Application of IE-Basic Program to Promote Cognitive and Affective Development in Preschoolers: A Chilean Study

Abstract

This study explores the effectiveness of the Instrumental Enrichment Basic program (IE-B) in enhancing cognitive and affective functions of young children. The IE-B is a cognitive intervention program based on Feuerstein’s theories of structural cognitive modifiability (SCM) and mediated learning experience (MLE). Thirty 3- to 4-year-old children were assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the IE-B program for seven months (for a total of 48 hours) and was compared to the control group before and after intervention on tests of knowledge acquisition and vocabulary. Cognitive change was evaluated using a Chilean assessment battery that measured children’s language, cognition, and knowledge. The findings indicate that children in the experimental group improved their performance more than children in the control group. Results indicate that IE-B can be used with socially disadvantaged children as young as 3–4 and that it leads to improvement in their performance.

The effectiveness of a parent-training program for promoting cognitive performance in preschool children

“…Theory of structural cognitive modifiability considers cognitive abilities, including thinking and problem-solving skills, not fixed structures but variables which can be modified and improved if children have access to an efficient mediator. Kozulin et al (2010) and Salas et al (2010) have demonstrated that providing children with mediated learning experiences by teachers improves their cognitive abilities. In another study, a year-long caregiver training program based on SCM theory, mediational intervention for sensitizing caregivers (MISC), was effective in teaching Ugandan caregivers to enhance their children's cognitive development through practical and sustainable techniques applied during daily interactions at home ( Boivin et al, 2013 ).…”

Fluid intelligence, social cognition, and perspective changing abilities as pointers of psychosocial adaptation

“…To prove that certain cognitive abilities have a major impact on PSA is crucial both from a scientific and a political point of view, especially in countries where inequality limits the opportunities of development and academic performance (Lutha and Cicchetti, 2000; Salas et al, 2010). The influence of cognitive functions related to social adaptation may represent a contribution by orienting changes in policy regarding the possibilities of development and intervention.…”

Clinical Applications of the Modifiability Model: Feuerstein's Learning Experience and the Instrumental Enrichment Basic Program

“…As a result of cognitive acceleration, the experimental group showed significant improvements over the control group in the following domains: Vocabulary comprehension/Vocabulary expression and Vocabulary control; Knowledge of oneself and Knowledge of environment. The experimental group received the IE-Basic program for seven months (for a total of 48 hours) (Salas et al 2010). The study notes that some of the cognitive functions that would be involved in the improvement of vocabulary and knowledge by the characteristics of the items used to measure these variables would include better attention skills, less distraction, increase in the verbal units used, diminished trial-and-error approach to problem solving and use of sequential steps in complex problem-solving processes, generalization abilities from the concrete to the abstract level.…”