Jerome Bruner

Bruner argued that important ideas should be revisited repeatedly, with each return adding greater complexity. He developed this approach in the context of educational reform and discussed curriculum design in The Process of Education, published in 1960.

Bruner helped develop the educational idea associated with scaffolding, but the term emerged from collaborative research with David Wood and Gail Ross. It describes temporary support that is gradually withdrawn as a learner becomes more capable.

Bruner studied perception, categorization, mental representation, and meaning rather than explaining learning solely through observable stimulus-response patterns. In 1960 he co-founded Harvard's Center for Cognitive Studies with George A. Miller.

Bruner described enactive representation through action, iconic representation through images, and symbolic representation through language or abstract signs. He viewed these as interacting ways of representing knowledge, not simply stages that disappear with age.