Social Media Post #167: Teaching is not Mediation

Teaching ≠ Mediation.

Teaching gives children knowledge. Mediation develops the thinking that allows them to use it.

Consider a simple question:

Teaching:
“Which one is bigger?”
“Good. This one is bigger.”

Mediation:
“Which one is bigger?”
“How do you know?”
“What could you do to check?”
“Can you explain your thinking?”

The difference is significant.

Mediation shifts the focus from simply producing the correct answer to developing the cognitive processes behind it — observing, comparing, reasoning, explaining, making connections and developing strategies.

At Basic Concepts Foundation, we don't only ask:

“Does the child know?”

We ask:

“How is the child thinking?”

This reflects the work of Reuven Feuerstein and the principles of Mediated Learning Experience: supporting learners not simply to acquire information, but to become increasingly capable of learning independently.

Because the goal isn't just to teach children what to think.

It is to help them develop how to think.