Theories Precursor Main ideas

Cognitive Jerome Bruner - He thought that different processes were used by learners in problem solving, that these vary from
constructivism person to person and that social interaction lay at the root of good learning.
- 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.
- Learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their
current/past knowledge.
- Cognitive structure (i.e., schema, mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and
allows the individual to “go beyond the information given”
- The instructor should try and encourage students to discover principles by themselves
- The task of the instructor is to translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the
learner’s current state of understanding.
- Instruction should be designed to facilitate extrapolation and going beyond the information given.
- It is used with the cognitive stages of development.
Social Lev Vygotsky - He rejected the assumption made by Piaget that it was possible to separate learning from its social
constructivism context.
- Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and, later, on
the individual level
- Between people (interpsychological) and inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to
voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions
originate as actual relationships between individuals. 
- Language and culture in cognitive development provide frameworks through which we experience,
communicate, and understand reality.
- Believed that learning takes place within the Zone of Proximal Development.
Constructivism John Dewey - Rejected the notion that schools should focus on repetitive, rote memorization & proposed a method of
"directed living" – students would engage in real-world, practical workshops to demonstrate their
knowledge through creativity and collaboration.
- Students should be provided with opportunities to think from themselves and articulate their thoughts.
- Progressive education is essentially a view of education that emphasizes the need to learn by doing.
- Students must interact with their environment to adapt and learn. Dewey felt the same idea was true for
teachers and that teachers and students must learn together. His view of the classroom was deeply rooted
in democratic ideals, which promoted equal voice among all participants in the learning experience.