Transfer Sousa Chapter 4 Leah Muccio

What is transfer? “…the ability to learn in one situation and then use that learning…in other situations.” Sousa p. 135 “…the ability to learn in one situation and then use that learning…in other situations.” Sousa p. 135 “Transfer is a child’s ability to use knowledge gained in one context or domain and apply it to other or novel contexts and domains.” Serpell et al., p. 423 “Transfer is a child’s ability to use knowledge gained in one context or domain and apply it to other or novel contexts and domains.” Serpell et al., p. 423 “…important for learning because it can optimize the acquisition of knowledge and skills.” Brand, Reimer, & Opwis, p 1 “…important for learning because it can optimize the acquisition of knowledge and skills.” Brand, Reimer, & Opwis, p 1

What is transfer?  The Hokey Pokey of teaching: That’s what it’s all about!!! That’s what it’s all about!!!

Cooperative Learning Task  Create your own written definition of transfer Transfer is… Transfer is… Focus on the critical attributes Focus on the critical attributes  Create a metaphor, simile, or analogy to explain transfer Act it out Act it out Explain in a visual form by drawing Explain in a visual form by drawing

Two parts to the process  Transfer during learning The effect of past learning has on new learning The effect of past learning has on new learning  Transfer of learning How new learning is applied in future situations

Transfer During Learning New learning working memory Store by similarity At the same time…. long term memory Retrieve by difference

Types of Transfer  Positive Transfer Past learning is helpful to the learner Past learning is helpful to the learner Can lead to greater achievement Can lead to greater achievement Personal example Personal example Hailing a cabHailing a cab  Negative Transfer Past learning interferes with new learning Affective aspects can be very influential Personal example Child afraid of the vacuum cleaner

Transfer of Learning  Ultimate goal of education To prepare children for the world To prepare children for the world Key to higher mental processes Key to higher mental processes  Has been illusive for teachers Students rarely transfer skills from one discipline to another Students rarely transfer skills from one discipline to another Students also have challenges applying knowledge to new situations Students also have challenges applying knowledge to new situations

Factors Affecting Transfer and how Teachers Can Address Them  Context and Degree of Original Learning Teach fewer concepts in greater depth to create meaning Teach fewer concepts in greater depth to create meaning  Similarity Balance need for similarity to help students remember and need for difference to help students to recall Balance need for similarity to help students remember and need for difference to help students to recall  Critical Attributes Identify in curriculum and highlight for students Identify in curriculum and highlight for students  Association Feature links to previous learning and provide positive emotional associations Feature links to previous learning and provide positive emotional associations

Current Research Brand, S., Reimer, T., and Opwis, K. (2007). How do we learn in a negative mood? Effects of negative mood on transfer and learning. Learning and Instruction, 17,  Study focused on the role of mood on performance of a transfer task for adult students.  Negative mood shown to reduce transfer effects in both experiments.  Findings seem to contract previous research that negative mood could lead to more analytical problem solving approaches.

Current research Gromko, J.E. (2005). The effect of music Gromko, J.E. (2005). The effect of music instruction on phonemic awareness in beginning readers. Journal of Music Education, 53,  Study tested near-transfer theory that music instruction would lead to Kindergarten children’s increased skill with phonemic awareness.  Children did show greater gains in development of phoneme segmentation.  Music intervention effective due to the fact that both are aural skills.

Current Research Serpell, Z.N, Boykin, A.W., Madhere, S., and Nasim, A. (2006). The significance of contextual factors in African American students’ transfer of learning. Journal of Black Psychology, 32,  Focused on how communal learning contexts and the influence of using physical materials versus computer simulations would influence the performance of African American students on a transfer task.  African American children working together scored better on the transfer task than White children.  Students using the physical apparatus performed better on the transfer task.

Other Resources  Seminal Works Thorndike, E.L. (1903). Educational Thorndike, E.L. (1903). Educational psychology. New York: Lemcke & Buechner. The granddaddy of transfer theoryThe granddaddy of transfer theory Hunter, M. (2004). Mastery teaching. Hunter, M. (2004). Mastery teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Thorough discussion of ways to promote transferThorough discussion of ways to promote transfer  Brain Connection A teacher friendly website about how the brain works and people learnA teacher friendly website about how the brain works and people learn

Questions and Reflection  Any questions?  Take a moment to reflect… What’s an example where you’ve fostered transfer of learning in your classroom? What’s an example where you’ve fostered transfer of learning in your classroom? What techniques can you use in the classroom to further foster both transfer in learning and transfer of learning? What techniques can you use in the classroom to further foster both transfer in learning and transfer of learning? What are the most salient points about transfer you’d like to remember? What are the most salient points about transfer you’d like to remember?