Jerome Bruner’s Theory of Learning and Cognitive Development

Bruner’s Ideas

 Like Ausubel (and other cognitive psychologists), Bruner sees the learner as an active agent;
emphasizing the importance of existing schemata in guiding learning.

 Bruner argues that students should discern for themselves the structure of subject content –
discovering the links and relationships between different facts, concepts and theories
(rather than the teacher simply telling them).

 Bruner (1966) hypothesized that the usual course of intellectual development moves through
three stages: enactive, iconic, and symbolic, in that order. However, unlike Piaget’s stages,
Bruner did not contend that these stages were necessarily age-dependent, or invariant.

 Piaget and, to an extent, Ausubel, contended that the child must be ready, or made ready, for
the subject matter. But Bruner contends just the opposite. According to his theory, the
fundamental principles of any subject can be taught at any age, provided the material is
converted to a form (and stage) appropriate to the child.

 The notion of a “spiral curriculum” embodies Bruner’s ideas by “spiraling” through similar
topics at every age, but consistent with the child’s stage of thought.

 The aim of education should be to create autonomous learners (i.e., learning to learn).

 Cognitive growth involves an interaction between basic human capabilities and “culturally
invented technologies that serve as amplifiers of these capabilities.”

 These culturally invented technologies include not just obvious things such as computers and
television, but also more abstract notions such as the way a culture categorizes phenomena,
and language itself.

 Bruner would likely agree with Vygotsky that language serves to mediate between

environmental stimuli and the individual’s response.

Three Modes Of Representation

Modes of representation are how information or knowledge is stored and encoded in memory.
Rather than neat age-related stages (like Piaget), the modes of representation are integrated and only
loosely sequential as they “translate” into each other.

Bruner (1966) was concerned with how knowledge is represented and organized through different
modes of thinking (or representation).

In his research on the cognitive development of children,  Jerome Bruner proposed three modes of
representation:
 1. Enactive representation (action-based)

2. Iconic representation (image-based)

3. Symbolic representation (language-based)

Bruner’s constructivist theory suggests it is effective when faced with new material to follow a

progression from enactive to iconic to symbolic representation; this holds true even for adult learners.

Bruner’s work also suggests that a learner even of a very young age is capable of learning any
material so long as the instruction is organized appropriately, in sharp contrast to the beliefs of Piaget
and other stage theorists.

Enactive Mode (0-1 year)

In the enactive mode, knowledge is stored primarily in the form of motor responses. This mode is
used within the first year of life (corresponding with Piaget’s sensorimotor stage).

Thinking is based entirely on physical actions, and infants learn by doing, rather than by internal
representation (or thinking).

It involves encoding physical action-based information and storing it in our memory. For example, in
the form of movement as muscle memory, a baby might remember the action of shaking a rattle.

And this is not just limited to children. Many adults can perform a variety of motor tasks (typing,
sewing a shirt, operating a lawn mower) that they would find difficult to describe in iconic (picture) or
symbolic (word) form.

This mode continues later in many physical activities, such as learning to ride a bike.

Iconic Mode (1-6 years)

Information is stored as sensory images (icons), usually visual ones, like pictures in the mind. For
some, this is conscious; others say they don’t experience it.

This may explain why, when we are learning a new subject, it is often helpful to have diagrams or
illustrations to accompany the verbal information.

Thinking is also based on using other mental images (icons), such as hearing, smell or touch.

Symbolic Mode (7 years onwards)

This develops last. In the symbolic stage, knowledge is stored primarily as language, mathematical
symbols, or in other symbol systems.

This mode is acquired around six to seven years old (corresponding to Piaget’s concrete operational
stage).
In the symbolic stage, knowledge is stored primarily as words, mathematical symbols, or other
symbol systems, such as music.

Symbols are flexible in that they can be manipulated, ordered, classified, etc. so the user isn’t
constrained by actions or images (which have a fixed relation to that which they represent).

