Mediated Learning : Teaching, Tasks, and Tools to Unlock Cognitive Potential

"A practical primer par excellence for teachers who want to implement the principles of Reuven Feuerstein′s Mediated Learning Experience. A multitude of easy-to-implement suggestions empowers teachers to transform even the most challenged students into more effective thinkers and learners."
―James Bellanca, Chief Executive Officer
International Renewal Institute, Inc.

"Teachers are often told to improve students′ problem-solving abilities. This is a book that explains HOW, teaching the practitioner to recognize dysfunctions in cognition and providing strategies to help students become independent learners."
―Lauren Mittermann, Social Studies Teacher
Gibraltar Middle School, Fish Creek, WI

Develop your students′ abilities to think and learn more effectively!

All individuals have the potential to change and learn. Using Reuven Feuerstein′s theory that educators can enhance intelligence and change the way students think with the right kind of intervention, the authors provide teachers and counselors with practical strategies to help at-risk students develop cognitive skills and become more effective thinkers and learners. In the second edition, readers will find an expanded discussion of mediated learning, explanations and applications of the Cognitive Map and Structured Cognitive Modifiability, and reflective activities for the educator.

Through case studies and in-depth coverage of metacognition, metalearning, metateaching, and metatasking, this user-friendly resource shows educators how they can:

• Analyze learners′ cognitive skills
• Modify tasks to advance learning
• Promote the use of effective thinking skills
• Encourage autonomous learning

Mediated Learning, Second Edition, offers highly effective intervention techniques to increase student motivation, improve students′ problem-solving skills, and strengthen their thinking processes.

Mandia Mentis is an educational psychologist and senior lecturer in the Special Education and Educational Psychology Programmes at Massey University, New Zealand. She is an accredited trainer of Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) and the Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD), having completed her training at the International Centre for Learning Enhancement in Israel under Reuven Feuerstein. Over the past 20 years, she has run Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) workshops with the Cognitive Research Centre in South Africa and with the Australasian Institute for Learning Enhancement in New Zealand. She has contributed extensively to research projects and publications and has co-written and published two books on Mediated Learning and Instrumental Enrichment. Mentis taught at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels and has worked as an educational psychologist in both special and inclusive education settings. Her teaching and research interests include cognitive assessment, teaching for diversity, and e-learning. Her doctoral research focuses on developing effective e-learning communities of practice.

Marilyn Dunn-Bernstein’s diverse career in education spans 36 years. Along with her 20 years as a high school vice-principal, she has studied under Reuven Feuerstein and implemented the principles of structural cognitive modifiability, IE, and MLE in an extensive range of educational settings. These included 10 years of research, writing, and lecturing with the Cognitive Research Unit of the University of the Witwatersrand and 16 years of work with the Gifted Child Program for disadvantaged individuals in South African townships. Her current work as a psychologist in Australia involves enhancing cognitive, emotional, and creative development in individuals with autism, Down syndrome, Asperger’s, and gifts. She also works with undergraduate psychology and social sciences students, and has been part of the team that runs Feuerstein workshops in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. She holds a PhD in education, a masters in psychology, and a degree in human behavior.

Martene Mentis has twenty years of experience in education and has taught at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Her diverse educational background includes 6 years with the Cognitive Research Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, where she contributed to research, lectured in Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) workshops, and helped develop educational resources, including two books on Mediated Learning and Instrumental Enrichment. She completed her training in FIE under Reuven Feuerstein, at the International Centre for Learning Enhancement in Israel, and in the Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD) at the Cognitive Research Centre in South Africa. She has an honours degree in fine arts and a master′s degree in education. She currently is an independent scholar, artist, and illustrator, working as an art educator and graphic designer in New Zealand.