Jerome Bruner Cognitive Learning Theory Presented By: Nancy Alexander Diane Barton Elsa Cardenas Sara Dalton Jennifer Garner Phyllis Grant-Berry

James Bruner Jerome Seymour Bruner is a psychologist who has made significant contributions to human cognitive psychology and cognitive learning theory in educational psychology, as well as to history and to the general philosophy of education. He is a life-long learner and researcher. He still teaches at NYU at age 89.

Summary The outcome of cognitive development is thinking. The intelligent mind creates from experience "generic coding systems that permit one to go beyond the data to new and possibly fruitful predictions" (Bruner, 1957, p. 234). Thus, children as they grow must acquire a way of representing the "recurrent regularities" in their environment.  So, to Bruner, important outcomes of learning include not just the concepts, categories, and problem-solving procedures invented previously by the culture, but also the ability to "invent" these things for oneself.

Key Elements In his research on the cognitive development of children (1966),  Jerome Bruner proposed three modes of representation: Enactive 0-1 year old Action Based Information Storing Memory Iconic 1-6 years old Image Based Information Visually-Mental Picture in the Mind’s Eye Symbolic 7 years old onward Language Based Information Words, mathematical symbols

Key Elements

BOOKS BY Jerome Bruner Toward a Theory of Instruction (Jan 31, 1974) The Process of Education (Jan 31, 1976) On Knowing: Essays for the Left Hand, Second Edition (Jan 31, 1979) Child's Talk: Learning to Use Language (Mar 17, 1985) Actual Minds, Possible Worlds  (Nov 14, 1987) Acts of Meaning: Four Lectures on Mind and Culture (Jan 31, 1993) The Culture of Education  (May 25, 1997) Minding the Law (May 30, 2002) Making Stories: Law, Literature, Life (May 30, 2003) The Relevance of Education (Mar 25, 2013) Group F: Jerome Bruner

COMPARE and CONTRAST THEORY In The Relevance of Education, Bruner explores some of the different psychologists of his time and takes some portions of their theories to create his own theory. Bruner’s theory on education and its effect on a child’s intellectual growth is dependent on two factors, societal values and language development. Bruner based his theory for intellectual growth on Jean Piaget’s research with the stages of cognitive development with the glass of water being poured into a short glass or a tall glass. Bruner uses data from other psychologist’s who repeated Piaget’s research with children of different societies. Piaget’s test subjects were all middle class children, Lilyan Kesteloof ‘s research subjects were children in Africa and Rabain-Zempleni’s research used the Wolof child in his traditional bush setting. When Jean Piaget’s research is repeated with children of different societies, there are differences which is why Jerome Bruner placed the additional factors for measuring a child’s intellectual growth.

References Bruner, J. S. (1971). The relevance of education. New York: Norton. McLeod, Saul. (2008, updated 2012). Bruner. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html