**3. Dynamic assessment of learning potential**

modifiability. Examples of distal factors are poverty, socioeconomic status, hereditary factors, and emotional disturbance. They might correlate with cognitive modifiability and have indirect effect through the proximal factor of MLE. MLE interactions are conceived as a *proximal*

In developing the MLE theory, Feuerstein et al. [1] suggest 12 criteria or strategies; the first three criteria are considered as necessary and sufficient for an interaction to be classified as MLE: *Intentionality and Reciprocity*, *Meaning,* and *Transcendence*. These three strategies are universal and can be found in all cultures. They do not depend on the language modality or content of mediation. They might be expressed by body gestures, face mimics, and verbalization. The other 10 criteria are culturally related, task-dependent, and reflect the mediator's and child's unique characteristics such as cognitive style, motivational orientation, and types

The first five MLE strategies were operationalized and observed in interactions of motherchild (e.g., [2–4, 6, 13–18], peer mediation [19–28], siblings [17, 22, 29], and teachers [30, 31]).

**a.** *Intentionality and Reciprocity* refers to a mediator's deliberate efforts to change a child's attention, awareness, and perception. Mediation for Intentionality alone is inadequate without the child's reciprocity (vocal, verbal, or nonverbal). Intentionality and Reciprocity is observed, for instance, when a caregiver offers a toy to a child or verbally focuses a child's attention to a plant and the child responds to it. This strategy is considered crucial for starting the mediation process and later on for enhancement of other MLE strategies

**b.** *Mediation of Meaning* is characterized by mediator's behavior that conveys the affective and value-oriented significance of an object or event. It can be expressed verbally ("Wow, how beautiful") by relating it to other events and emphasizing its importance and value ("I received this ring from my mother"). Mediation of Meaning may also be expressed nonverbally by facial expression, tone of voice, and repetitious actions that convey the significance of the object or event. Children experiencing Mediation of Meaning tend to actively attach future meanings to new experiences rather than passively wait for mean-

**c.** *Mediation of Transcendence* is characterized by interactions in which the mediator goes beyond the concrete situation or beyond the immediate needs of the child. The mediator tries to reach out for goals that are beyond the specific context or activity. A parent who interacts with his/her child may go beyond the specific experience at a certain time and teach strategies rules and principles (i.e., "draw first the main figure and then the secondary lines") to generalize to other situations. For instance, in a play situation, the parent may mediate the principles of game and generalize them to other situations. Mediation for Transcendence depends on the first two strategies. The combination of all three first

factor explaining individual differences in learning and cognitive modifiability.

of skill and content.

**2.1. MLE strategies**

ings to appear.

These strategies are presented in the following section.

24 Educational Psychology - Between Certitudes and Uncertainties

such as feelings of competence and self-regulation.

An integrative component of the MLE theory is related to dynamic assessment (DA) of learning potential. DA refers to "an assessment, by an active teaching process, of a child's perception, learning, thinking, and problem solving. The process is aimed at modifying an individual's cognitive function and observing subsequent changes in learning and problemsolving patterns within the testing situation" (p. 6, 2). DA is based on perception of the cognitive system as modifiable beyond barriers of age, etiology, and severity of handicap [1, 2, 32–38]. DA has been motivated by the inadequacy of standardized static tests to provide accurate information about the individual's learning ability, specific deficient functions, metacognitive strategies, mediation strategies that are required for cognitive modifiability, specific learning processes, and specific recommendations for individualized learning plans. DA approach is different from static standardized tests in terms of goals of testing, nature of tasks, test situation, change of test focus from end product to process orientation, and interpretation of results. Cognitive modifiability is measured in most studies by DA, which tap "learning how-to-learn" skills. DA of learning potential is based mainly on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory [7, 8], specifically the *zone of proximal development* concept, Feuerstein's *mediated learning experience* (*MLE*) theory [1] and Tzuriel's DA approach developed in the last four decades [2–5, 35–43]. Unlike *standardized* (*or static*) tests where the examiner presents items to the child and records his/her response without any attempt to intervene, in DA the examiner tries to teach and change the child's performance while observing the amount and quality of changes. The conceptualization behind DA is that it reflects MLE strategies at home more than standardized static measures of intelligence. The MLE strategies used within the DA procedure are more similar to learning processes in other life contexts than do standardized testing methods. They give therefore better indications about learning potential and future changes of cognitive development. For a detailed discussion, the reader is referred to Tzuriel's writings [2, 3, 36–42].