According to Bruner’s taxonomy, these differ from icons in that symbols are “arbitrary.” For example,
the word “beauty” is an arbitrary designation for the idea of beauty in that the word itself is no more
inherently beautiful than any other word.

The Importance Of Language

Language is important for the increased ability to deal with abstract concepts.

Bruner argues that language can code stimuli and free an individual from the constraints of dealing
only with appearances, to provide a more complex yet flexible cognition.

The use of words can aid the development of the concepts they represent and can remove the
constraints of the “here & now” concept.

Bruner views the infant as an intelligent & active problem solver from birth, with intellectual abilities
basically similar to those of the mature adult.

Educational Implications

Education should aim to create autonomous learners (i.e., learning to learn).

For Bruner (1961), the purpose of education is not to impart knowledge, but instead to facilitate a
child’s thinking and problem-solving skills which can then be transferred to a range of situations.
Specifically, education should also develop symbolic thinking in children.

In 1960 Bruner’s text, The Process of Education was published. The main premise of Bruner’s text
was that students are active learners who construct their own knowledge.

Readiness

Bruner (1960) opposed Piaget’s notion of readiness. He argued that schools waste time trying to
match the complexity of subject material to a child’s cognitive stage of development.

This means students are held back by teachers as certain topics are deemed too difficult to understand
and must be taught when the teacher believes the child has reached the appropriate stage of cognitive
maturity.
The Spiral Curriculum

Bruner (1960) adopts a different view and believes a child (of any age) is capable of understanding
complex information:

“We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest
form to any child at any stage of development.” (p. 33)
Bruner (1960) explained how this was possible through the concept of the spiral curriculum. This
involved information being structured so that complex ideas can be taught at a simplified level first,
and then re-visited at more complex levels later on.

The underlying principle in this is that the student should review particular concepts at over and over
again during their educative experience; each time building and their understanding and requiring
more sophisticated cognitive strategies (and thus increase the sophistication of their understanding).

Therefore, subjects would be taught at levels of gradually increasing difficultly (hence the spiral
analogy). Ideally, teaching his way should lead to children being able to solve problems by
themselves.

Bruner argues that, as children age, they are capable of increasingly complex modes of representation
(basically, ways of thinking) – and the spiral curriculum should be sensitive to this development;

 Initially, children learn better using an enactive mode of representation (i.e. they learn better
through “doing things” such as physical and manual tasks) – for instance, the concept of
addition might be first taught by asking the child to combine piles of beads and counting
the results.

 As they grow older – and more familiar with subject content – pupils become more confident
in using an iconic mode of representation; they are able to perform tasks by imagining
concrete pictures in their heads. To continue the above example; as the child becomes more
confident with addition, they should be able to imagine the beads in order to complete
additions (without physically needing to manipulate the piles).

 Finally, students become capable of more abstract, symbolic modes of representation; without

the need for either physical manipulation or mental imagery. Consequently, at this point,
the student should have little problem with completing a series of written calculations; of
numbers which are higher than is possible by “imagining beads”.

Discovery Learning Theory

Bruner (1960) developed the concept of Discovery Learning – arguing that students should “not be
presented with the subject matter in its final form, but rather are required to organize it themselves…
[requiring them] to discover for themselves relationships that exist among items of information”.

Bruner (1961) proposes that learners construct their own knowledge and do this by organizing and
categorizing information using a coding system.

Bruner believed that the most effective way to develop a coding system is to discover it rather than
being told by the teacher.
The concept of discovery learning implies that students construct their own knowledge for themselves
(also known as a constructivist approach).

The result is an extremely active form of learning, in which the students are always engaged in tasks,
finding patterns or solving puzzles – and in which they constantly need to exercise their
existing schemata, reorganizing and amending these concepts to address the challenges of the task.

The role of the teacher should not be to teach information by rote learning, but instead to facilitate the
learning process. This means that a good teacher will design lessons that help students discover the
relationship between bits of information.

