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David Tzuriel, Ph.D. is a clinical and educational psychologist who is an expert on dynamic assessment of learning potential. He is a Full Professor at Bar Ilan University and Chair of the School of Education. He graduated from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University at 1977 and was the president of the International Association for Cognitive Education (IACE) in 1999 to 2001. David Tzuriel published many studies on dynamic assessment including four books: (a) Interactive Assessment (edited book with H. Carl Haywood), (b) Cognitive Modifiability, (c) Mediated Learning Experience: Theory, Research and Practice and (d) Dynamic assessment of young children. He has developed six dynamic assessment tests and intervention programs based on these tests. The tests are mainly aimed at assessment but also at cognitive intervention for development of deficient cognitive functions. David Tzuriel has taught more than 100 workshops around the world during the last 20 years. Areas of interest include the role of mediated learning experience in mother-child interactions, cognitive modifiability, dynamic assessment as a substitute for conventional psychometric tests, assessment of learning potential following cognitive education programs, and the effects of peer-mediation on children’s mediation style and cognitive modifiability.

The Peer Mediation for Young Children Program: Effects on Mediation Teaching Style and Cognitive Modifiability
by Prof David Tzuriel  School of Education, Bar Ilan University

Abstract

The Peer-Mediation with Young Children (PMYC) program is a novel cross-age peer assisted learning approach which is based on the theoretical approaches of Vygotsky and Feuerstein. The PMYC is aimed at developing mediation teaching style and cognitive modifiability among school students. A series of five studies was carried out at Bar-Ilan University using the Observation of Mediation Interaction (OMI) instrument to tap the peer mediation behavior. In all studies experimental children were compared to control children who received substitute training. The findings showed repeatedly that experimental groups participating in the PMYC program showed higher mediation teaching style as well as higher cognitive modifiability than control groups. Furthermore, not only the mediators who participated in the program showed superiority over control groups but also learners, who actually did not receive any treatment but were taught by their experimental peers, showed higher mediation and higher gains on various cognitive tasks than their control counterparts. The superiority of the experimental children was across type of task (domain general versus domain specific) and content domains. The program was found also to be efficient in developing children's cognitive modifiability measured by dynamic assessment measures and enhanced children's school achievements in math and reading comprehension. Mediation teaching style was found to be higher in domain general than in domain specific task. Learners who were taught by mediators trained in domain general tasks showed better pre- to post-intervention improvement in domain general task than learners who were taught by mediators trained in domain specific task. Children from the experimental group, who came from families with low mediation background, improved their cognitive modifiability more than children, from a control group, who came from families with high mediation background. Children who come from families deprived of mediation opportunities benefitted more from the PMYC in terms of enhancement of mediation teaching style and cognitive modifiability. The findings showed also that mediators' cognitive level was not related to the level of mediation given and that a mismatch between the cognitive level of the mediator and learner produces better cognitive gains. The findings are discussed with reference to Feuerstein's and Vygotsky's theories.
 

Workshop on Dynamic Assessment of Young Children
by Prof David Tzuriel 
 

A growing need has emerged recently for applying dynamic assessment (DA) for young children (4—7 year olds), especially since early educational decision may affect them in the future. The objectives of this workshop are (a) to present the theoretical foundations of the DA approach especially the theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability (SCM) and Mediated Learning Experience (MLE, Feuerstein, et al., 1979), (b) to describe the main goals of DA and the shifts from standardized testing to DA, (c) to portray the major characteristics of DA with young children, and (d) to present six measures developed by Tzuriel for young children (1997, 1998a, 1998b, 2000, 2001, 2002):

1. The Children's Analogical Thinking Modifiability Test (CATM)
2. The Children's Inferential Thinking Modifiability Test (CITM)
3. The Cognitive Modifiability Battery (CMB): Assessment and Intervention
4. The Seriational Thinking Modifiability Test (CSTM)
5. The Seria-Think Instrument
6. The Children’s Conceptual and Perceptual Analogical Modifiability
(CCPAM), Closed and Construction Analogies Versions.

Topics:
a) Theoretical foundations of the Dynamic Assessment approach,
b) Theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability (SCM) and Mediated learning
Experience (MEA)
c) Pre-school/primary school measures developed by the trainer himself and
their applications for cognitive intervention:

Target Audience:
Psychologists, teachers, special education practitioners, speech language therapists

Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the specific cognitive functions that are responsible for cognitive
functioning
- Understand the basic mediation principles in dynamic assessment
- Understand the relationship between cognitive functions and school achievements
- Understand the meaning of analytical and problem solving skills, as exemplified by dynamic assessment
- Understand the procedures for using the 6 instruments above.
- Understand the philosophy and methods underpinning mediated learning approaches (as exemplified in the use of the above instruments).

Proposed Activities:
- Lecture and presentation
- Demonstration of mediation techniques with pre-school aged children