Jerome Seymour Bruner Essay - 1350 Words

Jerome Seymour Bruner is an American psychologist who made signification contributions to educational, cognitive and developmental psychology. This paper will focus on who Bruner is, his main theories explained, plus a comparison between Bruner and Piaget and the effectiveness of Bruners theories in the classroom. Bruner was born and raised in New York City, Bruner graduated high school in 1933 and went on to major in psychology at Duke University; earning an AB degree in 1937. Subsequently, Bruner pursued a graduate study at Harvard University receiving the MA in 1939 and a Ph.D. in 1941. Gardner (2001) noted; â€Å"Jerome Bruner has served a vital role in the educational discourse of our time: bringing to bear the latest thinking in†¦show more content†¦The third theme is intuitive thinking, a neglected but important feature of productive thinking. Careful examinations of the nature of intuitive thinking is a great aid to those in teaching and effective thinking is supported by the development of self-confidence and courage. The fourth theme is motivation for learning; an interest in the learning material is the best stimulus for learning and must be kept broad and different in expression. It is important for students to feel motivated whilst learning, the motives for learning must be based upon as much as possible on interests. Bruners work had a profound effect on education, researchers and the students he has worked with. Bruner (1964) clearly states that his theory is â€Å"the development of human intellectual functioning†. A lot of Bruners work was powered by earlier theoretical research of Vygotsky and Piaget. My main focus is on the similarities and differences of Bruner and Piaget, as LaFrancois (2000) states that â€Å"much of Bruners work is linked to Piaget.† The best theory for this is the theory of Constructivism. According to Bruning et al. (1999) constructivism is â€Å"a psychological and philosophical perspective contending that individuals form or construct much of what they learn and understand.† Constructivism is the philosophy of learning; aShow MoreRelatedLev Vygotsky, A Russian Developmental Psychologist1223 Words   |  5 PagesDewey who hypothesized that learning is centered on the human experience. As humans encounter change, they are forced to think creatively to regain control of their environment. Dewey believed that learning had to be an active process.10 †¢ Jerome Seymour Bruner stated that learners utilize information from past experiences and current knowledge when confronting new data. The learner interacts through exploration and experimentation. This encourages active engagement, motivation to learn, creativityRead MoreLearning Theories Essay6222 Words   |  25 Pagesteaching practice it is associated with different degrees of non-directed learning. The term constructivsm is linked to Cognitive and Social Constructivsm.    Theorists associated with Constuctivism: John Dewey Lev Vygotsky Jean Piaget Jerome Bruner Seymour Papert Mitchell Resnick    A Description of Constructivism: The merits of Behaviorist learning theory and of their teaching practices are well documented. They have served well in teaching a growing North American population over the past