Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment

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Cognitive Enrichment -FIE Programme

Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) is a process-oriented cognitive intervention program. Consisting of specially designed instruments or ‘tools’ FIE is a series of tasks that may be mediated in a classroom, group, or individual setting. Each series focuses on different cognitive skills, creating systematic, persistent, and structured conditions to engage students in problem-solving by developing their ability to understand and elaborate information.

FIE is intended for children from ages 9 to adults. If you are looking for cognitive enrichment for younger children, or individuals who are lower functioning, we recommend the FIE Basic program.

How it Works

Problems with academic subjects – such as math, literature, history, and science – are frequently unrelated to the subject matter itself. Information is often misprocessed at the input stage, meaning that an error on
a math problem may have nothing to do with math, but rather a difficulty in
paying attention to two sources of information at once. An inability to write an essay could likewise be unrelated to poor writing aptitude, but rather a failure in the writer’s planning function. This phenomenon leads to achievement gaps, which keep growing because the root of the problem – learning ability gaps – continues to go unaddressed in standard curricula.

FIE aims to close learning gaps, helping learners to avoid
mistakes by enhancing their learning skills. Students are taught new ways of thinking by completing tasks in areas such as comparison, classification, analysis and synthesis, orientation in space and time, and hypothetical reasoning. Armed with these new strategies for examining problems, learners then “bridge” these new strategies to curricular subjects and problem solve in their everyday lives. With the acquisition of new concepts, cognitive operations, and meta-cognition skills, come increased motivation for learning, self-regulation, and a shift in attitude… transforming a passive learner into an active one with a positive outlook!

FIE promotes and enhances:

Active learning attitude
Intrinsic motivation
Cognitive efficiency
Concept formation
Insightful reasonining

Who it Helps?

The FIE program has been successfully used in the following frameworks:
Enrichment programs for underachieving, neurotypical, and gifted children
Learning enhancement programs for immigrants and students from cultural minorities
Remedial programs for neurodiverse children, and children with disabilities
Cognitive rehabilitation of individuals with brain injuries and psychiatric patients
Professional training & retraining programs in the industrial, military, & business sectors

1. FIE Standard Level I

Feuerstein Institute’s Instrumental Enrichment (IE) tools are crafted to improve an individual’s learning and thinking strategies, specifically targeting cognitive restructuring. Intensive intervention using this program has proven highly effective in rectifying deficient cognitive functions and improving learning capacity in various settings.

A crucial aspect of IE lies in its teaching method, which is not instructional but rather mediation-based. During an IE session, a trained Feuerstein mediator guides the learner gradually—whether in a classroom or one-on-one session—through increasingly complex cognitive problems, fostering analysis, breakdown, and discussion of problem-solving methods. Continuous mediation allows for IE to be tailored to the child’s development, with progress closely monitored.

IE programs equip young learners with verbal and conceptual tools, spatial and temporal concepts, and representational activities. Learners develop reflective thinking skills and internal motivation, shifting from passive reproduction to active generation of information.

Feuerstein’s IE Standard Level program targets older children and is paper-and-pencil-based, featuring exercises that progressively increase in difficulty and abstraction. Each set of instruments focuses on specific cognitive areas such as analytic perception, comparison, and classification, while also encompassing verbal, mathematical, logical, and emotional skills. This program emphasizes the development of problem-solving strategies and analytical reasoning skills that learners can apply throughout their lives.”

Course Syllabus:

Introduction to the theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability;
Introduction to the Theory of Mediated Learning Experience
Analysis of deficient cognitive functions in regular and special needs populations;
Criteria and principles of mediation;
Goal and sub-goals of the clinical and educational application of the FIE program;
FIE Lesson planning and preparation of “bridging” exercises;
Comprehensive instruction in the use of the following FIE instruments: Organization of Dots; Comparisons; Analytic Perception; Orientation in Space I
Introduction to the digital version of the Instrumental Enrichment program

Learning Materials:

Course participants will receive a set of 4 FIE instruments, Teaching Diagrams, and Page by Page Guidelines for FIE teachers.

2. FIE Standard Level II :

Instrumental Enrichment Standard Level II offers graduates of IE-1 the opportunity to build upon their knowledge and to learn the remaining Feuerstein Instruments.

This course provides training in the mediation of Categorization,
Illustrations, Family Relations, Temporal (Time) Relations, and Instructions.
These tools help students and adults with important academic and job skills.

3. FIE Standard Level III :

Instrumental Enrichment Level III expands upon the existing knowledge of Mediation and covers the remaining Feuerstein Instruments. This training is available to participants upon successful completion of IE-Level II

This course offers Orientation in Space II, Numerical Progressions, Transitive Relations, Syllogisms, and Representational Stencil Design. These five tools are cognitively challenging and help create new neural networks for life and learning.

4. Tactile Learning

FIE Tactile is an innovative learning intervention that uses touch and movement in order to enable learners with ADHD and visually impaired learners to develop critical thinking skills.

Tactile/Kinesthetic I.E. is a specialized method designed for learners who have completed Standard 1 or Basic 1 training. This approach offers an effective way to support those with ADHD, difficulties with visualization while reading, or visual impairments. By engaging with hands-on activities and physical manipulatives, it provides an interactive learning experience that can enhance comprehension and retention for these learners.

5. Learning Propensity Assessment Device (LPAD)

The Learning Propensity Assessment Device (LPAD) is a specialized tool for those looking to assess a learner’s potential effectively. It applies psychological techniques in a dynamic and engaging way. A key feature of LPAD is its ability to identify how much and what type of mediation is necessary by the assessor to support changes in the learner. The training is offered in Standard and Basic Levels, with each level spanning a full 10 days.

This training marks the latest addition to our courses. All Feuerstein programs commence with an assessment process. The Learning Propensity Assessment Device (LPAD) consists of a series of activities utilized to ascertain an individual’s learning style. The evaluator observes and notes the learner’s approach to tasks and their ability to apply learning to new, challenging situations. Through the LPAD battery, the evaluator assesses the learner’s learning propensity. This assessment module differs from traditional evaluations, as it involves systematic mediated intervention by the evaluator to observe responses and learning modes.

6. EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT FIE Basic Level I:

The course is designed for teachers, educators, psychologists, speech/language therapists, parents, and other professionals who work with young children aged 4-9 years, as well as with children, adolescents, and adults with very low functional ability. Participants are encouraged to delve deeper into theoretical materials available on the Feuerstein Institute’s website or in the book ‘Creating and Enhancing Cognitive Modifiability: The Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment Program’ by Feuerstein, R. et al (2006).

The course covers the following topics:

Theories of development
Introduction to the theory of Mediated Learning Experience
Analysis of emerging cognitive functions in children across normal and exceptional levels of development
Criteria and principles of mediation
Goals and targets for clinical and educational use of the FIE Basic program
Lesson planning and preparation of ‘bridge-building’ exercises for IE Basic
Comprehensive instruction in the use of the following FIE Basic instruments: Orientation in Room 2, Empathy to Awareness Training, Know and Identify.

7. EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT FIE Basic Level II:

Instrumental Enrichment Standard Level II provides graduates of IE-1 with the opportunity to further expand their knowledge and learn the remaining Feuerstein Instruments.

This training includes Compare and Find the Absurd 2, Empathy to
Action, Think and Learn to Prevent Violence, TriChannel Attentional Learning,
and Know and Identify.