UNIT 3 COGNITIVISM LEARNING THEORY
B. Learning Theory by Jerome Bruner (1915-2016)
Jerome Bruner is an avid follower of cognitive theory, particularly in the study of the development of cognitive function. He characterized human cognitive development as follows:
1. Intellectual development is characterized by progress in responding to a stimulus.
2. Increased knowledge depends on the development of information storage systems realistically.
3. Intellectual development includes the development of the ability to speak to oneself or to others through words or symbols about what has been done and what will be done. This has to do with self-confidence.
4. Systematic interaction between mentors, teachers or parents with children is necessary for cognitive development.
5. Language is the key to cognitive development, because language is a means of communication between humans. To understand the existing concepts, language is needed. Language is needed to communicate a concept to others.
6. Cognitive development is characterized by the ability to present several alternatives simultaneously, choose the right action; can give sequential priority in various situations.
In looking at the learning process, Bruner emphasizes the influence of culture on one's behavior. With his theory called free discovery learning, he said that the learning process will run well and creatively if the teacher provides opportunities for students to find a concept, theory, rule, or understanding through examples he encounters in his life. If Piaget states that cognitive development is very influential on one's language development, then Bruner states that language development has a big influence on cognitive development.
According to Bruner, a person's cognitive development occurs through three stages which are determined by the way he sees the environment, namely; enactive, iconic, and symbolic.
1. The inactive stage, a person performs activities in an attempt to understand the surrounding environment. That is, in understanding the world around them, children use motor knowledge. For example, through bite, touch, grip, and so on.
2. Iconic stage, a person understands objects or the world through pictures and verbal visualization. That is, in understanding the world around them, children learn through the form of parables (appearing) and comparisons.
3. The symbolic stage, a person has been able to have ideas or abstract ideas that are strongly influenced by his ability in language and logic. In understanding the world around them, children learn through symbols of language, logic, mathematics, and so on. The communication is done using many symbol systems. The more mature a person is in his thought process, the more dominant the symbol system becomes. Even so, that doesn't mean he's no longer using the enzymatic and iconic
system. The use of media in learning activities is one proof of the need for an enzymatic and iconic system in the learning process.
According to Bruner, a person's cognitive development can be improved by arranging subject matter and presenting it according to stages development of the person. His idea of a spiral curriculum (a spiral curriculum) as a way of organizing macro-level subject matter, shows how to sequence subject matter starting from teaching the material in general, then periodically returning to teach the same material in a more detailed scope. The approach to structuring the material from general to detail that he put forward in the spiral curriculum model is a form of adjustment between the material being studied and the cognitive development stage of the learner.
Likewise, the concept understanding model from Bruner (in Degeng, 1989), explains that concept formation and concept understanding are two different categorizing activities that require different thinking processes. All categorizing activities include identifying and placing examples (objects or events) into classes using certain criteria. In conceptual understanding, the concepts already exist before, whereas in concept formation it is the opposite, namely the act of forming new categories. So it is an act of concept discovery.
According to Bruner, categorizing activities have two components, namely; 1) the act of forming the concept, and 2) the act of understanding the concept. That is, the first step is the formation of the concept, then the understanding of the concept.
The differences between the two are:
1. The goals and pressures of the two forms of behavior in this category are different.
2. The steps of the two thinking processes are not the same.
3. Both mental processes require different teaching strategies.
Bruner views that a concept has 5 elements, and a person is said to understand a concept if he knows all the elements of the concept, including;
1. Name.
2. Examples are both positive and negative.
3. Characteristics, whether principal or not.
4. Characteristic range 5. Rules.
According to Bruner, the learning that has been given in schools so far has emphasized the development of analytical skills, less developed the ability to think intuitively. Whereas intuitive thinking is very important for those who are in the fields of mathematics, biology, physics, and so on, because every discipline has concepts, principles, and procedures that must be understood before someone can learn. A good way to learn is to understand concepts, meanings, and relationships, through an intuitive process to finally arrive at a conclusion (discovery learning). Brunner believes that the learning process will run optimally if students are given the opportunity to express concepts, theories, rules, or understandings through examples they encounter in their daily lives. As shown above, Brunner believes that language development has a significant influence on children's cognitive development. Bruner's thinking (Collin, 2012) which is described as follows:
According to Bruner, the learning that has been given in schools so far has emphasized the development of analytical skills, less developed the ability to think intuitively. Whereas intuitive thinking is very important for those who are in the fields of mathematics, biology, physics, and so on, because every discipline has concepts, principles, and procedures that must be understood before someone can learn. A good way to learn is to understand concepts, meanings, and relationships, through an intuitive process to finally arrive at a conclusion (discovery learning). Brunner believes that the learning process will run optimally if students are given the opportunity to express concepts, theories, rules, or understandings through examples they encounter in their daily lives. As shown above, Brunner believes that language development has a significant
influence on children's cognitive development. Bruner's thinking (Collin, 2012) which is described as follows:
Figure: Bruner’s thinking