1. What is unique about iRi’s approach to professional learning and school change?
  2. How can we determine whether iRi’s Thinking, Reading, and Mathematics Programs for the 21st Century are a fit with the needs of our student population and the goals of our school or district?
  3. How are iRi’s programs geared specifically to enabling students to succeed in the 21st century?
  4. Will using iRi’s methods and materials elevate our school or district’s achievement scores?
  5. When will we see measurable academic improvement from our students?
  6. Would iRi facilitate a 1-day awareness program at our school or district during an in-service day?
  7. Why is coaching required in iRi’s professional learning model?
  8. Why does application of the Critical Thinking/FIE program require its own time slot in the day if its purpose is to enhance learning across the general curriculum?
  9. What is an “Instrument?” How does it differ from a worksheet?
  10. Does iRi offer parent training in Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) or the Learning Propensity Assessment Device (LPAD)?
  11. Will iRi assess a child’s “true” learning potential?
  12. How does emerging brain research support iRi’s Thinking, Reading, and Mathematics Programs for the 21st Century?
  13. Can we talk to or observe a school district which applies iRi’s methods and materials in the classroom?
  14. Are there 21st Century Enriched Learning Schools currently operating?

For answers to additional questions you may have, please call us toll free at
(877) 474-4900 or email us at info@iriinc.us.

 

 

  1. What is unique about iRi’s approach to professional learning and school change?

    iRi’s approach is unique in philosophy, delivery, and results. We are not the ‘same old’ professional development repackaged as new and different.

    Philosophy: All of our programs are based on the theories of world-renowned Cognitive Psychologist Reuven Feuerstein. We believe that intelligence is not fixed, but rather modifiable. The irrefutable plasticity of the brain means there is the potential for all students’ academic advancement if their cognitive functions are properly stimulated and mediated. Simply, we enable educators to build their students’ Critical Thinking skills and apply those abilities within and beyond the curricular content.

    Delivery: iRi’s unique and validated peer collaboration and materials enable educators to improve ALL students’ learning potential, enable academic progress to soar, and prepare students for the new academic and workplace demands of the 21st century. In all of our professional learning teams we model the cognitive-based strategies and methods so that educators learn by doing and can effectively transfer new learnings to the classroom. Follow-up coaching is an integral part of our programs to enable successful implementation.

    Results: This is not a quick fix band-aid approach with short-term small improvement and longer-term disappointment. We demonstrate how improving and integrating Critical Thinking across your existing curriculum will yield quantifiable and enduring results for all your students.
  2. How can we determine whether iRi’s Thinking, Reading, and Mathematics Programs for the 21st Century are a fit with the needs of our student population and the goals of our school or district?

    Those who benefit most from iRi’s professional learning and student programs are schools of dedicated educators open to our belief that if trained to identify and mediate cognitive functions we can make ALL children better thinkers and learners, regardless of age, gender, race, socio-economic status, primary/secondary language, or severity of condition.

    Prior to any engagement, iRi works with prospects to ascertain fit, develop reachable stretch goals, and customize programs to meet identified needs. We will review your Reading and Math curricula, textbooks, teaching methodologies, and achievement scores to determine how to infuse Critical Thinking strategies and methods into your day.

    If you have tried other programs which promised to elevate students’ success yet yielded lackluster results, we invite you to work with us to change students’ minds, elevate critical thinking, and advance achievement scores.
  3. How are iRi’s programs geared specifically to enabling students to succeed in the 21st century?

    The Framework for the 21st Century Learning identifies Critical Thinking and Problem Solving as core skill areas that students must master to succeed in school, work, and life in the 21st century. iRi agrees. Via our student Critical Thinking/FIE student program and cognitive-based Professional Development modules in Reading and Mathematics, we enable students to become deeper thinkers, efficient learners, and active participants across the curriculum. We prepare your teachers with the instructional strategies and tools that best enable them to develop the critical thinking skills and curriculum knowledge required by the demanding 21st century. iRi goes beyond mere awareness of critical thinking possibilities to the provision of programs that guarantee their inclusion in daily instruction.

    iRi consultants are available to assess your current curriculum and instructional practices based on 21st century standards-alignment. For more information please contact the iRi office (info@iriinc.us).
  4. Will using iRi’s methods and materials elevate our school or district’s achievement scores?

    Yes! Proper use of iRi’s methods and materials will elevate your standardized achievement scores and provide your students’ enduring success inside and outside the classroom.
  5. When will we see measurable academic improvement from our students?

    With proper implementation of our programs, application of our professional learning experiences, and provided iRi follow-up coaching, your teachers will begin to recognize enhanced student motivation and improved attitudes toward learning within approximately 3 to 6 months. Standardized tests given by your district will show elevated scores within the first year of implementation. Each subsequent year will yield additional gains in achievement scores.
  6. Would iRi facilitate a 1-day awareness program at our school or district during an in-service day?

