Programmes
- Interdisciplinary Dynamic Assessment – A specialised assessment measuring learning potential and thinking skills
- Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) - A multi-disciplinary programme tailored to the child’s individual needs
- Outreach service to schools, including workshops and insets
- Advice and support for parents
- Instrumental Enrichment (IE) – A structured thinking skills programme which strengthens cognitive functions
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Occupational Therapy/Developmental Co-Ordination Disorder
- Group Work
- Working with parents and families
- Training courses in thinking skills for parents and professionals
- Parent and Toddler Group
What is Dynamic Assessment?
Dynamic assessment is an interactive assessment process between mediator and child, designed to be carried out over several sessions. Built into the process is the concept of ‘test, teach and re-test’. In other words, rather than simply observe and score a child’s performance on a test, the mediators actually teach the child the skills needed to do the test. The mediators build up an in depth picture of the child’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses. From the child’s point of view, testing becomes a positive experience, a chance to learn something new, and experience success within an assessment.
The Learning Potential Assessment Device (LPAD) Classic is used for students 11 years +. The LPAD Basic is used for younger students.
The Hope Centre uses a wide range of other Dynamic Assessment tests to obtain a detailed profile of the learner, which guides the special intervention programme of each child.
What is Mediated Learning Experience?
According to Feuerstein, MLE takes place when a mediator, (typically a parent, carer or teacher), actively interposes him or herself between the world and the child, in order to shape, focus and direct the child’s learning experiences. Most children learn from experiencing and interacting with everyday objects, people, events and ideas. As they see, hear, touch and listen to things repeatedly, they begin to make connections and to develop their thinking processes, their language and their interactions with others. This is a natural process which takes place in every society and culture.
Learning from experience, however, is not sufficient for many children with learning disabilities. They do not ‘pick up’ knowledge, but need to be guided - step by step - through even the simplest tasks, an approach familiar to anyone who has worked with such children. MLE takes this approach further, by involving the child as an active participant in the learning process, making the child consciously aware of how he is thinking. Key to this is the mediator who stands between the child and the world, sharing, interpreting, explaining and challenging the child’s perceptions in order to help him/ her learn.
MLE is what our staff study in depth. The appropriate techniques and strategies are chosen to meet the needs of each student. Our staff hold regular workshops for parents and LSAs on Mediated Learning so that the work can be incorporated in to every area of the student’s life.
Mediated Learning
Susan is being mediated to look carefully (focus) at the information so that she can find out what she has to do (define the problem). The task involves the cognitive process ‘comparing’and ‘categorising’.
Mediation Through Art at the Hope Centre
- Initial drawing pre-mediation
- Drawing after a period of mediation to address the cognitive functions of clear and focused perception, systematic planning, spatial and temporal referents, labelling, precision and accuracy establishing relationships and restraint of impulsivity
- Post mediation drawing completely independent
Mediation of focus helps Alice to “home in” on the information she needs. The principle of reciprocity is vital to any mediational interaction. The mediator must be alert to the student’s responses and adjust the mediational input accordingly.
Asking Alice to turn her pencil the other way around helped her to avoid an impulsive response. She had time to gather her information and think. This is her “Aha!” moment!
Mediation is more concerned with the process than the product.
As a result, Alice has both the time and the confidence to put forward her ideas.
Occupational Therapy at the Hope Centre
What Makes us Unique?
OTs at The Hope Centre use traditional Occupational Therapy methods in combination wih Feuerstein methodology - that is, our therapy has a mediational focus and we work on the child’s cognitive functions as part of the multi-disciplinary team.
Professor Feuerstein acknowledges the important relationship between body awareness/motor skills and cognitive functioning. Occupational Therapists at Hope use a variety of approaches to address underlying postural and motor issues that may affect a student’s ability to learn. They also advise other members of the team about activities, positioning and adaptive equipment that will optimise the student’s participation in the cognitive programme.
Jenny started her OT session in the hammoch-swing which prepares her for more complex perceptual motor and cognitive games afterwards. The hammock stimulates her visual focus, motor co-ordination and body and arm muscles. She loves these games; they also solicit reciprocity and increase Jenny’s confidence. Jenny then practises an activity involving drawing around a circle and cutting it out. The preparation has allowed her to concentrate on the motor planning aspect of the task and she requests fewer physical prompts. Therefore, she can use and develop her thinking more successfully.
Speech and Language Therapy at the Hope Centre
Communication is fundamental for learning and development throughout life.
Communication is the platform from which we build relationships and share experiences. Professor Feuerstein highlights expressive and receptive verbal tools as key cognitive functions necessary for learning and higher level thinking. Language is fundamental for organising our thoughts, planning and developing hypothetical thinking etc.
At the Hope centre the therapists work closely with the other members of the Hope Team, with parents and schools. This enables optimum development of language and generalisation of skills in different contexts to achive shared goals.
We often use signs and symbols to support our students’ understanding of language and as a means of communication for non-verbal students.
Shared Focus: Susan is practising sharing her news
Billy is using his PECs book to comment on his reading book
Understanding Language Concepts: Billy is learning language and loving it
Group Work
The Hope Centre also offers Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment programme in a group setting, working in co-operation with schools to support adolescents who, for a range of reasons, experience difficulties accessing the school curriculum.
This programme is generally delivered in a minimum of two 45 minute sessions per week and the entire programme, covering both IE phase 1 and phase 2, takes between 18 months and 2 years.
The main goals of the programme are as follows:
- To correct/ strengthen deficient or developing cognitive functions (thinking skills).
- To teach vocabulary, concepts, operations and relationships necessary for problem- solving.
- To develop intrinsic motivation and task-intrinsic motivation through the formation of habits and internal needs systems.
- To encourage reflection and insight into the reasons for success or failure (metacognition).
- To arouse students from cognitive passivity, enabling them to become active agents in their own learning.
We recently carried out a brief review of a current IE group one year into the programme, focussing on change in three main areas:
- Reasoning and intelligence
- Achievement
- Attitudes and behaviour
Significant improvements were observed:
- Rates of attendance at school improved
- One student whom the school had decided was not suitable for GCSE examinations was, in fact, able to study the GCSE syllabus at school and sit 5 GCSE examinations. The student now feels confident that he has done well and is hoping to go on to the sixth form.
- Another student in the same group was able to secure a place in the school of their choice after passing a very demanding entrance exam. This student’s parents felt that the work done on the IE programme, in conjunction with his preparation at school, played a significant part in his success.
- The students’ perception of themselves as learners was noted to have changed significantly over the year.
- We have also received positive feed-back from teachers regarding the IE programme. We have noted that teachers’ attitudes towards the reasons for the failure of otherwise intelligent students can shift over the course of the programme. Initial scepticism often gives way to recognition of the central role of thinking skills in supporting and improving students access to the often excellent curricular work done in schools.
WHAT IS Instrumental Enrichment?
Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment (IE) programme which develops the learner’s cognitive functions; is a structured thinking skills programme taught individually or in groups and is designed to complement and underpin a regular school curriculum.
There are 14 units of the programme known as Instruments which are used to support and enhance the learner’s access to school curricular. Feuerstein’s most recently developed program IE Basic is also used at The Hope Centre.
We hold regular training courses in Instrumental Enrichment at the Hope Centre. These courses are open to professionals, parents and the general public.
