Intensive intervention using this program is extremely effective in correcting deficient cognitive functions and enhancing the individual’s capacity to learn effectively, whether in formal or informal learning situations.

The crucial aspect of IE is in the teaching method. It is not instructional but based on mediation. The process of an IE session involves a trained Feuerstein mediator leading the learner gradually (whether in a classroom or in a one-on-one session) through increasingly complex cognitive problems and working together with them in analysing, breaking down and discussing ways in which the problems could be solved. The continued level of mediation allows IE to be modified as the child develops and as the child’s progress is monitored.

The IE programs prepare the young learner with verbal and conceptual tools, spatial and temporal concepts and representational activities. The student learns the process of reflective thinking and develops internal motivation. The program develops the learner’s feelings as a generator of information rather than a passive reproducer of information.

Feuerstein’s IE Standard level program is for older children.. The program is based on paper and pencil exercises that gradually increase in levels of difficulty and abstraction. Each set of instruments of the program focuses on specific cognitive areas such as analytic perception, comparison and classification. They may also include verbal, mathematical, logical and emotional skills. This program is focused on developing strategies for problem solving and analytical reasoning that a learner can carry on through the rest of their lives.