What is it?

What does it have to tell us? How can we apply it to our work?

 An educational theory that places emphasis on the learner Teachers role: Act as a facilitator

Based on the idea that All knowledge is CONSTRUCTED based on previous experiences

 In order to understand something, we MUST be able to relate it to something else If at all possible, APPLY this knowledge during the lesson to foster concrete connections Differs from traditional view; the mind is a blank tablet

 Jerome Bruner most recent contributor 1966-1990 Has incorporated social and cognitive aspects These ideas originated from a conference for math and science learning
Jerome Bruner

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READINESS SPIRAL ORGANIZATION Learners must learn things in steps Revisiting basic ideas over and over, building upn them and elaborating to the level of full understanding and master Must be structured so it is easily grasped
GOING BEYOND INFORMATION GIVEN

-A learner has some

background on a topic before studying it Preparing willingness and ability to learn Instruction must be concerned with experiences and contexts that make students willing & able to learn

Learning needs to have room for further exploration Take previous knowledge and develop a clearer understanding of it Should be designed to facilitate exploration

 Engage- do this! Engage the students and get

them interested in learning

Ex: ask a question, define a problem, surprise them, use problematic situations

Explore
Get the students directly involved in the material Have them work in teams Act as a facilitator Use their inquiry to drive the process

Explain
Explanations come from: -Students working together -Teacher introducing concepts and vocabulary for experiences Example: magnets-attracting force This is also the time for the teacher to determine levels of understanding and clarify misconceptions Drawing, writing and video are great tools to help the teacher assess development and growth

Elaborate
Students expand on concepts learned Make connections Apply understandings to own environment & world around them These connections lead to further inquiry & new understandings

Evaluate
On-going diagnostic process Can occur at all points of the instructional process
-Examples: rubrics, teacher observation, student interviews, portfolios, project & problem based learning products, etc.

Used to guide teacher in further planning of lessons May also be utilized by the students; Ex:
Feedback Fridays

Categorization in Learning
CRITERIAL ATTRIBUTES
Required characteristics for inclusion of object in a category e.g. for an object to be included to the category car, it must have wheels, engine, etc.

COMBINING CRITERIAL ATTRIBUTES

can be determined by affective criteria, which render objects equivalent by emotional reactions, functional criteria, based on related functions for example, "car", "truck", "van" could all be combined in an inclusive category called "motor vehicle For example, and apple is still an apple whether it is green, ripe, dried, etc (identity). It is food (functional), and it is a member of of a botanical classification group (formal).

Categorization in Learning
ASSIGNES WEIGHT TO VARIOUS PROPERTIES
Example, it could be a car even if a tire was missing, and if it was used for hauling cargo it would be shifted to a different category of "truck" or perhaps "van"

Some attributes can vary widely, SETS such as color. Others are fixed. For ACCEPTANCE example a vehicle without an LIMITS ON engine is not a car. Likewise, a vehicle with only two wheels would ATTRIBUTES not be included in "car

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION

1. Personalized: instruction should relate to learners' predisposition, and facilitate interest toward learning, 2. Content Structure: content should be structured so it can be most easily grasped by the learner 3. Sequencing: sequencing is an important aspect for presentation of material 4. Reinforcement: rewards and punishment should be selected and paced appropriately.

Intellectual Development
1. "Enactive - when a person learns about the world through actions on physical objects and the outcomes of these actions. 2. "Iconic" - where learning can be obtained through using models and pictures. 3. "Symbolic" -the learner develops the capacity to think in abstract terms. Based on this three-stage notion, Bruner recommended using a combination of concrete, pictorial then symbolic activities will lead to more effective learning.

To summarize:
Learning is active Engage the students on their own cognitive level Make it interesting! Work in groups Act as a facilitator, not a record player Make learning cyclical. They should have more questions when the lesson is over!