FOUNDATION OF CONDUCTIV EDUCATION METHOD PART I

PI 101 Fall
Alana Curtin
Please respond to the following questions. Questions 1-3 should be at minimum half a
page and 4-5 should be full page responses. Use 12 point font with 1.5 line spacing.
1. What is Conductive Education in short?
Conductive Education helps build up new coordination of the nervous system through
complex activities. Conductive Education leads to a solution and helps children find a way
that they can perform everyday activities. The aim of Conductive Education is the complex
development of the personality. Conductive education wakes up intellectual motives,
develops emotional motives, leads to problem solving mentally, provides a positive
experience through successful age appropriate actions, and ensures cognitively controlled
functioning. Conductive education also develops self confidence, independence, duty
feeling, and self expression. It helps to provide a normal, careful planned way of life for the
child. It has an effect on mobility and independence. Conductive education is an intensive,
multi-disciplinary approach to education, training and development for individuals with
cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other motor challenges -CLC webpage.
2. Who was the founder of CE?
Conductive Education was founded in Hungary during the year of 1945 by Andras Peto. Andras
Peto was a medical student in Austria and worked in many medical institutions throughout his
life before becoming founder of the Peto Institute in Hungary. He was a doctor, educator, writer,
and lecturer. After World War II he returned to Hungry and began the institution using the
conductive education method. He began in a single room and had 14 students 24/7 in order to
test his ideas regarding the physically disabled. Peto was also asked to be a special lecturer in
the Special Needs Teacher Training College that was developed. Peto was devoted to the
program and made sure that all of his workers, including Mari Hari, were as well. Peto
theorized that disabled people are characterized by disintegrated function. He believed that the
brain could be trained to solve problems and function in different ways that would develop the
whole personality and a better way of coordination through teaching and learning.

3. According to your reading, list and explain at least five important principles of CE
The principles of conductive education are also referred to as the pillars of CE. The first
principle of Conductive Education is the roll of the conductors The conductor-teachers
team. The conductors are educators who draw from relevant aspects of medicine,
education, and psychology. They are not a combination of PTs, nurses, OT, or SPT. The
conductor-teacher is the instructor with whose help the student actively learns how to set
up aims, goals and achieve them. The CT is there to educate, teach, provide care, stimulate
development, organize and direct, make decisions in the practice with the students. The
conductor method links speech, thought and movement together in a way that helps the
child to focus on and internalize the movement. The second pillar of conductive education
is the group. The group is important because the children need to feel a sense of
community with one another. The CLC website states, A key element of conductive
education is that individuals work as part of a small group of children with the same
condition. This offers an opportunity for individuals to face challenges, share solutions and
reward efforts to learn new skills within the dynamics of a group. The third pillar of
conductive education is the program. The program is important because the students
practice getting in the habit of having the same routine everyday and learning from it.
Although the motivation may change daily the base of the program stays the same and the
children become comfortable and safe when performing the tasks. The CLC website says,
The child is viewed as a learner and the conductor teacher promotes confidence,
motivation and an understanding of how this child can learn to perform everyday
movements to become more independent in their functioning within their homes, schools
and eventually in the workforce. The fourth pillar is the environment where conductive
education takes place. The conductors need to make sure that the students feel safe within
the classroom. They also have to feel comfortable with the equipment within the classroom
such as the plinths, ladder-back chairs, rings, and boxes (all which promote learning). The
last pillar is the rhythmical intention. Rhythmical intention is a form of facilitation. It has
two important factors: to make an activity voluntary, and to give rhythm to the action. The
verbalization of the intention is also a big factor in the rhythmical intention. Time and
rhythm execution is indicated by counting, singing, or reciting a poem. By pairing rhythm
with movement, movements become more fluid and the lyrics provide verbal cues to the
child (CLC Webpage). Those are the 5 principles/ pillars of conductive education.

