News

Our October training programme on the Method of Instrumental Awareness (MIA) in the Netherlands was attended by Jo Lebeer, a renowned expert in inclusive education and the promotion of cognitive learning. Professor Emeritus at the University of Antwerp, he has devoted his career to studying the influence of the environment on the development of children with neurological difficulties and the inclusion of children with disabilities in education. Following our full-day introductory MIA workshop in Vlissingen, he described our approach as meaningful and praised our instruments as ‘materials for our times’.

 

Jo Lebeer’s work is based on the premise of brain neuroplasticity and the modifiability of cognitive functions in individuals with cognitive developmental disorders. ‘Modern neuropsychological research has repeatedly demonstrated that brain structures cannot be regarded as immutable entities, determined once and for all at birth,’ he writes in his key contribution to the book Programmes for Developing Thinking in Children with Developmental Differences: Supporting the Inclusion of Disadvantaged Children in Mainstream Education, published in Czech in 2006.

 

In this work, Jo Lebeer synthesised the existing practice of Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) into a comprehensive review covering its theoretical foundations, principles and practical applications of mediated learning. The Method of Instrumental Awareness, which is also based on this principle, places particular emphasis on non-evaluation as a fundamental condition for effective mediation.

 

We greatly appreciate Jo Lebeer’s interest in our approach – and look forward to welcoming him to Prague!