Theorist

          People who study the processes of learning create theories which they promote as important to the field of education.  One such theorist and theory is Jerome Bruner and his theory of constructivism, or discovery learning.

          In the process of introducing information to children on an age-appropriate level, teachers should “spiral” the material.  Spiraling means to revisit information and add to it periodically throughout the school years.  For example, a ninth grade social studies class may study general civics which would be revisited in an upper grade in a U. S. government class.  To add to previous information, according to Bruner, is to “scaffold,” a technique which allows students to create a progressively more complete picture of a topic, such as civics, and a background of reference for its contents.  That civics background will be useful, for example, in reading political fiction and non-fiction.  A critic of Bruner’s theory focused on the fact that spiraling and scaffolding should be done within the same year as well as successive years.  Brian Gibbs (2014), a graduate student in curriculum in the school of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, believes that too much time between spirals contributes to an inability to retain and apply previously learned information.  He maintains if teachers have the goal of more complex learning by the year’s end, the students will increase their abilities and be able to advance more easily.  He believes this more focused and goal-oriented teaching will accomplish “Bruner’s intent that learning is connected, builds on itself, and grows” (44).