To do this a teacher must give students the information they need, but without organizing for them.
The use of the spiral curriculum can aid the process of discovery learning.

For example, in teaching a particular concept, the teacher should present the set of instances that will
best help learners develop an appropriate model of the concept. The teacher should also model the
inquiry process. Bruner would likely not contend that all learning should be through discovery.

For example, it seems pointless to have children “discover” the names of the U.S. Presidents, or
important dates in history.

Bruner’s theory is probably clearest when illustrated with practical examples. The instinctive response
of a teacher to the task of helping a primary-school child understand the concept of odd and even
numbers, for instance, would be to explain the difference to them.

However, Bruner would argue that understanding of this concept would be much more genuine if the
child discovered the difference for themselves; for instance, by playing a game in which they had to
share various numbers of beads fairly between themselves and their friend.

Discovery is not just an instructional technique, but an important learning outcome in itself. Schools
should help learners develop their own ability to find the “recurrent regularities” in their environment.

Bruner would likely not contend that all learning should be through discovery. For example, it seems
pointless to have children “discover” the names of the U.S. Presidents, or important dates in history.

Scaffolding Theory

On the surface, Bruner’s emphasis on the learner discovering subject content for themselves
seemingly absolves the teacher of a great deal of work.

In practice, however, his model requires the teacher to be actively involved in lessons;
providing cognitive scaffolding which will facilitate learning on the part of the student.

On the one hand, this involves the selection and design of appropriate stimulus materials and activities
which the student can understand and complete – however Bruner also advocates that the teacher
should circulate the classroom and work with individual students, performing six core “functions”
(Wood, Bruner and Ross: 1976):

 Recruitment: ensuring that the student is interested in the task, and understands what is
required of them.
  Reducing degrees of freedom: helping the student make sense of the material by eliminating
irrelevant directions and thus reducing the “trial and error” aspect of learning.

 Direction Maintenance: ensuring that the learner is on-task and interest is maintained – often
by breaking the ultimate aim of the task into “sub-aims” which are more readily
understood and achieved.

 Marking critical features: highlighting relevant concepts or processes and pointing out
errors.

 Frustration Control: stopping students from “giving up” on the task.

 Demonstration: providing models for imitation or possible (partial solution).

In this context, Bruner’s model might be better described as guided discovery learning; as the teacher
is vital in ensuring that the acquisition of new concepts and processes is successful.

Bruner And Vygotsky

Both Bruner and Vygotsky emphasize a child’s environment, especially the social environment, more
than Piaget did. Both agree that adults should play an active role in assisting the child’s learning.

Bruner, like Vygotsky, emphasized the social nature of learning, citing that other people should help a
child develop skills through the process of scaffolding.

“[Scaffolding] refers to the steps taken to reduce the degrees of freedom in carrying out some task so
that the child can concentrate on the difficult skill she is in the process of acquiring” (Bruner, 1978, p.
19).
He was especially interested in the characteristics of people whom he considered to have achieved
their potential as individuals.

The term scaffolding first appeared in the literature when Wood, Bruner, and Ross described how
tutors” interacted with a preschooler to help them solve a block reconstruction problem (Wood et al.,
1976).

The concept of scaffolding is very similar to Vygotsky’s notion of the zone of proximal development,
and it’s not uncommon for the terms to be used interchangeably.

Scaffolding involves helpful, structured interaction between an adult and a child with the aim of
helping the child achieve a specific goal.

The purpose of the support is to allow the child to achieve higher levels of development by:

 Simplifying the task or idea.

 Motivating and encouraging the child.

 Highlighting important task elements or errors.

  Giving models that can be imitated.

Bruner And Piaget

There are similarities between Piaget and Bruner, but a significant difference is that Bruner’s modes
are not related in terms of which presuppose the one that precedes it. While sometimes one mode may
dominate in usage, they coexist.

