To See or Not to See

I was driving on the boulevard, wide with its tree-lined median, nearing the stop.  A lawncare truck approached on the cross street from the right as I thought about who would arrive at the sign first.  It's a typical driving process gauging speed, distance, and acceleration.   I glanced to the left and stopped a split second before the truck found the mark.  Having the right of way, I started forward.  A silver gray SUV emerged, like a ghost, at my left in the intersection.  The vehicle front was at the far edge of the median, slowly shortening the distance between me and it.  I had not seen it.  I hit the brakes, but it was there, moving at my left, and I was in the way, blocking the intersection.  The only thing to do was to go as I  pressed down on the accelerator.

For those who think the road is littered with bad drivers, I can't say for sure, but considering the thousands of vehicles filling the lanes in a city on any given day, it only takes a few okay drivers to do something stupid for the other people on the road to encounter an irritating or reckless situation.  I know I've been stupid a few times and that moment at the stop sign stands firmly in my mind.  I didn't see the car on the left.  I glanced, but did not see.  I made a mistake that could have been extremely dangerous for everyone, my wife, me, and the other driver.  In a high speed collision, my car could have even been pushed into the lawncare truck as its driver helplessly looked on.

Why?  I ask myself.  I was focused on the truck and determining who would arrive at the stop sign first that I didn't examine thoroughly my surroundings.  Using Feuerstein's Cognitive Functions as a guide, I can easily conclude that my input phase failed me.  I glanced quickly and did not see and this was a moment of deficient thinking by me.

I was impulsive.  I looked but didn't search.  This is a problem at that particular location because the median makes the boulevard and the intersection wide.  It's not a normal spot where the stop sign is directly to the left.  It's a distance away, so it's much easier to spot traffic approaching from the right, but not the other side.  You have to LOOK to the left.  Coupled with the SUV's color being silver gray and easy to blend into the road surface in the morning light, my quick glance did not see it.  

The whole event is funny (in a dangerously sad and comical way), because I'm a trained FIE instructor and the first two listed cognitive functions are Clear Perception and Systematic Exploration, and I failed to apply them in the situation.  I also probably failed in the Need for Completeness in Data Gathering.  My lack of thought is troubling because the moment could have been tragic.  No one wants to be in a car collision.  This one in particular would have happened on my side putting me at extra risk.  Though with the distance of the intersection, our two vehicles never grew that close to one another, so I received a lesson about perception without having to pay a high cost.

Since the incident, I have been paying extra attention at that intersection, particularly the stop at the far side.  I also have been focusing more at all stops.  Practice doesn't make perfect, but it certainly helps make sure that the right neurons are firing at the right time.   Not seeing cars on the road is a dangerous proposition.

The incident also has been a reminder of how we never escape using our brains and how we need our thought processes to be working well.  Use of the cognitive functions is needed by us our entire lives, and thought is not simply a matter of reasoning from A to B or tabulating the numbers.  It includes being sure your data, your input, is good.  In this case, being sure that I am seeing every vehicle on the road is important.  Being lackadaisical in my scan of my surroundings is not something I want to repeat in the near or distant future.  When driving, I need to look systematically and see completely and clearly.  I don't want any more large ghosts appearing on the road.

Cognitive Functions

In the upcoming weeks, I'm planning to post thoughts about the cognitive functions, labels attached to our various thought processes.  These allow us the chance to examine, discuss, and modify how we think.  While there are many ways to dissect and label our cognitive processes, one of the insightful approaches that Dr. Reuven Feuerstein used was to break our thinking into 3 phases:

1. Input
2. Elaboration
3. Output

Input is what you would presume.  It's how we gather information.  

Elaboration is the phase which we would often described as "that's thinking!".  It's where we process and work through information.

Output is the final phrase, the expression.  This is often overlooked, but you have to say and do what you mean, precisely and accurately.

I like this breakdown because it encompasses more than just pondering things inside your brain.  You have to gather information and express your conclusions well.  So with this mind, I plan to look closely at one or two cognitive functions at a time, flesh out some of their details, and offer my thoughts about them.  I hope this will open some paths for understanding how the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment works and why this is important for everyone's daily life.

Making an Error

If you go driving (if you don't drive, think of yourself riding a bicycle or hiking) and become lost, you would probably not consider it a good thing. You wasted all that time and you're still not at your destination. Similarly, in a class, if a student does a problem incorrectly, you probably would not consider it a good thing, especially if you are that student. You might not know exactly what is wrong and you still have to finish the problem and find the answer. However, just simply thinking this is WRONG, sets everything in that moment: you're lost and wrong.

