Jerome Bruner

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Jerome Bruner

• Karla Kern
• Holli Norris

2
Camp

• Jerome Bruner is labeled as both a Behaviorist as
  well as a Constructivist.
• However, Bruner is mainly known for his
  contributions to the Constructivist theories.

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• Behaviorists perspective view all behavior as a
  result to external stimuli, whereas the
  constructivist approach believes knowledge is a
  constructed element resulting from the learning
  process.

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Studies

• He was involved in the MACOS Project which
  addressed the following questions
• What is uniquely human about human beings?
• How did they get that way?
• How could they be made more so?

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Discovery Learning

• To him, a learning theory describes how learning
  takes place, whereas an instructional theory is
  prescriptive in that it directs how a subject is
  to be taught. His prescription included four
  steps motivation, structure, sequence, and
  reinforcement. To carry out these steps, students
  must discover the basic principles underlying the
  topic being studied. Bruner named this
  instructional theory discovery learning.
  Discovery incorporates the natural desire to
  solve problems and the search for solutions and
  thus results in learning.

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Educational Impact

• Practical approach that involves structure rather
  than simply the mastery of facts and techniques.
• Spiral Curriculum building upon ideas repeatedly
  until the student fully understands the concept
  they are trying to understand.
• Motives for learning which make the children want
  to learn rather than making it a chore.