Mediating Learning: Pedagogic Issues in the Improvement of Cognitive Functioning

Abstract

This paper examines notions culled from my own field study and clinical practice in light of relevant theory and empirical research in psychology and education. The field context was, initially, that of teacher/researcher of cognitive curricula, particularly Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment (1980), with low functioning preadolescents and adolescents. The larger portion of ideas, however, came from my subsequent role as cognitive education trainer/researcher with several dozen teachers of these students in a variety of remedial educational settings. My major endeavor will be to identify and illuminate the issues that challenge the researcher and practitioner in the field of cognitive training. In doing so, I hope to offer some direction to the burgeoning effort to train minds.