But now let's say that you are back in that car lost along a road curving half-way up a mountainside. At the top, snow blazes with gold from the setting sun. If the pavement leads to a dead end then, would you think how terrible it was to be lost? Probably not, because the sight of the mountain top was delightful to see. Instead of being completely dejected, you likely would just turn around and see where the mistake was made.

Of course, the scene might not be so pretty. Not all wrong turns lead to beautiful sunsets and some mistakes can be dangerous. Perhaps your wrong turn leads you to a dirty abandoned industrial site with its straight edges and gray smokestacks. You are lost and are probably feeling dejected. Still somewhere along the way, you turned right at the McDonald's when...

The etymology of the word error leads back to the Latin word errāre which means "to wander". There is usually nothing wrong in wandering. New paths can only be formed if someone explores; this can happen intentionally or accidentally. In 1956, two graduate students discovered the B-cell, part of the immune system, when one of them, Timothy Chang was trying to show antibody development in chickens, but couldn't. Obviously, some type of mistake was made. When he and his fellow graduate student Bruce Glick looked more closely, they determined why the chickens didn't produce antibodies; this led to an important medical discovery.

Still wandering probably isn't going to lead you to your destination, but if you can see something along the road that is beautiful, you have experienced something. Even if you don't see anything of value along the way, you can still backtrack and figure out the mistake: you should have made a left at the McDonald's and not the right. Think about it for a moment. Realizing this has value too. Knowing why you turned right instead of left can help you. Read the directions: Drive 2 miles, and at the Wendy's, turn ______. Because of your awareness of your past error, you will have more focus on the word following turn and what you can do to aid your memory. That focus on the direction will help you go the correct way this time and in the future. You have truly learned and that is real education: understanding yourself and making the most of a situation so that you can more easily achieve your goals in the future.

I know I should turn left at the Burger King, but what happens if I go straight instead?

You now can explore more usefully too because you have a sense of direction. Inventor Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Think about this the next time when you or someone else makes an error.

FIE and Mediation

FIE and Mediation

How does Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) compare to the host of other cognitive training programs on the market today?

The FIE program regards the individual as a growing, modifiable, unique powerhouse of ability and creativity that can be spring-loaded for success.   Cognitive functions (thinking skills) are strengthened methodically through novel “instruments” that help individuals make critical connections.

Instead of exercises that serve to help students only become better at a defined set of abilities within the scope of a particular program, FIE  “bridges” to the broad spectrum of experiences that make up our lives.  Students learn how to plan, define problems, recognize important cues, compare, and self-regulate among many other skills.  Without this transcendence or “bridging effect”, individuals may do well for a time, but may not transfer gained knowledge to the larger concepts of everyday life. Making these vital" bridging" connections and strengthening the cognitive functions are two major components of this effective program.  

Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) 

It has been observed that individuals who have “ learned how to learn” are more flexible and adapt more easily to change.  To facilitate this quality, a certified mediating agent (mediator) assists the individual in organizing incoming information in ways that allows the student to eventually become his own mediator.  This is another integral part of the FIE program.

How can I mediate my child at home?

Parents are an important part of the program and can provide an environment at home that will help the process along.  Many of us have had mediators in our lives.  A parent or grandparent, a teacher or an older sibling who knew how to interpret information or direct our attention so we could make sense of it.   Much of the effectiveness of the program is due to the types of questions that the mediator asks the student.

When a child is struggling with a problem, whether it is academic or a social behavior and we “tell the answer”, we are taking away his chances for an “aha” moment.  Instead, ask probing questions, focus on processes (why, how) rather than on responses (what, the right answers, etc)

Techniques of Mediation

·      Ask questions, lots of questions, process questions that elicit process answers

·      Require that the responses be justified, even correct ones, even from very young or developmentally delayed children

·      Communicate your enthusiasm for learning, both the process and the outcomes

·      Bridge what is being learned to what has already been learned or experienced, connect to different aspects of learning or experience, relate new to familiar experiences

·      Point out the order, sequences, predictability of the universe

·      Create a degree of anxiety around imprecision, inaccuracy, lack of logical evidence

·      Communicate your enthusiasm for learning, both the process and the outcomes

·      Accept as much as possible of children’s responses, but correct inaccurate or incomplete responses

Mediating Children’s Behavior and Learning

L.H. Falik,

Mediational Questions

·      What do you need to do next?

