Reuven Feuerstein

with Reuven Feuerstein at Instrumental Enrichment Leadership Training Institute, Brown University, 1998

Reuven Feuerstein, an Israeli psychologist, developed and continues to refine the theory of Mediated Learning Experiences and the accompanying Instrumental Enrichment curriculum. His work came out of his experience giving intelligence tests to survivors of the Holocaust and to other immigrants to Israel in the early years of the country as part of a plan to determine appropriate educational and vocational services for these people. When traditional IQ tests proved inadequate, Feuerstein developed a dynamic test of intelligence, the Learning Potential Assessment Device. Through a battery of tests, the examiner observes the learner's approach to tasks, notes cognitive functions that are well developed and those that are missing or deficient, and determines what modifications are necessary to make the individual successful. Feuerstein has articulated the theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability, a belief that all persons are capable of intellectual growth, given the right learning environment He states that genetics does not have the last word. Instead, he teaches that the human mediator is critical, creating readiness to learn, maintaining focus, helping the learner organize, analyze and develop approaches to problem solving and then providing feedback, correcting errors and looking at alternate solutions. Feuerstein is chairman of the International Center for Enhancement of Learning Potential (ICELP) which supervises Instrumental Enrichment training provided by Authorized Training Centers in twenty-three countries.

Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein is vice chairman of the ICELP. Along with his father, Rabbi Feuerstein co-authored the Instrumental Enrichment Basic instruments which extend the program to preschool children and to those individuals with the most severe developmental disabilities. He is involved in research projects with Instrumental Enrichment and lectures around the world at academic conferences on theoretical implications of cognitive psychology and dynamic assessment.