Transfer to Learning

EDU 330: Educational Psychology

Daniel Moos

You are also a well decorated army general. It is your goal to capture an evil general in the middle of a small village. You will need the firepower of all your army to capture the general. Many roads lead to the general, but land mines lurk below their surface. Small number of soldiers can travel safely on the roads, but a large force will detonate the mines, killing those traveling on the road. How might you solve this problem so that all of your army can safely get to the middle of the small village to capture the evil general?

Transfer

In addition to a well decorated general, you are a world-famous doctor. One of your patients, Joe, has a malignant tumor on his heart. Joe will die if you do not remove the tumor. Your best option is to use radiation lasers to kill the tumor. You will need to use high-intensity gamma ray lasers to completely remove it. However, this high-intensity laser will also kill the healthy tissue around the heart. At lower intensities, the gamma rays are harmless to healthy tissue, but they will not individually destroy the tumor either. How might you use the gamma rays to destroy the tumor without killing the healthy tissue?

Transfer

Situated Cognition & Education (Anderson et al., 1996)

• Much of what is claimed is not theoretically sound• “Situated learning”: Mismatch between school and real

world situations• Action is grounded in the concrete situation in which it

occurs• Knowledge does not TRANSFER between tasks• Training by abstraction is of little use

• Instruction must be done in complex, social environments

Transfer of Learning The Theory of Identical Elements In 1901, Edward Thorndike and Robert Woodworth argue that transfer depends on the number of identical elements that two tasks share. Their theory of identical elements displaces the traditional doctrine of formal discipline

Types of Transfer Positive Transfer

A situation in which prior learning aids subsequent learning

Negative Transfer A situation in which prior learning interferes with

subsequent learning Example: As quickly as you can find the answer to this

problem: 60 ÷ 0.50 Prior learning: division usually leads to a smaller number

Zero Transfer A situation in which prior learning has no effect on new

learning

Types of Transfer Specific Transfer

Situation in which prior learning aids subsequent learning because of specific similarities between two tasks

General Transfer Situation in which prior learning aids subsequent

learning due to the use of similar cognitive strategies

Initial Task Transfer TaskGroup 1 French SpanishGroup 2 Chinese SpanishGroup 3 Spanish

Possible Outcomes:

1 > 2 = 3 Specific

1 = 2 > 3 General

Types of Transfer Specific Transfer, example

French Spanishun unodeux dostrois tresquatre cuatrocinq cincosix seissept sietehuit ochonuef nuevedix diez

Types of Transfer Near Transfer

Knowledge domains are highly similar, the settings in which the original learning and transfer tasks occur are basically the same, and the elapsed time between the two tasks is relatively short

Far Transfer Knowledge domains and settings are judged to

be dissimilar and the time between the original learning and transfer tasks is relatively long

Applying math skills over the course of a unit to solve “new” problems on the unit test

Applying math skills over the course of a unit years later to determine investment options

Types of Transfer Low-Road Transfer

Situation in which a previously learned skill or idea is almost automatically retrieved from memory and applied to a highly similar current task

High-Road Transfer Situation involving the conscious, controlled,

somewhat effortful formulation of an “abstraction” that allows a connection to be made between two tasks

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How long did it take you to “figure” out college?

Teaching for Low-Roadand High-Road Transfer

Multiple opportunities for varied practices

Solve problems that are similar to those they will eventually have to solve

Teach students how to formulate for a variety of tasks general rules, strategies, or schemes

Teaching for Low-Roadand High-Road Transfer

Provide cues that will allow them to retrieve from memory Learned information that can be used to

make current learning easierBeneficial effects of creating and

using rules and strategies to solve particular kinds of problems