Jerome Bruner

  John Dewey

  Robert Gagné

  Howard Gardner

  Seymour Papert

  Jean Piaget 

  B. F. Skinner

   Lev Vygotsky

Jerome Brunner (1915-   ) New York
Constructivist - learning is an active process 

Brunner is credited with the idea of "Discovery Learning"-students interact with their environment by exploring and manipulating objects, asking questions and performing experiments.  
His ideas shaped early childhood education. His theory was adapted from Piaget's theories on the stages of cognitive development but he felt the developmental stages were flexible. He described development in three stages:

• Enactive Stage (from birth to about age 3) self; physical manipulation
• Iconic Stage (from about age 3 to about age 8) realize things exist 
    independently of self
• Symbolic Stage (from about age 8) symbolic; understands concepts
• Measure development and understanding using six benchmarks.

-The teacher would act as facilitator; check students' prerequisite knowledge, provide resources; ask open-ended questions.
-students construct meaning through exploration, manipulation, and thinking
-Assessment: use of rubrics
  measure development and understanding using benchmarks.
Implications for technology integration:
-students would use a simulation to see how something works rather than being told by the teacher.

John Dewey (1856-1952) top
Educational writer and philosopher

John Dewey is thought of as the "Grandfather of Constructivism". His ideas serve as a basis for constructivist methods and "Discovery Learning". He felt that learning is based on the child's own experiences and interests and that curriculum topics should be integrated rather than isolated from each other. 
-Learning should be active, hands-on, student-centered and in the context of social experience.
-Social consciousness is the aim of all education.  Learning should be hands-on and students working together on tasks related to their interests. 
-The teacher acts as a facilitator; a member of the group. 
-Discussion and peer review would be included.  
Today's interdisciplinary and hands-on curriculum are very similar to Dewey's belief about education.  Dewey would most likely approve of the use of technology in today's education.

Robert Gagné (1916-2001) top
Information Processing; Practical Instructional Strategies
Directed Instruction

-Learning outcomes are linked with specific instructional events.
-Directed Instruction: Instructional design strategies; behaviorism and information processing. 
-Nine Events of Instruction: (1. gaining attention; 2. inform learner of objectives; 3. stimulate recall of prerequisite learning; 4. present new material; 5. provide guidance; 6. elicit performance; 7. provide feedback about correctness; 8. assess performance; 9. enhance retention and recall.  

-Types of Learning and Learning Hierarchies:  Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction allow the teacher to plan instruction to create a learning environment and modify instruction   to accommodate learning styles.  Lower level skills provide building blocks for higher level skills in a hierarchy of intellectual skills. Teachers must access prerequisite skills needed.

Implications for Technology Integration:
Gagne's Events of Instruction to design instructional software (drill, tutorial, simulation).

Howard Gardner (1943-   ) top
Constructivist - Define of Role of Intelligence in Learning   

 Howard Gardner is an educational and developmental psychologist who was influenced by Piaget and Thurstone.   His constructivist beliefs attempt to define the role of intelligence in learning.  Gardner's eight (nine) intelligences are:   verbal/linguistic - use of language (writer, journalist, poet)
musical - to create & appreciate music, composition (composer, pianist, conductor) logical-mathematical -think logically, scientifically (scientist, mathematical, doctor)
visual/spatial -can reproduce or create pictures, images (artist, sculptor, graphic artist)
bodily-kinesthetic -good manual dexterity and use of body (dancer, athlete, watchmaker)
interpersonal  -good social abilities (psychologist, therapist, salesperson)
intrapersonal -self-aware/self- motivated person 
naturalist - likes to identify and classify natural phenomenon. (botanist, biologist)
existential -ability to explore philosophical and deeper issues.

Teachers should design instruction to allow students to utilize their learning strengths.
Assessment: defies traditional methods of standardized testing. Individuals should be assessed ways that depicts their intelligences. 

Seymour Papert top
Constructivist, Mathematician. M.I.T. Professor
Greatly influenced the field of educational technology

-Inspired the first initiative to give a personal computer to every student.
-A famous pupil of Jean Piaget who has profoundly influenced the field of educational technology.  He created the idea of  "Logo," in 1967, a programming language that allowed children to see cause and effect relationships between programming commands and the pictures that result; "turtle geometry".
Logo is not used today but it led the way for the use of new technology methods.
-MaMaMedia.com  -activities website for children and families

Teaching style: Discovery learning; self-directed.
-Teachers should support different learning styles.

Implications for technology integration: 
-Examples of technology use would include interactive video, electronic books, virtual reality.  

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)  Switzerland top
Cognitive Development occurs in stages (0-15 years) 

-Four stages of cognitive development. He believed children go through the stages at the same ages.   Sensorimotor(birth-2), Preoperational(2-7), Concrete Operational (7-11), and Formal Operational(12-15).  He believed learning is a self-regulated process and children create their own sense of reality.  Learning should be active and social..  

Implications for technology integration:
-visual resources and stimulation. 

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) U.S. top
Behaviorist, Classical Conditioning

- Directed Instruction -used the directed-model approach and believed that behaviors were controlled by operant conditioning (shaping behavior by positive/negative reinforcement). 
- influenced by Pavlov (involuntary response, classical conditioning of stimulus/response).  
- Teaching style would be to introduce information in small increments in a linear style controlled by the teacher (drill and practice).
-Classroom management - Behavior modification - "token economy" -reward appropriate behavior with a token, chip, etc. Take away a token for undesired behavior.  

Lev Vygotsky(1896-1934) Russian Philosopher top
Importance of culture, social interaction and the role of language
 in the development of cognition. Constructivist. 

 -Influenced by Pavlov and felt that cognitive development was directly related to and based on social development.
-Key elements included social impact, scaffolding, and zone of proximal development. 
-Social interaction; children learn from those who are more intellectually advanced
-Build on language of children's everyday lives
-Teachers should direct and guide individual activities and allow capable students to work independently
-Scaffolding learning: Give helpful steps which decrease as the student understands more (teaching a child to ride a bike). To optimize learning, teachers should give necessary skills for independent problem solving --model ideal academic behaviors; create a dialogue with the students; practice; confirm. 
-Zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the range where the child has the ability to learn with the guidance of a more competent person.  It's the area between what a children can do on their own and what can be accomplished with assistance.

Assessment: use of rubrics, checklists, peer review.

Implication for technology integration:
-Use of visual tools, graphic examples, real-life experiences relevant to individual needs.