Bruner states that the level of intellectual development determines the extent to which the child has
been given appropriate instruction together with practice or experience.

So – the right way of presentation and explanation will enable a child to grasp a concept usually only
understood by an adult. His theory stresses the role of education and the adult.

Although Bruner proposes stages of cognitive development, he doesn’t see them as representing
different separate modes of thought at different points of development (like Piaget).

Instead, he sees a gradual development of cognitive skills and techniques into more integrated “adult”
cognitive techniques.

Bruner views symbolic representation as crucial for cognitive development, and since language is our
primary means of symbolizing the world, he attaches great importance to language in determining
cognitive development.

Agree

 Children are innately PRE-ADAPTED to learning

 Children have a NATURAL CURIOSITY

 Children’s COGNITIVE STRUCTURES develop over time

 Children are ACTIVE participants in the learning process

 Cognitive development entails the acquisition of SYMBOLS

Disagree

 Social factors, particularly language, were important for cognitive growth. These underpin the
concept of ‘scaffolding’.

 The development of LANGUAGE is a cause not a consequence of cognitive development

 You can SPEED-UP cognitive development. You don’t have to wait for the child to be ready
  The involvement of ADULTS and MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE PEERS makes a big
difference

 The involvement of ADULTS and MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE PEERS makes a big

difference

Constructivism Learning Theory & Philosophy Of Education

Constructivism is a learning theory that emphasizes the active role of learners in building their own
understanding. Rather than passively receiving information, learners reflect on their experiences,
create mental representations, and incorporate new knowledge into their schemas. This promotes
deeper learning and understanding.

Constructivism is ‘an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their own
knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner’ (Elliott et al., 2000, p.
256).

In elaborating on constructivists’ ideas, Arends (1998) states that constructivism believes in the
personal construction of meaning by the learner through experience and that meaning is influenced by
the interaction of prior knowledge and new events.

Constructivism Philosophy

Knowledge is constructed rather than innate, or passively absorbed.

Constructivism’s central idea is that human learning is constructed, that learners build new knowledge
upon the foundation of previous learning.

This prior knowledge influences what new or modified knowledge an individual will construct from
new learning experiences (Phillips, 1995).

Learning is an active process.

The second notion is that learning is an active rather than a passive process.

The passive view of teaching views the learner as ‘an empty vessel’ to be filled with knowledge,
whereas constructivism states that learners construct meaning only through active engagement with
the world (such as experiments or real-world problem-solving).

Information may be passively received, but understanding cannot be, for it must come from making
meaningful connections between prior knowledge, new knowledge, and the processes involved in
learning.
John Dewey valued real-life contexts and problems as an educational experience. He believed that if
students only passively perceive a problem and do not experience its consequences in a meaningful,
emotional, and reflective way, they are unlikely to adapt and revise their habits or construct new
habits, or will only do so superficially.

All knowledge is socially constructed.

Learning is a social activity – it is something we do together, in interaction with each other, rather
than an abstract concept (Dewey, 1938).

For example, Vygotsky (1978) believed that community plays a central role in the process of “making
meaning.” For Vygotsky, the environment in which children grow up will influence how they think
and what they think about.

Thus, all teaching and learning is a matter of sharing and negotiating socially constituted knowledge.

For example, Vygotsky (1978) states cognitive development stems from social interactions from
guided learning within the zone of proximal development as children and their partners co-construct
knowledge.

All knowledge is personal.

Each individual learner has a distinctive point of view, based on existing knowledge and values.

This means that same lesson, teaching or activity may result in different learning by each pupil, as
their subjective interpretations differ.

This principle appears to contradict the view the knowledge is socially constructed.

Fox (2001, p. 30) argues:

1. Although individuals have their own personal history of learning, nevertheless they can
share in common knowledge, and

2. Although education is a social process powerfully influenced by cultural factors, cultures

are made up of sub-cultures, even to the point of being composed of sub-cultures of one.

