Assessment 1 Bruner

Bruner developed educational theories based on the constructivist model which looked at the nature of instruction. He developed principles of instruction to highlight what he believed to be important aspects of good instruction.
There are three principles: firstly it is important to assess the stage at which the student is at so as to determine readiness for the activity.
Secondly a spiral organisation helps the student be able to grasp what is being brought.
Thirdly the student should be able to take on tasks themselves and further develop them and take them to a new level.
In all of this he saw it important that the actual experience of learning was a reward in itself.
Bruner further believed that Piaget's stages of development were important issues to look at but he took a different view to that of Piaget. Bruner stated that there were three stages of development dominant during learning affecting readiness to learn. As the stages are dominant factors only Bruner considers that difficult learning about all subjects can be brought to children in any stage of development so long as the scaffolding and cultural context are appropriate. The stages, similar to what Piaget had outlined are enactive, iconic and symbolic. Piaget believed that only certain types of learning could occur at the earliest stages contrary to what Bruner believed.
I have found that children learn in different types of ways at different stages and that learning is maximised when these stages are taken into account. For example a young child learns through movement and utilising this ability one can have them move and jump number patterns to maximise their learning in mathematics. This is appropriate to their stage of development. Learning how to work with abstract symbols and sums whilst possible at this stage is not healthy to their overall development and generally would not maximise enthusiasm to learn. I would agree with Bruner that they are capable of learning complex tasks but it is important that learning be appropriate to their stage of development and so I would disagree with him that any sort of learning is appropriate at any stage.

Bruner stated that a spiral promotes learning and that different ways of learning promote this spiral of development. He gave examples where different approaches could facilitate learning . For example a student could learn about prime numbers by working with visual patterns instead of abstract theory. Once they had grasped the process they could try out different approaches of their own and take the initiative to extend their own learning.
I find that learning is most effective when students experience different styles of learning and when a central theme is explored in different ways. This way of learning promotes a learning spiral as the material is experienced in different ways and in different contexts over time.

References
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: January 28, 2005.
http://tip.psychology.org/theories.html