Major Contributor

One theorist who greatly contributed to the success of the constructivist theory is educational psychologist, Jerome Bruner. In 1987, the American Psychological Association identified Bruner as one of the outstanding contributors to the field of educational psychology since 1960 (Breckenridge, L. J, 2013). Bruner’s major contribution to the education field was found in his thesis which focused on learning being an active process in which major thesis was learners construct new ideas or concepts based on their current knowledge (Breckenridge, L. J, 2013). In The Process of Education (1960), Bruner focused on was that the student is capable of learning anything if properly taught which means that the instructor must translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner’s current understanding (Breckenridge, L. J, 2013). Bruner developed a spiral curriculum that made it possible for the student to continually build on what had already been learned and apply that towards current and future work within the classroom (Breckenridge, L. J, 2013)

Additional Contributions

Other popular theorists that are also associated with the constructivist theory are German philosopher Immanuel Kant, British psychologist Frederic C. Bartlett, and Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget.

Kant believed that the mind is an active tool that transforms and coordinates data into thought which is an important part of the constructivist theory (Range, L. M., 2013).

Bartlett applied constructivist concepts in his investigations of human memory. Bartlett explained that memories were reconstructed out of bits and pieces of recollected information and their impressions are ongoing (Range, L. M., 2013). This information can be shaped by questioning, comments, and other information, gathered from the world around them.

Piaget studied how children actually change the way they think as they mature which is crucial to the constructivist theory when understanding the learner in our classrooms (Range, L. M., 2013).