The theories of Jerome Bruner and their impact on the education of young children across the globe. Promoting teacher development for the betterment of children and educators alike.

1. Jerome Bruner
Cheryl Johnson
Karen Maiden
Regina McDonald
Amanda McGuire
Photo courtesy of http://oaks.nvg.org/bruner-sayings.html

2. Table of Contents
 Biography
 Cognitive Development
 Enactive
 Iconic
 Symbolic
 Classroom Applications
 Technology in the Classroom
 Discovery Learning
 Cultural Trend
 Final Thought
 Quiz

3. Biography
 Education
 PhD, Harvard, 1941 (Psychology)
 BA, Duke University, 1937
 Affiliations
 American Psychological Association
 Law & Society Association
 Society for Research in Child Development
 Publications
 The Culture of Education, 1996
 Acts of Meaning, 1991
 Actual Minds, Possible Worlds, 1987
 The Process of Education, 1960
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4. Cognitive Development
Like Piaget, Bruner believed in stages of
instruction based on development.
 Enactive (birth to age 3)
 Iconic (age 3 to 8)
 Symbolic (from age 8)
Each mode is dominant at different
phases of development but all are
present and accessible always.
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5. Enactive
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6. Iconic
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7. Symbolic
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8. Classroom Applications
 Provide study materials, activities, and
tools
 Examples of all three to help children
learn about dinosaurs
Construct a model of a dinosaur (enactive)
Watch a film about dinosaurs (iconic)
Consult reference texts and discuss
findings (symbolic)
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9. Technology in Classroom
 Manipulatives for enactive stage
 Safari Montage and other video footage
for iconic mode
 Simulations to discover/develop their
own approach for symbolic mode
 Educators equip students with basic
skills to access information to increase
their knowledge and desire to learn
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10. Discovery Learning
“Discovery learning is ‘an approach to
instruction through which students
interact with their environment – by
exploring and manipulating objects,
wrestling with questions and
controversies, or performing
experiments’ (Ormrod, 2000, p. 442).”
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11. Cultural Trend
 Became critical of the ‘cognitive
revolution’
 Began to argue for the building of a
cultural psychology beyond the confines
of schooling (The Culture of Education)
 Appreciation of culture – “culture
shapes the mind…provides us with the
toolkit by which we construct not only
our worlds but our very conception of
our selves and our powers”
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12. Howard Gardner’s Comments
“Jerome Bruner is not merely one of the
foremost educational thinkers of the era; he
is also an inspired learner and teacher. His
infectious curiosity inspires all who are not
completely jaded. Individuals of every age and
background are invited to join in…In his
words, ‘Intellectual activity is anywhere and
everywhere, whether at the frontier of
knowledge or in a third-grade classroom’.”
(Gardner, 2001, pg. 94)
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13. Quiz
To which mode does this classroom
activity belong:
learning subtraction by showing 6 items
and physically removing 4 of them?
Enactive
Iconic
Symbolic
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14. Not quite
 Review notes for a hint
 Try again
 I have no idea. Tell me the correct answer

15. The Correct Answer is…
The Enactive mode
In the Enactive mode students learn
through their own actions. By actually
removing the items the students gain an
understanding of subtraction and learn
that 6 minus 4 equals 2.
(In the iconic stage, when they progress to math work
without counting, they will see 6-4= and know the
answer is 2.)
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16. Sources
 Bruner, Jerome. Retrieved June 3, 2008. NYU Department of
Psychology Web site: http://www.psych.nyu.edu.
 Flores, Nicole. Jerome Bruner’s educational theory. Retrieved June
3, 2008. New Foundation Web site:
http://www.newfoundations.com.
 Gardner, H. (2001). Fifty modern thinkers on education. from Piaget
to the present, London: Routledge.
 Hollyman, David. Retrieved June 3, 2008. Jerome Bruner a web
overview. http://au.geocities.com.
 Smith, M.K. (2002). Jerome Bruner and The process of education.
Retrieved June 3, 2008 from The encyclopedia of informal
education Web site: http://www.infed.org.
 Ormond, J (2000). Educational Psychology: developing learners
(3rd ed).
 Roblyer, M.D. (2003). Integrating educational technology into
teaching, (3rd ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Prentice Hall.
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