Recent Books on Mediated Learning

A new book written by an experienced educator who is fully trained in Instrumental Enrichment is called Beneath the Surface: the Hidden Realities of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Learners, by Kenneth Pransky (Heinemann, 2008). The book shows how a teacher would incorporate mediated learning and Instrumental Enrichment activities into working with diverse students with different nationality and language backgrounds, and who are learning English. An emphasis is on how teachers can become empathic and effective in this context; examples of student-teacher dialogue are included. Click to view Beneath the Surface on Amazon.com. 

Originally developed to help students overcome learning obstacles created by emotional trauma or neurobiological learning disabilities, Beyond Smarter: Mediated Learning and the Brain’s Capacity for Change is now used in major cities around the world to support improved thinking and learning by all students.

This book is the most up-to-date summary of his thinking and includes accessible descriptions of his tools and methods for cognitive modifiability and mediated learning. With dramatic case studies throughout, Feuerstein and his co-authors define intelligence as a dynamic force that drives the human organism to change the structure of thinking in order to answer the needs it encounters. They describe in detail the specific skills of the three stages of thinking: input or oberservation and data-gathering stage; development or processing stage; and output stage including analysis, synthesis, and communication. Click to view Beyond Smarter on Amazon.com.

In What Learning Looks Like: Mediated Learning in Theory and Practice, K-6, the authors bring to life the theory of mediated learning. Through numerous examples and scenarios from classrooms and museums, they show how mediated learning helps children to become more effective learners. Readers learn the steps in the process, including analyzing the child’s problem, teaching the child to focus on the difficulty, and using the techniques of mediated learning to enable the child to overcome the learning challenge. This is the first book to present Feuerstein’s groundbreaking work in accessible language with copious examples of practice. With this volume, educators and administrators will have a reliable and practical way to understand the place of mediated learning in today’s schools. Click to view What Learning Looks Like on Amazon.com.