Mediation is the art of asking questions. The art of mediation depends upon the mediator’s observation and listening to the student. This helps to define where the student is in the learning process and then decide when to intervene in an effective manner. The intervention must be to guide the learner to explore, understand the concept, and generalize what he learns. Problems that puzzle or confuse the learner are unfamiliar content, content modality, and complexity of the subject material, vocabulary in the content. The learner may not be aware what is the cause of the confusion or how to differentiate between what is relevant and irrelevant. The role of the mediator is to observe the student and identify the confusion and guide to think how to gather data, compare, analyze, infer, synthesize, review etc. Students with support from the mediator, can learn to use higher order thinking skills and form effective generalizations.
Mediated learning experiences are interactions: the goal of the adult’s intervention is to teach techniques of how to learn. It involves both cognition and motivation. Feuerstein looks at these two as two sides of a coin. Motivation is the affective aspect of cognition.
Mediated Learning Experience is the primary agent in Prof Feuerstein’s theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability (SCM); the process for modifying behavior. The three fundamental notions of the theory are:
- Three forces that shape a learner are environment, human biology and mediation.
- The state of behavior – the emotional, intellectual and learning.
- Intelligence is only a state and not a trait. The brain is plastic and can form new structures. The constant interactions make the brain dynamic in nature. The core of the theory of SCM is belief in the capacity to change. BELIEF SYSTEM is important. What is the end product of changing? The brain and not our behavior.
The process of mediation is molding, shaping and organizing the experience to bring in a change in the learner. Mediation helps to enhance, elaborate, select and control the learner’s experience. Mediation is a form of interaction that is seen through culture, experience, goals and desires of people. Mediation teaches to focus attention and think accordingly which makes their performance effective.
Mediation has three components – mediator, stimulus and the mediatee. In other words, it is the intervening adult, the task, and the learner. Mediation is not a one cap that fits all; it is different for each child. The crux of mediation is to bring in a change in all three behavioral states; the change should be persistent, and become part of the thinking process.
The three universally applied aspects of mediation in any interaction are
- Intentionality and reciprocity
- Transcendence
- Mediation of meaning
These three factors help to bring in significant changes in the interaction between the event, the learner and the mediator – the intervening adult.
Intentionality is the mediator’s attitude which is purposeful and with clear direction. It should consider the following aspects- saliency, imperatives, thoughtfulness, and multimodality. Every component of the task should be noticeable or salient, a necessity, thoughtful and helpful to the learner. It must be presented in a multitude of modalities – verbal, gestural, pictorial or graphic.
Transcendence connects one’s present to something in the past or future. It helps to go beyond the now. This occurs when the mediator provides more information to make a connection. It is not just teaching a part. Secondly transcendence develops the ability to transfer the learning to different times or contexts. Lastly it builds motivation for it shows the child to extend his need system to other areas.
Mediation of Meaning – The purpose of mediation of meaning is to instill a need to look and find the meaning and make connections to life and environment. A stimulus can imply a number of meanings or be on a continuum. The mediator must choose a specific meaning that will give value to a task. It must also convey what is its form, how to use and lastly how to generalize.
Hence, we can say Mediated Learning Experience is an interaction during which the individual can change due to the mediation that takes place during the interaction
Mediation produces the plasticity and flexibility for adaptation and that makes one more intelligent.
The elements of mediation to be focused on are:
- Domain
– Function – Phases
-Content – Modality
– Operation
– Affective
2. Parameters – What is being mediated
Regulation
Insight
Rules
Sequencing
3. How – Focus on motor/verbal
4. Where – Anticipate – Pre or Post
The parameters of mediation that are involved to bring in a Structural Cognitive Change are
- The task – Cognitive Map
- The Learner – Cognitive Functions
- The Interaction – Mediated Learning Experience (MLE)
Cognitive development is the result of the interaction that occurs between the individual and the environment. This happens by direct exposure to stimuli and MLE. MLE refers to the way in which the intervening adult who is clear in meaning and intention enhances the individual’s experience in the environment. High appropriate mediation often results in creating a learner who begins to “think about” events or things at large.
S H O H R
Stimulus Human Mediator Organism Human Mediator Response
The mediator’s interaction helps the learner to enhance his higher order thinking. Thus MLE reflects the quality of human-environment interaction.
The mediator’s role is to
- Select the information provided
- organize the information
- set a schedule
- be aware of when and in what amount to change the frequency, saliency and amplitude of mediation.
The mediator’s goals are to:
- Focus attention
- Make transcendence
- Activate and enhance prior knowledge
- Bring in a cognitive change
MEDIATION STRATEGIES
Focus on processes –why, how, rather than on responses – not on the right answer alone
Questions- ask many questions, process questions that will elicit process answers
Responses should be justified, even if it is correct
State your enthusiasm for learning, both the process and outcomes
Use task intrinsic incentives- point to good things
Bridge what is learned to what has been learned or experienced, link to many aspects of learning, link new information to what is familiar
Ask for rules, principles, formulas in what he/she learned, ask why and how it could or should be used
Point to the sequence
Create anxiety around imprecision, inaccuracy, lack of logical evidence
Establish logical habit structure
Accept what the child says, but correct the incomplete or inaccurate responses
Always evaluate the effectiveness of mediation you provided