EDG4376 Reflection #16

In the 1940’s, Jerome Bruner did significant research on the development of human cognition and how mental sets (needs, motivations, and expectations) influence people’s perceptions. In the late 1950’s, Bruner became interested in the education system, and in the 1960’s he developed a cognitive theory that intellect progresses in stages “through step-by-step changes in how the mind is used.” Bruner believed that children will be actively engaged in learning if they are interested in the material that is presented, and furthermore, they are active problem-solvers who are completely capable of exploring difficult learning material. He saw education as a process that attempts to mold children into creative thinkers. Social Studies is a topic, to me, that completely feeds off of the creative thinking process. People cannot make informed, educated decisions about history, current events, psychology, etc. if they aren’t utilizing their cognition. Furthermore, Bruner’s theory of cognitive growth that was developed in the 1960s focused on environmental and experimental factors, which both also directly correlate to Social Studies. He also wrote a variety of texts that concentrated on the fact that students construct their own paradigms of the world on the basis of their will to learn, how they are instructed, and how they are taught to make judgments and formulate opinions. He believed that culture, and appreciation of culture, is key in the education process. Therefore, if educators can inspire young people to acquire a curiosity for Social Studies, then ultimately, they will become cultured, worldly, productive citizens. It’s pretty apparent that Jerome Bruner’s ideologies make a lot of sense. Young people need to know about the history of their country, how a bill becomes a law, how to vote, what is going on over in Iraq, why the economy is doing so poorly, how geography influences businesses where they live, what hate crimes are and how to fight them, etc. All of these topics are, essentially, the Social Studies, and they all are imperative to our lives. Additionally, knowledge of them requires intrinsic motivation and a thirst for knowledge, which was the basis of Bruner’s life work. Therefore, if Jerome Bruner didn’t have an impact on the new Social Studies, I don’t know who else could have.