3. Cultures and their knowledge base are constantly in a process of change and the knowledge
stored by individuals is not a rigid copy of some socially constructed template. In learning
a culture, each child changes that culture.

Learning exists in the mind.

The constructivist theory posits that knowledge can only exist within the human mind, and that it does
not have to match any real-world reality (Driscoll, 2000).

Learners will be constantly trying to develop their own individual mental model of the real world
from their perceptions of that world.
As they perceive each new experience, learners will continually update their own mental models to
reflect the new information, and will, therefore, construct their own interpretation of reality.

Types Of Constructivism

Typically, this continuum is divided into three broad categories: Cognitive constructivism, based on
the work of Jean Piaget; social constructivism, based on the work of Lev Vygotsky; and radical
constructivism.

According to the GSI Teaching and Resource Center (2015, p.5):

Cognitive constructivism states knowledge is something that is actively constructed by learners based
on their existing cognitive structures. Therefore, learning is relative to their stage of cognitive
development.
Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist students in assimilating new information to existing
knowledge, and enabling them to make the appropriate modifications to their existing intellectual
framework to accommodate that information.

According to social constructivism, learning is a collaborative process, and knowledge develops from
individuals” interactions with their culture and society.

Social constructivism was developed by Lev Vygotsky (1978, p. 57), who suggested that:

Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and, later
on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child
(intrapsychological).

The notion of radical constructivism was developed by Ernst von Glasersfeld (1974) and states that all
knowledge is constructed rather than perceived through senses.

Learners construct new knowledge on the foundations of their existing knowledge. However, radical
constructivism states that the knowledge individuals create tells us nothing about reality, and only
helps us to function in your environment. Thus, knowledge is invented not discovered.

Radical constructivism also argues that there is no way to directly access an objective reality, and that
knowledge can only be understood through the individual’s subjective interpretation of their
experiences.

This theory asserts that individuals create their own understanding of reality, and that their knowledge
is always incomplete and subjective.

The humanly constructed reality is all the time being modified and interacting to fit ontological
reality, although it can never give a ‘true picture’ of it. (Ernest, 1994, p. 8)

Social Constructivism Cognitive Constructivism Cognitive Constructivism

Knowledge is created through Knowledge is constructed Knowledge is constructed by

social interactions and through mental processes such the individual through their
 collaboration with others.
The learner is an active
participant in the construction
of knowledge and learning is a
social process.
The teacher facilitates learning
by providing opportunities for
social interaction and
collaboration.
Learning is a social process
that involves collaboration,
negotiation, and reflection.
Reality is socially constructed
and subjective, and there is no
one objective truth.
For example: Collaborative
group work in a classroom
setting.
as attention, perception, and
memory.
The learner is an active
problem-solver who constructs
knowledge through mental
processes.
The teacher provides
information and resources for
the learner to construct their
own understanding.
Learning is an individual
process that involves mental
processes such as attention,
perception, and memory.
Reality is objective and exists
independently of the learner,
but the learner constructs their
own understanding of it.
For example: Solving a math
problem using mental
processes.
subjective experiences and
interactions with the world.
The learner is the sole
constructor of knowledge and
meaning, and their reality is
subjective and constantly
evolving.
The teacher encourages the
learner to question and reflect
on their experiences to
construct their own knowledge.
Learning is an individual and
subjective process that
involves constructing meaning
from one’s experiences.
Learning is an individual and
subjective process that
involves constructing meaning
from one’s experiences.
For example: Reflecting on
personal experiences to
construct meaning and
understanding.

Constructivism Teaching Philosophy

Constructivist learning theory underpins a variety of student-centered teaching methods and

techniques which contrast with traditional education, whereby knowledge is simply passively
transmitted by teachers to students.

What is the role of the teacher in a constructivist classroom?

Constructivism is a way of teaching where instead of just telling students what to believe, teachers
encourage them to think for themselves. This means that teachers need to believe that students are
capable of thinking and coming up with their own ideas. Unfortunately, not all teachers believe this
yet in America.

