. Sequence. Material must be presented in the most effective sequences.
4. Generation. Good learning should encourage extrapolation, manipulation and a filling in the gaps, just beyond the learners existing knowledge.

Conclusion

Bruner, like Vygotsky, focuses on the social and cultural aspects of learning. He suggests that people learn with meaning and personal significance in mind, not just through attention to the facts. Knowledge and memory are therefore constructed. Learning must therefore be a process of discovery where learners build their own knowledge, with the active dialogue of teachers, building on their existing knowledge.

Bibliography

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. (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.