{"id":74514,"date":"2017-02-24T08:54:40","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T08:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneirmaromagnoli.org\/projects\/completed-projects\/learning-to-learn\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T19:33:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:33:58","slug":"learning-to-learn","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.fondazioneirmaromagnoli.org\/en\/projects\/completed-projects\/learning-to-learn\/","title":{"rendered":"LEARNING TO LEARN"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”0″ top_padding=”2″ bottom_padding=”2″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_custom_heading text_color=”accent” sub_reduced=”yes” subheading=”SUPPORT FOR THE PASSO PASSO ASSOCIATION.”]LEARNING TO LEARN[\/vc_custom_heading][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent=”0″ overlay_alpha=”50″ equal_height=”yes” gutter_size=”2″ shift_y=”0″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]PASSO PASSO LOCAL ASSOCIATION FOR INCLUSION
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\n<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_inner_height_percent=”0″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”2″ shift_y=”0″][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image media=”988″ media_width_percent=”100″ media_ratio=”four-three” shape=”img-round”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_width_percent=”100″ gutter_size=”3″ back_color=”color-lxmt” overlay_alpha=”50″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/2″][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Project%20completion%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22100%22%7D%5D” units=”%”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Following the introductory seminar organized by the Association in Marzabotto on May 8, 2008, we continued exploring the possibility of using the Feuerstein Method to develop the cognitive potential of children and young people facing difficulties, particularly those associated with disabilities.<\/p>\n

The provincial administration had already been promoting teacher training in this methodology for some time, and the seminar provided further impetus.<\/p>\n

The 2008 seminar also led to broader discussions with institutions, particularly university neuroscience specialists and the Child Neuropsychiatry Department. These discussions considered introducing the approach through specially trained educators, both in schools in coordination with teachers and outside school through specific rehabilitation programs for children and young people who could benefit from greater cognitive independence. This led to a collaborative project involving several institutional and noninstitutional partners, including our Association, albeit as a limited pilot within our local area. Coordinated by the Local Health Authority\u2019s Program for the Protection of People with Disabilities at the Corte Roncati Multifunctional Center, the project began with a seminar focusing on clinical and rehabilitation aspects at the University of Bologna\u2019s Neurological Institute on October 16. Practical implementation is expected to continue over the coming months.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in keeping with a commitment made at the first seminar in 2008, our Association promoted specific training to establish a flexible local group of educators qualified and willing to use the Feuerstein Method. They could apply it in their existing work with children and young people with cognitive difficulties, as well as respond to targeted requests or expressions of need from families, potentially in agreement with the relevant healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n

Last autumn, a highly successful PAS-BASIC training course was held in Marzabotto, as described in the attached project. It ran for eight full Wednesdays, totaling 64 hours, to be followed by around 20 hours of supervised practice.
\nThe course was taught by Dr. Sara Alighieri, a psychologist from Rimini and an experienced practitioner and trainer recognized by the Feuerstein Center in Jerusalem.
\nIt was made possible by financial support from the newly established local charity Mano Tesa and the cooperation of the Municipality of Marzabotto, which provided suitable facilities and equipment in Lama di Reno free of charge.<\/p>\n

What Is the Feuerstein Method?
\n<\/strong>International studies and research have shown that learning can be improved through educational mediation, focusing not only on answers to tasks but above all on the processes that produce them.
\nFrom this perspective, learning is not a solitary activity carried out by someone facing a problem or material to learn. It is an experience mediated by another skilled person who goes beyond ensuring a successful response to a task. Through interaction, the mediator develops the psychological conditions and cognitive strategies that will enable the learner to tackle increasingly complex and unfamiliar tasks with greater independence.
\nThe educator\u2019s guided questioning creates conditions in which the individual\u2019s learning potential can emerge and grow. This follows Vygotsky\u2019s dynamic view of intelligence, in contrast to the static view of innate intelligence as an unchangeable personal trait.
\nIn Vygotsky\u2019s view, learning is not determined by an individual\u2019s existing intellectual level. Rather, it is the process through which intelligence is shaped and strengthened.
\nOne of the most widely used and effective approaches associated with this view was developed by Professor Reuven Feuerstein, drawing on his educational work with the \u201cchildren of the ashes\u201d in Israel after the Second World War.<\/p>\n

The approach is widely used internationally to strengthen cognitive processes, reveal personal resources, and promote an active, flexible approach to learning and problem-solving.<\/p>\n

It is known and used in 30 countries across all continents, has been translated into 14 languages, and is studied at more than 26 universities worldwide.<\/p>\n

Initially developed to address learning difficulties among children and adolescents without disabilities who had experienced cultural and psychological deprivation and were at high risk of marginalization following horrific experiences, the Feuerstein Program proved useful in many other contexts over subsequent decades. These include parent training, workplace training from shop-floor staff to managers, cognitive rehabilitation, research, and the development of effective study methods.
\nA student of Piaget and Rey, but closely aligned with the ideas of Vygotsky and Bruner, Professor Feuerstein strongly advocates the theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability. This holds that every individual, regardless of age or difficulties, can radically improve how they learn.
\nThis change is encouraged by a mediator\u2014a parent, teacher, or skilled educator\u2014who creates conditions that strengthen the learner\u2019s sense of competence. Working together, they identify and acquire effective cognitive approaches that eventually become part of the learner\u2019s habitual thinking style.
\nTo undertake this role, educators are trained in the methodology of mediation, which provides not only teaching and methodological skills but also psychological and relational skills. In Feuerstein\u2019s view, this is the most significant factor in bringing about structural changes in thought processes.
\nThe method offers mediators a range of practical systems for working with learners:<\/p>\n