4. Relate the principles listed in the previous question to your practical observations in
the lab-school. Please use specific examples
To begin the first principle, the roll of the conductor-teacher (team) is a concept that I see every time I observe at the
Conductive Learning Center. I worked with the early childhood group and one of the first things I noticed that the
conductors had to keep the students motivated. I know for all age groups this is true but the teachers in this
classroom extremely had to since the children are still learning. For example, the conductors would stand in front of
D.D. and try to keep him motivated by having him hold/ show the task to Screechy the owl. They were also
educating and using rhythm throughout the program by using Screechy as the motivation. Again this motivation
worked best for D.D. Secondly, the rhythmical intention was very important to the children especially when
walking. For example when walking with A.W., she needs a little help to begin the rhythm of her steps, yet once she
gets going and on beat with the rhythm her feet will stay with it and she will have a pattern while taking steps. It
also helps the children to hear the same rhythm and put it in their head for the future. The third principle that I can
see portrayed during my observation is the group setting. I notice this specifically through D.T. He is always very
concerned with the whole class and wants to make sure that everybody is involved. One specific example that I
remember is when A.T. had her first day. A.T. only knew some of the students in the classroom at the time so D.T.
was making sure that either he introduced her to the other classmates or that the conductors knew to introduce her.
He wanted to make sure that the class all knew each other and had a sense of community. Also I can see the group
setting portrayed through the lying program. If one child is participating in the task and the other is not the
conductors will say all your friends are waiting for you or the whole class is doing to the task can you please do it
with them. The student who was not participating will then complete the task for the rest of the class. The fourth
principle I see through observation is the environment. The conductors always make sure to greet the students in the
morning so that they feel welcomed and comfortable in the classroom. The conductors also have to make sure the
students feel safe with the equipment. For example, A.H has to feel comfortable while holding on to the rings.
Usually if he feels he is unsafe he will vocalize that his holding is not safe and comfortable. D.D. also was having a
day when he was feeling unsafe during the lying program on the plinth so the conductors placed rings next to his
legs for a little extra comfort for him to feel safe. The conductors are wonderful if they think there is a problem by
always asking do you feel safe or unsafe. The last principle-the program- is one that I see through and through
during observation. The daily schedule is very important to the children in CE. For example, one day there was a
change in snack (a little later due to the adding the floor program) and D.T. and A.W. would ask isnt it snack time
now? Also one day the individual program was after lunch and I noticed that with this change A.H. didnt have as
5. According to your CE experience and readings, explain the role and characteristics
strong of an afternoon/ individual program as he usually would. It also helps give them a basis for a daily life
routine and it embeds it in their memory. During observation I can see all of these principles portrayed and it helps
me to learn and realize how important each pillar truly is for conductive education.

of the group of children,

of the profession of conductor
of rhythmical intention
The role of each of these is significantly important in conductive education. The group of children is important
based on a variety of factors. To begin, the age level is a big factor when it comes to the group. The student should
be the appropriate age so that they can learn best and that the class can learn best as well. A class that is older is
not going to benefit from a younger student being in the classroom. It would more than likely only cause more
distractions for the older students. There for the age level must be appropriate so that it benefits both the class and
the individual student. The diagnosis is also important when it comes to the group setting. A student whose
diagnoses does not fit with the group will not succeed in that specific group. The conductors and children
interaction is also a big part of the group setting. The conductors have to lead and educate while also make the
children feel comfortable. Positive feedback for everyone is also important in the group setting because the
children like to show their classmates how they did well at achieving their goal or how they used the potty by
themselves. Visual feedback is also good because the students can see how the others may be completing a task,
etc. These are some of the characteristics/roles that are important when it comes to the group setting in CE. The
profession of the conductor is also extremely important in CE. To start the conductors must work together with
children and adults while showing empathy, concentrated attention and high level of observation skill. The
conductors also must cope with high stress levels. The profession itself tends to be very physically demanding.
This is an aspect that conductors must learn to work with and find solutions that will lessen the wear and tear of
their bodies. There is also a high level of responsibility involved in this profession. They must have
communication skills, moral and social behavior, organizational ability, educational imagination, constructive or
didactic ability, and motivation. The overall roles of the conductor-teachers are to educate, teach, provide care,
stimulate development, organize and direct, make decisions in practice with the students. These are all very
important for CE and the role of the conductor teachers. These traits are some that the conductor must possess in
order to fully participate in CE. Lastly, as stated previously the role of rhythmical intention is important for all
those involved in CE. The roles of rhythmical intention are as follows: verbal intention prepares the action and
starts it off in all its complexity, and speech develops in close connection with the acquirement action. Rhythmical
intention is important because it helps to organize the group with a nice atmosphere, increases acoustic sensations,
regulates the timing of the movement, activates movements, helps to form the motor pictures belonging to teach
content of speech, and lastly the activity will become a voluntary effort for the child. The rhythm helps the
students embed in their minds the task and will help with their motor/ mobility skills. Rhythmical intention helps
the students stay within a good paced rhythm for the day while also assisting the conductors. The role of rhythm is
significant within CE because without rhytm the classroom could quickly turn into a jumbled kaotic mess.