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Difficulties Encountered in Teaching Mathematics1

Bruner's theory of constructivism posits that learning is an active process where learners form new ideas based on their current and past knowledge. Learners organize prior experiences and knowledge to make sense of new information and solve problems. According to Bruner, the goal of education is not knowledge transmission but developing thinking and problem-solving skills. Teachers should encourage discovery learning through Socratic dialogue, presenting lessons in a spiral curriculum that builds upon previous concepts.

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70 views5 pages

Difficulties Encountered in Teaching Mathematics1

Bruner's theory of constructivism posits that learning is an active process where learners form new ideas based on their current and past knowledge. Learners organize prior experiences and knowledge to make sense of new information and solve problems. According to Bruner, the goal of education is not knowledge transmission but developing thinking and problem-solving skills. Teachers should encourage discovery learning through Socratic dialogue, presenting lessons in a spiral curriculum that builds upon previous concepts.

Uploaded by

Mary Rose Linihan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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"Difficulties Encountered in Teaching Mathematics in Grade 9

Students: basis for developing a training design."

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on Bruner's' theory of constructivism_encompasses the idea of

learning as an active process wherein those learning are able to form new ideas or

concepts based upon their current/past knowledge. People believe that experience is the

best teacher (Paul Smith). Often, people are interested to learn the topic when they tend to

relate it with their past experiences. They will take pieces of their past knowledge and

experiences and organize them to make sense of what they know, then base further

concepts and solve additional problems based upon a combination of what they already

processed and what they think should be processed next.

About the Model

Bruner (1966) was concerned with how knowledge is represented and

organized through different modes of thinking (or representation) in which

information or knowledge are stored and encoded in memory. Bruner's

representation of Constructivism is shown in figure 1.


Figure 1. Bruner's Constructivism Theory -Theoretical Framework of the study

For Bruner (1961), the purpose of education is not to impart knowledge, but

instead to facilitate a child's thinking and problem-solving skills which can then

be transferred to a range of situations. Specifically, education should also develop

symbolic thinking in children.

Using the model

As far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage students to

discover principles by themselves. The instructor and student should engage in an active

dialog (i.e., Socratic learning). The task of the instructor is to translate information to be

learned into a format appropriate to the learner’s current state of understanding.

Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds

upon what they have already learned.

Enactive

The learner selects and transforms information, constructs hypotheses, and makes
decisions, relying on a cognitive structure to do so. Cognitive structure (i.e., schema,
mental models) provides meaning and organization to experiences and allows the
individual to “go beyond the information given”

As far as instruction is concerned, the instructor should try and encourage students to
discover principles by themselves. The instructor and student should engage in an active
dialog (i.e., socratic learning). The task of the instructor is to translate information to be
learned into a format appropriate to the learner’s current state of understanding.
Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student continually builds
upon what they have already learned.

Bruner (1966) states that a theory of instruction should address four major aspects: (1)
predisposition towards learning, (2) the ways in which a body of knowledge can be
structured so that it can be most readily grasped by the learner, (3) the most effective
sequences in which to present material, and (4) the nature and pacing of rewards and
punishments. Good methods for structuring knowledge should result in simplifying,
generating new propositions, and increasing the manipulation of information.

In his more recent work, Bruner (1986, 1990, 1996) has expanded his theoretical
framework to encompass the social and cultural aspects of learning as well as the practice
of law.

Bruner's Theory on Constructivism


Bruner's theory on constructivism encompasses the idea of learning as an active process
wherein those learning are able to form new ideas based on what their current knowledge
is as well as their past knowledge. A cognitive structure is defined as the mental processes
which offer the learner the ability to organize experiences and derive meaning from them.
These cognitive structures allow the learner to push past the given information in
constructing their new concepts. The learner, often a child, will take pieces of their past
knowledge and experiences and organize them to make sense of what they know, then
base further concepts and solve additional problems based upon a combination of what
they already processed and what they think should be processed next.

The teacher resources used should be focused on that of encouragement, aiding and
allowing the student to uncover the main principles on their own. Communication
between the learner and teacher is the key concept. Socratic learning is suggested as the
best method of communication in this theoretical framework, as it allows the teacher to
actively note any study skills the learner verbalizes, their progression, their frustrations,
and form a rubric of their current learning state based on the dialogue. Seeing as this
theory takes known information and expounds upon it, any teacher lesson plans, teacher
worksheets, or resources should in fact be constantly building the learner's knowledge in
a spiral manner.

The four major principles of Bruner's theory on constructivism encompass 1) a


predilection toward learning. The second, how a grouping of knowledge is able to be
constructed to best be understood by the learner. The third is effective manners for the
teacher to present said material to the learner, with the fourth and final aspect being the
progression of rewards as well as punishments.

Bruner is poignant about language and how this affects cognition within this theory of
learning development. It is pertinent to any success of a child to identify the differences
between adult language and the language used by children. With the child being younger,
they need time to advance not only their conceptual learning but their language as well.
Thus, teachers and parents alike are encouraged to envelop the "scaffolding" method of
communication which is a strategy aimed to simplifying tasks within learning by making
smaller steps, all leading to the final outcome. This aids in maintaining any frustration
while keeping in mind what is important throughout the learning process.

When evaluating study skills of the child, Bruner's theory suggests that the teachers be
explicit regarding organization, help the learner to focus on the larger task at hand as well
as the goals, instead of getting caught on minor details or frustrations. They are
encouraged to praise the efforts put out by the learners while reminding them, helping
them focus on relevant items, and encouraging them to practice and rehearse what they
have learned. Social as well as cultural contingencies of learning were adapted into
Bruner's later work, theorizing how these affected learning.

The outcome of cognitive development is thinking. The intelligent mind creates


from experience "generic coding systems that permit one to go beyond the data
to new and possibly fruitful predictions" (Bruner, 1957, p. 234). Thus, children as
they grow must acquire a way of representing the "recurrent regularities" in their
environment. So, to Bruner, important outcomes of learning include not just the
concepts, categories, and problem-solving procedures invented previously by the
culture, but also the ability to "invent" these things for oneself. Cognitive growth
involves an interaction between basic human capabilities and "culturally invented
technologies that serve as amplifiers of these capabilities." These culturally
invented technologies include not just obvious things such as computers and
television, but also more abstract notions such as the way a culture categorizes
phenomena, and language itself. Bruner would likely agree with Vygotsky that
language serves to mediate between environmental stimuli and the individual's
response.

The aim of education should be to create autonomous learners (i.e., learning to learn).

For Bruner (1961), the purpose of education is not to impart knowledge, but instead to facilitate a child's thinking and problem-
solving skills which can then be transferred to a range of situations. Specifically, education should also develop symbolic thinking
in children.

In 1960 Bruner's text, The Process of Education was published. The main premise of Bruner's text was that students are active
learners who construct their own knowledge.

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