Transfer of learning

Draft

Definition

Transfer of knowledge or transfer or transfer of learning in education refers to learning in one context and applying it to another. The issue of transfer of learning is a central issue in both educationa and learning psychology.

Transfer of knowledge is very much related to the problem of knowledge application and knowledge use in "the real world". As such it usually is a component of general instructional design models, e.g. Merrill's first principles of instruction.

Alternative definitions not discussed here: Knowledge transfer or transfer can have many other meanings: It can be synonym for teaching (in particula direct instruction). It can refer to development problems of the third world, etc.

Pedagogic strategies that may help transfer

• Part/whole instructional models such as [[4C/ID]
• Cognitive flexibility hypertext
• All sorts of project-oriented teaching

Links

• Education at bat: Seven principles for educators. (HGSE Professor David Perkins, 2008).

Bibliography

This short bibliography is neither representative nor complete !

• Greeno, J. G., Moore, J. L. et Smith, D. R. (1993). Transfer of situated learning. In D. K. Detterman et R. J. Sternberg (dir.), Transfer on trial: Intelligence, cognition, and instruction (p. 99-167). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

• Gentner, D., Loewenstein, J., & Thompson, L. (2003). Learning

and transfer: A general role for analogical encoding. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(2), 393-405.

• Gick, M. L., & Holyoak, K. J. (1983). Schema induction and

analogical transfer. Cognitive Psychology, 15, 1-38.

• Simons, D. and Keil, F.C. (1995). An abstract to concrete shift

in the development of biological thought: the insides story. Cognition, 56, 129-163

• Rittle-Johnson, B. & Star, J. (2007). Compared to what? How different types of comparison facilitate transfer in mathematics. In D. S. McNamara & G. Trafton (Eds.), Proceedings of the 29th Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. (pp. 21-22). Austin, TX: Cognitive Science Society. [1]

• Star, J.R., & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2007, April). Does comparison support transfer of knowledge? Investigating student learning of algebra . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL. [PPT slides

• Uttal, David et al. (2007). Fostering Transfer of Knowledge in Education Settings. Proceedings of the 29th Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. PDF

• Mendoza, R. A. and Ellis, H. J. 2003. Knowledge transfer in is education: a project-based pedagogical approach to bridging the applicability gap. J. Comput. Small Coll. 18, 3 (Feb. 2003), 87-99.

Abstract/PDF (Access restricted)

• Perkins David N. (2008), Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education,San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

• Strebelle A., Depover Ch. et Noël B. (2002). Favoriser l'acquisition et le transfert de compétences à l'école. Actes de la 6e biennale de l'éducation et de la formation, Paris.

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