ABSTRACT:
The present research investigated the Mental Orthopedics method developed by the educator Helena Antipoff, focusing on its theoretical foundations. As sources, we have used the educator's texts written in the 1930's and compiled into two volumes of The Collection of Helena Antipoff's writings: Experimental Psychology and Education of Exceptional Students. Helena Antipoff directed the Psychology Laboratory of Belo Horizonte Improvement School, an institution designed for training teachers and technicians in education. Class homogenization was part of the proposed reform from 1927 on. During the implementation of homogeneous classes, between 1930 and 1935, the Russian psychologist criticized the limitations of this isolated action and concluded that homogenization alone would not bring sufficient results to the students' learning and development. Antipoff endeavored to propose programs that could offer the child an education that respected the students' particularities and offered the teachers the required training to carry out the program. One of these programs was the Mental Orthopedics, a technique used by Binet, and to which the educator adapted educational principles and procedures from several authors. In the application of the Mental Orthopedics, Helena Antipoff valued the commitment, the creativity and the involvement the teacher should have before their students when developing activities that stimulated children's interest and, at the same time, developed their mental skills.
KEYWORDS:
Special Education; Cognitive Stimulation; Helena Antipoff