problem 5 - transfer Flashcards
what is transfer?
occurs when smth u learn in 1 situation affects how u learn or perform in another situation
school learning seems to yield inert knowledge that students never use outside the classroom
can involve declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, or an interplay between the 2
positive vs negative transfer
pos = learning in 1 situation facilitates learning or perf in another
- e.g. learning math in high school —> helps with stats
neg = learning in one situation hinders learning or perf in second situation
- e.g. learned to drive on the right hand, traveling to UK & having to drive on the left
vertical vs lateral transfer
vertical = topics build on 1 another, learner must master 1 topic before moving to the next
- e.g., addition before multiplication
lateral = 1 topic affects learning of the other even though it is not a prerequisite of the other – helps but is not essential
- e.g., learning english and spanish
specific vs general transfer
specific = og learning task & transfer task overlap in some way
– e.g., a student learning english learns german more easily than Japanese
- near or far
general = original task & transfer task are diff in both content & structure
- e.g., habits learned in learning latin facilitate learning of sociology
specific is more common than general + argued whether general even occurs
near vs far transfer
near = similar in both superficial characteristics & underlying relationships
- e.g. 2 similar math equations - both require multiplication
far = 2 situations that are similar in 1 or more underlying relationships but different in their surface features
- e.g. chess & strategical skills
low road vs high road transfer
low = automatic - a skill you have practiced is automatically transferred
- usually occurs when the target & og activities share a countless number of features
- e.g. knowing how to drive a car then driving a truck
high = more conscious - applying prev knowledge to a new situation
- e.g. a computer programmer assigned to develop a game
- time for exploration, discovery, flexible adaptation of skills & asking questions
historical perspective of transfer (formal discipline)
you exercise your mind to learn more quickly and deal with new situations more effectively
- learning in one situation improves learning and perf in another situation regardless of how different they might be
criticism: doesn’t actually occur
early behaviorist theory of transfer: Thorndike’s identical elements
Transfer occurs only to the extent that the og & transfer tasks have identical elements – the 2 tasks involve some of the same specific stimulus-response associations
Criticism: factors other than similarity can also influence transfer
late behaviorist theory of transfer: similarity of stimuli & responses
3 central principles:
- When stimuli & responses are similar in the 2 situations = maximal pos transfer will occur
- When stimuli are diff and responses are similar = some pos transfer will occur
- When stimuli are similar and responses are diff = neg transfer will occur
Likelihood of transfer increases when similarities exists between things already learned and demands of new situations
criticism: a bit vague & too simplistic
information processing perspective of transfer: importance of retrieval
Transfer occurs only when learners retrieve things they have previously learned at a time when those things might be useful
A new event is more likely to call to mind previously learned info when the aspects of the event & the needed info are closely associated in LTM
To make a connection between their current situation & relevant prior knowledge, they must have the two things in WM simultaneously
contextual perspective of transfer: situated learning
What we learn is context specific – associated w the env, experiences & interactions (circumstances)
Situated learning is unlikely to result in transfer to very diff contexts
contemporary view of general transfer: learning how to learn
General transfer isn’t as common as specific transfer, but learning occurring at 1 time can facilitate learning at another time if, in the process, the individual learns how to learn
Learning rigorous & demanding subject matter facilitates virtually all future tasks bcuz it ‘disciplines’ thus strengthens the mind
Transfer of emotions, motives & attitudes
All views on transfer have 1 thing in common: as long as 2 tasks have at least some overlap in the info or skill required, the possibility of transfer exists
-Emotional transfer: fear of rats —> fear of other furry white things
- Motivational transfer: study goals are similar from class to class of an individual
Hugging & bridging as instructional strategies in fostering transfer
hugging = directly guides & engages the learner in the desired target perf
- e.g. doing mock interviews rather than just explaining what to go in a good interview
- low road transfer
bridging = encourages intentional abstraction of the general rules by searching for possible connections among various experiences or examples & applying them to unknown cases
- high road transfer
7 factors that affect transfer
- Meaningful learning promotes better transfer
- More thoroughly smth is learned = more likely to be transferred
- More similar two situations are = more likely that something learned in 1 will be applied to the other
- Principles more easily transferred than discrete facts
- Examples + opportunities for practice increase extent to which info & skills will be applied to new situations
- Prob of transfer decreases as time between og & transfer task increases
- Transfer increases when the cultural environment encourages and expects transfer
