Jerome Bruner
Jerome Bruner was a prominent American psychologist, born in New York City in 1915, whose work significantly impacted the field of educational psychology. He completed his undergraduate degree at Duke University and earned his PhD from Harvard University, where he later served on the faculty for 27 years. Bruner is recognized as a key figure in the cognitive revolution, co-founding the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard. His contributions include the creation of the Head Start preschool program aimed at assisting low-income children and the development of the innovative MACOS curriculum, which integrated anthropology into elementary science education.
Bruner's educational philosophy emphasized that learning is an active and constructive process, where students build new knowledge based on their existing understanding. He introduced the concept of a spiral curriculum, allowing learners to continuously build on prior knowledge. Furthermore, he advocated for a social-interactionist approach to language development, stressing the importance of cultural context in learning. His work on narrative inquiry highlighted the significance of storytelling in shaping human experience. Bruner passed away in June 2016, leaving behind a legacy that continues to influence education and psychology.
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Subject Terms
Jerome Bruner
American developmental and educational psychologist
- Date of birth: October 1, 1915
- Place of birth: New York, New York
- Date of death: June 5, 2016
- Place of death: New York, New York
Type of psychology: Cognition
Bruner has contributed to the fields of cultural psychology and psychological anthropology. His constructivist theory forms the general framework for instruction based on the study of cognition.
Life
Jerome Bruner was born in New York City in 1915 and completed his undergraduate degree at Duke University in 1937. He interrupted his educational plans to become involved with survey research during World War II. He then completed his PhD at Harvard University in 1947, staying on as a member of the Harvard faculty for the next twenty-seven years. He became a research professor of psychology at New York University (NYU), where he also became a senior research fellow in law. He retired from NYU in 2013 at the age of ninety-seven. He received honorary doctorates from numerous universities, including Yale University. Known for helping to launch what became known as the cognitive revolution, he was the cofounder and director of the Center for Cognitive Studies while at Harvard. He is also recognized as one of the founders of the federally funded Head Start preschool program for children from low-income families. During the 1960s, he was instrumental in the creation of Man, A Course of Study (MACOS), an elementary school science curriculum based on anthropology that was funded by the National Science Foundation.
In 1987, the American Psychological Association identified Bruner as one of the outstanding contributors to the field of educational psychology since 1960. His major thesis was that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based on their current knowledge. In The Process of Education (1960), Bruner introduced his basic concept that any student is capable of learning anything if properly taught. For this to be possible, the instructor must translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner’s current understanding. He envisioned a spiral curriculum that made it possible for the student to continually build on what had already been learned.
Bruner advocated a social-interactionist approach to language development as an alternative to the nativist theory. He theorized that parents and teachers play a role in constructing what he called a language acquisition support system (LASS).
Bruner’s meaning-centered approach to psychology focused on the role that culture plays in learning and cognition. His work on narrative inquiry placed attention on the potential of stories to give meaning to people’s lives.
Bruner died in New York City in June 2016 at the age of one hundred. He was married three times, and at the time of his death was survived by his partner NYU law professor Dr. Eleanor M. Fox; his children from his first marriage, son Whitley and daughter Jane; and three grandchildren.
Bibliography
Bakhurst, David, and Stuart G. Shanker, eds. Jerome Bruner: Language, Culture, Self. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2001. Print.
Bruner, Jerome. In Search of Mind: Essays in Autobiography. 1983. New York: Harper, 2012. Print.
Bruner, Jerome, and Helen Weinreich-Haste. Making Sense: The Child's Construction of the World. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Carey, Benedict. "Jerome S. Bruner, Who Shaped Understanding of the Young Mind, Dies at 100." New York Times. New York Times, 8 June 2016. Web. 22 July 2016.
Greenfield, Patricia Marks. "Jerome Bruner (1915–2016) Psychologist Who Shaped Ideas About Perception, Cognition and Education." Nature 535.7611 (2016): 232. Print.
Olson, David. Jerome Bruner: The Cognitive Revolution in Educational Theory. 2007. New York: Continuum, 2011. Print.
Smidt, Sandra. Introducing Bruner: A Guide for Practitioners and Students in Early Years Education. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Takaya, Keiichi. Jerome Bruner: Developing a Sense of the Possible. New York: Springer, 2013. Digital file.
Zimmerman, Jonathan. "An Unfinished Quest in Education." Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly Group, 7 June 2016. Web. 22 July 2016.