    Yes, we offer 1-day awareness programs customized for all grade levels in Critical Thinking, Thinking Mathematically, and Critical Thinking for Critical Reading. We also offer a session in the Feuerstein Method. In all programs, iRi consultants introduce teachers and/or administrators to the theory and methods of cognitive instruction as a basis for 21st century learning. Please contact the iRi office (info@iriinc.us) to schedule a workshop at your school.
  7. Why is coaching required in iRi’s professional learning model?

    Research in the field of professional development shows unequivocally that coaching is critical to ensure optimal, high-impact implementation in the classroom. Coaching enables teachers to receive expert feedback on how well they were able to transfer ideas into practice. It provides educators with a safe forum to discuss new ideas before introducing them in the classroom. Coaching also allows an educator to discuss the challenges in transitioning workshop learnings into their real world environment, customizing the methods and strategies to confront the particular issues of a given classroom. With a combination of peer and expert coaching, there is a 90%+ successful transfer of knowledge to practice. Without coaching, the transfer rate is below 10%. Our children deserve the 90%+.
  8. Why does application of the Critical Thinking/FIE program require its own time slot in the day if its purpose is to enhance learning across the general curriculum?

    At iRi we strongly believe that it is necessary to devote time in the daily curriculum to specifically teach thinking skills. Based on over 50 years of working with a vast spectrum of learners, from the most challenged to the gifted, Feuerstein advocates insist that explicit instruction and dedicated time in the school day is a prerequisite to fully enriching a learner’s intelligence.

    The Feuerstein Method requires a specially prepared teacher, whom we refer to as a “mediator”, to help students focus specifically on thinking, without the confluence of subject-based content and its own inherent and otherwise potentially conflicting sequencing. Once students have strengthened their core thinking, the mediator shows them how to bridge each function and operation into different subject areas to improve critical reasoning and problem solving skills across the curriculum. We must begin first, however, with dedicated and explicit daily instruction in Critical Thinking to fully realize our abilities as educators and mediators to help change students’ minds.
  9. What is an “Instrument?” How does it differ from a worksheet?

    An instrument is a set of paper and pencil tasks that progress in complexity. These instruments are used together by mediators and students to enrich cognitive functions and build efficient thinking capabilities. Unlike worksheets, the instruments are content-free, focus specifically on enhancing critical thinking skills, and require the professional facilitation of a mediator trained in Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment (FIE). The basis to this collaboration is that the mediator, whether teacher, psychologist, parent, etc., works in relationship with the learner to develop those cognitive functions that lead to clearer and more critical thinking and improved learning processes. Instruments plus mediator therefore produce an instrumental effect, i.e., a gift of learning abilities that is instrumental to higher performance in contexts that transfer well beyond FIE.
  10. Does iRi offer parent training in Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) or the Learning Propensity Assessment Device (LPAD)?

    Absolutely. In addition to educators and psychologists, more and more parents are benefiting from our FIE and LPAD study. Parents find these sessions beneficial in terms of becoming familiar with our programs for use in academic, clinical, and social environments. Additionally, parents gain a deeper understanding of their children’s cognitive development and are able to modify their home environment, parenting style, and expectations accordingly.
  11. Will iRi assess a child’s “TRUE” learning potential?

    We can refer you to certified LPAD resources who specialize in Dynamic Assessment. They will evaluate the child’s learning processes and identify their cognitive functions, operations, and problem solving strategies. The assessment focuses on the learner’s dynamic potential or propensity rather than their current performance level. For more information please contact us at info@iriinc.us.
  12. How does emerging brain research support iRi’s Thinking, Reading, and Mathematics Programs for the 21st Century?

    We have long known from research that brains change structurally as a result of learning experiences. This is perhaps most dramatically demonstrated in studies with people who lost cognitive functions as a result of brain injuries. Upon rehabilitation there is neural restructuring in the brain. There is also evidence that learning unique skills is reflected in unique brain structures. For example, research shows that musicians develop certain brain structures that are different from typical “non-musician” brains. Furthermore, we know that the brain’s ability to change structurally as a result of learning is not limited by age.

    The emerging research continues to support our work in the teaching of intelligence based on the plasticity of the brain. At iRi, we enable students and educators to become deeper thinkers and more efficient learners by strengthening key cognitive functions that will advance Critical Thinking, Reading, and Mathematics.
  13. Can we talk to or observe a school district which applies iRi’s methods and materials in the classroom?

    Yes, we encourage you to talk to our clients and, when possible, observe the power of Critical Thinking applied in their setting. There are several districts that welcome visitors. Please contact the iRi office (info@iriinc.us) to arrange a visit or conversation with a district currently utilizing iRi’s programs.
  14. Are there 21st Century Enriched Learning Schools currently operating?

    Yes, there are charter schools, public and private schools, and special needs schools that are working toward the goal of becoming fully 21st Century Enriched Learning Schools. Please contact the iRi office (info@iriinc.us) to learn more about these institutions that are transforming how teaching and learning occur.

For answers to additional questions you may have, please call us toll free at (877) 474-4900 or email us at info@iriinc.us.