The primary responsibility of the teacher is to create a collaborative problem-solving environment

where students become active participants in their own learning.

From this perspective, a teacher acts as a facilitator of learning rather than an instructor.

The teacher makes sure he/she understands the students” preexisting conceptions, and guides the
activity to address them and then build on them (Oliver, 2000).

Scaffolding is a key feature of effective teaching, where the adult continually adjusts the level of his
or her help in response to the learner’s level of performance.

In the classroom, scaffolding can include modeling a skill, providing hints or cues, and adapting
material or activity (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009).
What are the features of a constructivist classroom?

A constructivist classroom emphasizes active learning, collaboration, viewing a concept or problem

from multiple perspectives, reflection, student-centeredness, and authentic assessment to promote
meaningful learning and help students construct their own understanding of the world.

Tam (2000) lists the following four basic characteristics of constructivist learning environments,
which must be considered when implementing constructivist teaching strategies:

1) Knowledge will be shared between teachers and students.

2) Teachers and students will share authority.

3) The teacher’s role is one of a facilitator or guide.

4) Learning groups will consist of small numbers of heterogeneous students.

Traditional Classroom Constructivist Classroom

Strict adherence to a fixed curriculum is highly
valued.
Learning is based on repetition.
Teacher-centered.
Teachers disseminate information to students;
students are recipients of knowledge (passive
learning).
Teacher’s role is directive, rooted in authority.
Students work primarily alone (competitive).
Pursuit of student questions and interests is
valued.
Learning is interactive, building on
what the student already knows.
Student-centered.
Teachers have a dialogue with students,
helping students construct their own knowledge
(active learning).
Teacher’s role is interactive, rooted in
negotiation.
Students work primarily in groups
(cooperative) and learn from each other.

What are the pedagogical (i.e., teaching) goals of constructivist classrooms?

Honebein (1996) summarizes the seven pedagogical goals of constructivist learning environments:
1. To provide experience with the knowledge construction process (students determine how
they will learn).

2. To provide experience in and appreciation for multiple perspectives (evaluation of

alternative solutions).

3. To embed learning in realistic contexts (authentic tasks).

4. To encourage ownership and a voice in the learning process (student-centered learning).

5. To embed learning in social experience (collaboration).

6. To encourage the use of multiple modes of representation, (video, audio text, etc.)
 7. To encourage awareness of the knowledge construction process (reflection, metacognition).

Brooks and Brooks (1993) list twelve descriptors of constructivist teaching behaviors:

1. Encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative. (p. 103)

2. Use raw data and primary sources, along with manipulative, interactive, and physical
materials. (p. 104)

3. When framing tasks, use cognitive terminology such as “classify,” analyze,” “predict,” and
“create.” (p. 104)

4. Allow student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies, and alter content. (p.
105)

5. Inquire about students’ understandings of the concepts before sharing [your] own
understandings of those concepts. (p. 107)

6. Encourage students to engage in dialogue, both with the teacher and with one another. (p.
108)

7. Encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions and encouraging

students to ask questions of each other. (p. 110)

8. Seek elaboration of students’ initial responses. (p. 111)

9. Engage students in experiences that might engender contradictions to their initial

hypotheses and then encourage discussion. (p. 112)

10. Allow wait time after posing questions. (p. 114)

11. Provide time for students to construct relationships and create metaphors. (p. 115)

12. Nurture students’ natural curiosity through frequent use of the learning cycle model. (p.
116)

Critical Evaluation

Constructivism promotes a sense of personal agency as students have ownership of their learning and
assessment.

The biggest disadvantage is its lack of structure. Some students require highly structured learning
environments to be able to reach their potential.

It also removes grading in the traditional way and instead places more value on students evaluating
their own progress, which may lead to students falling behind, as without standardized grading
teachers may not know which students are struggling.