·      Tell me how you did that?

·      What do you think would happen if. . .?

·       When have you done something like this before?

·      Yes, that’s right, but how did you know it was right?

·      Stop and look carefully at what you are doing.

·      What do you think the problem is?

·      Can you think of another way we could do this?

·      Why is this one better than that one?

·      Let’s make a plan so we don’t miss anything.

·      How can you find out?

·      How is. . . different from. . . .?

From Bright Start, the Mediational Teaching Style”

H.C. Haywood, P. Brooks, and S. Burns

Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list of questions to ask.  They may help get you started toward a very rewarding learning experience with your child.  As you work together, in a calm and  supportive environment, your child will “teach” you the questions to ask.  

Critical Thinking and FIE

One of the current buzz phrases in education is "critical thinking".  To show how commonplace, I just performed a google search on the terms: "critical thinking" "education".  Approximately 17 million results showed.  This doesn't mean that there are 17 million articles or necessarily even million about the topic, but there are more internet articles than I am likely to read in my lifetime.

So what is critical thinking?  Being a catchy yet important phrase usually means that few of us really understand what it means.  From the web site, criticalthinking.org, in a statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, who presented at the 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer 1987, critical thinking may be defined as:

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness.

Reading that definition, I would conclude that critical thinking is a rather complex process, and it is.  It is also a process that, unfortunately, is difficult to teach in normal educational settings, because teaching tends to be content-driven.  What is 6 times 8?  When was the Declaration of Independence signed?  What is the process of cell division called?  We don't often look at information and the method of how we gather, examine, or use it.  Knowledge of the term mitosis is not critical thinking, though in fairness to all the content that is taught in schools, what we know can be a very important part of the process.

So what is critical thinking?  From the perspective of Dr. Reuven Feuerstein, creator of FIE, thinking can be divided into 3 parts: gathering information, evaluating the input, and then responding.  Evaluation of information tends to be the aspect that we consider thinking, but observing and responding are also part of the process.  Focusing on all three of the components allows us to better understand our selves as thinkers. This is the focus of FIE.  It strips away the outer layers, the facts and numbers, and shines on the core of the thought process by enabling us to think about our thinking.

One of the goals of this blog is examine the process of how we think and how we can refine our methods of gathering, evaluating, and acting in this world, which is filled with lots of information.  I'm not talking particularly about the digital world and its streams of data, but our everyday lives from braking the car to avoid an accident to balancing personal finances so that twenty years from now isn't a struggle.  This is a big task, but very worthwhile.  As an educator, I believe that students thinking well and being able to take the next step and become lifelong learners is the ultimate goal of education.

Now...
Just a Moment..Let Me Think.

Why Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment?

When people learn

HOW to learn

Positive change occurs

FIE is an extraordinary cognitive intervention program

that can be used as a classroom curriculum or one-on-one.

FIE is based on the concept that anyone can learn to think better regardless of age or condition.

Sixty years ago, Reuven Feuerstein, a Romanian cognitive psychologist, worked with refugee survivors (children and adults) to help improve their brain functions after the atrocities they experienced during WWII.  This program expanded into a method of intervention that systematically helps any individual to think better for a lifetime. It is administered by a practitioner through a series of activities or “instruments” that targets all known cognitive functions.

This cognitive program has 60 years of case studies and research data evidencing significant changes in individuals who have been guided through the program.  It is administered in 80 countries and translated into 16 languages.   

What are cognitive functions?

Cognitive functions are the thinking skills we use every conscious moment. They are the tools that enable us to navigate through our lives and problem solve. The great news is that just as we can improve in sports, music, driving, carpentry, etc., we can also strengthen and improve the way we think for a lifetime!  Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment (FIE)  program has benefited thousands of individuals worldwide from pre-school to college and beyond.

Intelligence is not fixed—it can and does improve!  

The brain is changed by the tasks imposed on it.

Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment provides those tasks in a purposeful, productive,

deliverable way.

To find out more about FIE for your school, business, or one-on-one intervention and where it is available, you can see us on Facebook, Middle Tennesse Cognitive Training Network, and leave a private message, or send Bill Thomas-Trudo an email at bthomastrudo@gmail.com