Jerome Bruner Education: A.B. Duke University,

1937 Ph.D. Harvard

University, 1941 Former Professor of

Psychology, Harvard and Oxford Universities

Basic Beliefs and Theories

•Knowledge is constructed in a social context

•Learn a rich conceptual framework

•Help learners construct MEANINGS, not simply information

Basic Beliefs and Theories

• “CONCEPT ATTAINMENT” to see the big picture

•General idea is presented first, followed by details

•Focus on categorizing and assigning traits or attributes

Keyword Concepts

•Categorizes or assigns details by:

•Exemplars• Essential • Nonessential

•Students are challenged to determine connections and categories

Putting Beliefs into Action

•Devise a unit of study•“The Rainforest”

•List your Essential Exemplars•List your Nonessential Exemplars

•Discuss relationship of each exemplar to one another

Classroom Applications

•Provide choices

•Multiage setting

•Variety of teaching methods

•Construct knowledge in multitude of ways

Final Thoughts

In his book The Process of Education, Bruner writes, “good teaching that emphasizes the structure of a subject is probably even more valuable for the less able student than for the gifted one, for it is the former rather than the

latter who is most easily thrown off the track by poor teaching.”