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Jerome Bruner

Jerome Bruner proposed three modes of representation in cognitive development: enactive, iconic, and symbolic. The enactive mode involves direct experiences and actions, iconic uses images and pictures, and symbolic relies on language and symbols. Bruner believed learning progresses from concrete to abstract through these three modes as children develop abilities for abstraction. His theory emphasizes starting instruction in the mode appropriate for the learner's stage of development.

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87 views18 pages

Jerome Bruner

Jerome Bruner proposed three modes of representation in cognitive development: enactive, iconic, and symbolic. The enactive mode involves direct experiences and actions, iconic uses images and pictures, and symbolic relies on language and symbols. Bruner believed learning progresses from concrete to abstract through these three modes as children develop abilities for abstraction. His theory emphasizes starting instruction in the mode appropriate for the learner's stage of development.

Uploaded by

Cleo Coleen
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Objectives

 Describe Bruner’s modes of


representation.
 Explain the uses of different modes in
child’s capacity in dealing with abstraction.
 Describe Gagne categories of learning
theory.
 Understand Tolman’s cognitive map
Jerome Bruner

Photo courtesy of http://oaks.nvg.org/bruner-sayings.html


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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Cognitive Development
Like Piaget, Bruner believed in stages of
instruction based on development.
 Enactive (birth to age 1)
 Iconic (age 1 to 6)
 Symbolic (from age 7 onwards)
Each mode is dominant at different
phases of development but all are
present and accessible always.
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STAGES
 ENACTIVE- refers to the direct or actual
experiences or encounter with what is. This is
a life on the raw, rich and unedited. They form
the bases for all other learning experiences.
 ICONIC- Refers to the more abstract
experiences which could be in the form of
picture
 SYMBOLIC- refers to the use of the words or
printed materials which no longer resemble
the subject under study.
BRUNER’S THREE- FOLD ANALYSIS
OF EXPERIENCE

THIRD THROUGH A SERIES


OF SYMBOLS SYMBOLIC

SECOND THROUGH A SERIES OF


ILLUSTRATIONS ICONIC

ENACTIVE
FIRST THROUGH A SEQUENCE OF ACTIONS
BRUNER’S THREE- FOLD ANALYSIS
OF EXPERIENCE

HENCE INCREASING
SYMBOLIC

DIFFICULTY
ICONIC
INCREASING
ABSTACTION

ENACTIVE
The BRUNER’S THREE-FOLD
ANALYSIS suggests

• that learning is more impressive if


one proceeds from the concrete to
abstract, or from specific to general
because more senses are involved
and the relationships are built in a
more pronounced manner.
Enactive

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Iconic

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Symbolic

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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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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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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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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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Not quite
 Review notes for a hint
 Try again
 I have no idea. Tell me the correct answer
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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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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