PROJECT FOR PEOPLE WITH COMBINED DISABILITY
Project duration: 02/2017 – 01/2019
The need
The Jedličkův ústav has many clients of different orientation, divergent disabilities, various abilities and skills, wide range of age. Due to this, professionals from this institution are searching for new methods how they can help and develop their clients in new and effective ways. For people with disabilities the Jedličkův ústav is one of a very few institutions where they can find any kind of help. Concretely we can say that it’s the only institution where they get a complex care in terms of variety of accessible activities.
Moreover, by the principle the Jedličkův ústav cares about body and its rehabilitation on the great level, what stays sideways is the development of the cognitive functions of their clients. It has many reasonable explanations. The very important thing is to work with not just what can be seen (physical disability) but also with what is “inside” of clients. We as the Charlie Karlín can bring new possibilities and new ways and methods how to take care of people. One of our general goals is to spread and to implant Feuerstein’s methods to as many places as possible. We feel this possible future cooperation as a great opportunity to establish new partnership and also to show that people with even severe disabilities can be a great contribution to the community and society as a unit. Improving cognition skills brings or supports improving on the field of physical skills. When improving cognition and body skills, more objective evaluation of their self-efficacy and also academic-efficacy.
Our goal in this project is to help and support experts in the Jedličkův ústav in developing cognitive functions of their clients with the maximum use of the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment method. This project wants to address the whole wide range of experts working in the Jedličkův ústav aiming to show and to bring different approach to their life and job. We are entering this institution not for direct work with clients, but we would like to enhance professionals to apply this new approach. We are going to support the professionals with many years’ experience to apply the enriching way to teach and treat their clients.
Our Approach
The aim of this project is to reduce differences in learning outcomes and increasing of self-efficacy and academic-efficacy of all clients in the Jedličkův ústav through introduction of more effective teaching methods based on the prof. Feuerstein’s theory of Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) and its application, the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment program (FIE).
Prof. Feuerstein’s theory of MLE proves that every one of the humans’s cognitive possibilities could be changed and developed. Thanks to the FIE program certified professionals can find and correct deficiencies in fundamental thinking skills, provides students with the concepts, skills, strategies, operations and techniques necessary to function as independent learners, increases their motivation, develops metacognition, and helps them “learn how to learn”. FIE is the only educational method that teaches students the process behind thinking and learning skills in an organized, structured way.
Students gain the ability to work with information by perceiving them in a new, more holistic way, elaborating them in new modes and responding to them adequately, with new possibilities in new ways. Through the process of absorbing the novelty and higher complexity and adapting to changing situations they become able to benefit from the gained experience, thus we are able to increase the level of motivation to study. Enhancing their cognitive potential by these new ways of thinking learners gain new, more optimistic preview to their body and disability. Thus they can improve their self-esteem, self-motivation, self-confidence, they can achieve better results, wider range of fields of interests and jobs to become fully involved in community and labor market.
Our Impact
The aim of this project is to create warm and welcoming atmosphere in classes, and consequently the school or institution’s atmosphere, shifted from body and physical disabilities to mind and its potential.
The goal is to shape modifying environment in schools and classrooms that encourages learning, develops cognitive functions and enables students to achieve better results and get another view of their own potential.
The plan is to implement FIE into the daily school life. To carry this out we need to equip teachers with the knowledge, competences and skills of the theory and methodology of FIE and to provide them with methodological support and assistance and with so needed supervision.
The expected outcomes are:
- trained teachers with effective competences to encourage and stimulate cognitive skills and functions in children, young people and adults with any kind of disability
- children, adolescents, adults with increased intrinsic motivation, improved thinking skills, better self-regulation, experience of success, increased self-confidence, extended cognitive functions willing to engaged in their community
- competent co-workers within all the parts of the Jedličkův ústav working together