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JEROME S. BRUNER
1915-CURRENT
One of the best
known and influential psychologists of the twentieth century.
He was one of
the key figures in the so called 'cognitive revolution' - but it is the
field of education that his influence has been especially felt.
His books The
Process of Education and Towards a Theory of Instruction have
been widely read and become recognized as classics, and his work on the
social studies programme - Man: A Course of Study (MACOS) - in the mid-1960s
is a landmark in curriculum development.
More recently
Bruner has come to be critical of the 'cognitive revolution' and has looked
to the building of a cultural psychology that takes proper account of the
historical and social context of participants.
In his 1996 book
The Culture of Education these arguments were developed with respect
to schooling (and education more generally). 'How one conceives of
education', he wrote, 'we have finally come to recognize, is a function of
how one conceives of the culture and its aims, professed and otherwise'
(Bruner 1996: ix-x).
"Learners are encouraged
to discover facts and relationships for themselves."
Introduction:
was born October
1, 1915 in New York City
received his A.B.
from Duke University in 1937 and his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1941
During World War
II, Bruner worked as a social psychologist exploring propaganda public
opinion and social attitudes for U.S. Army intelligence. After obtaining his
PhD he became a member of faculty, serving as professor of psychology, as
well as cofounder and director of the Center for Cognitive Studies.
He was formally a
professor of Psychology at Harvard University (1952-1972) and Oxford
(1972-1980)
Currently he is
at the the New York University of Law.
In 1960, he wrote
The Process of Education, which emphasizes curriculum innovation grounded in
theories of cognitive development.
Bruner asserts that learning is an
active process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on
their current knowledge.
Further reading and
references
Bruner, J (1960)
The Process of Education, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
97 + xxvi pages. Rightly recognized as a twentieth century educational
'classic', this book argues that schooling and curricula should be
constructed to foster intuitive 'graspings'. Bruner makes the case for a
'spiral curriculum'. The second edition, 1977, has a a new preface that
reassesses the book.
Bruner, J. S.
(1966) Toward a Theory of Instruction, Cambridge, Mass.: Belkapp
Press. 176 + x pages.
Bruner, J. S.
(1971) The Relevance of Education, New York: Norton. In this book
Bruner applied his theories to infant development.
Bruner, J. (1996) The Culture of Education,
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. 224 + xvi pages.
Links
To cite this
article: Smith, M.K. (2002) 'Jerome S. Bruner
and the process of education', the encyclopedia of informal education
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/bruner.htm.
Last updated:
十一月 16, 2004.
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