Bruner 's Nature of the Discipline

This approach to learning allows the student to question and consider the structure of how ideas are organized and related. The idea is to understand the fundamental relationship of the concept taught which will in-turn help to simplify learning. Bruner's explains how to develop a new thought system and bridge understanding the underlying concepts.

The strengths of this instruction are the discipline and the reflective aspects of realizing the value of structure and how close rules are followed. Many times conclusions about the concept of a particular job, trade or craft are made without proper investigation/understanding, and poor connections are made. With this approach, the students are taught how not to make assumptions, yet inquire and understand there are rules and specific questions which can aid the collection of data to build knowledge. The original list created and then referred back to allows the student to see the differences in how or what thoughts before and those after. The practical application of modeling a concept helps to reinforce understanding.

The limitation is the teacher's assumption there is a variety of information out there to be gathered and shared from among the students about the topic concept. Truth is depending on their level of exposure will determine how much they can contribute to the conversation when brainstorming the concept. A teacher could begin a list and end up with only two to five items listed. Of course, five would be enough to show the variety, but there would be a challenging learning curve. Some of the information when creating the initial list could be enough to expose the student to a new way of thinking.