Problem 5 - Transfer Of Knowledge Flashcards
Transfer
- something learned in one situation, affects how a person performs in another
- 2 processes: learning something + the later use/application of what has been learned.
- it takes places across different dimensions
- difficult to define, situated learning partly true
Positive transfer
Learning in one situation makes it easier to learn/perform in another
- reading widely helps with comprehension.
Negative transfer
Learning in one situation hinders a person’s ability to learn/perform in another
- shift vs automatic cars
Vertical transfer
Acquiring new knowledge/skills by building on basic information/procedures
- learning additions before multiplications
Lateral transfer
Knowledge on one subject helps but is not essential for learning another.
- knowing Spanish and learning Italian
Near transfer
- Two situations that are similar in both their superficial characteristics and underlying relationships
- mock exam: a question, actual exam: same question
Far transfer
- Two situations that are similar in their underlying relationships but different in their superficial features.
- Math exercise involving calculating speed, but one with train and one with animals.
Specific transfer
- Learning task and transfer task overlap in some way
- speaking dutch and german
General transfer
- Learning task and transfer task are different in both content and structure
- knowledge about latin and physics
Low road transfer
Automatic transfer of practiced skills
High-road transfer (forward/backward reaching)
Conscious application of abstract knowledge in a new situation. You look at similarities and connections between two situations.
1. Forward reaching: one learns something and applies it at a later time.
2. Backward reaching: the material is used to look back at a previous situation in order to understand the new situation.
Abstraction mechanism
- builds on thorndike
- Transfer would occur when there are identical elements within different contexts.
Affordance mechanism
Transfer depends on action schemes that result from action possibilities of a situation
Environment helps transfer
Historical perspective of transfer
- mind is a muscle that needs to be strengthen
- general transfer
Early behaviorist perspective (Thorndike’s)
- 2 situations need identical elements.
- rejects general transfer + formal discipline
Late behaviorist perspective
- builds on thorndike
- equality of stimuli + responses
- similar responses to same stimulus = positive transfer
- different responses to same stimulus = negative transfer
- same responses + different stimulus = some positive transfer
Information processing perspective
- need to retrieve something learned in a useful time.
- current situation + stored knowledge need to be in the WM at the same time.
- Presence/absence of retrieval cues influences what information is retrieved in the WM.
Contextual perspective
- Assumes situated learning
- What is learned is situation specific
- transfer is unlikely to occur in different situations
- rejects general transfer
Current perspective
- lies between the two extremes
- general transfer is less common than specific
- you have to learn to learn
Factors facilitating transfer: meaningful learning
Connecting new + old information
Factors facilitating transfer: careful learning
Better understanding
Factors facilitating transfer: similarities
Similarities
Factors facilitating transfer: principles
General rules/principles vs specific/discrete facts
Factors facilitating transfer: examples
Examples + practice
Factors facilitating transfer: time
Less time the better
Factors facilitating transfer: cultural environment
Encouragement from cultural environment
Factors facilitating transfer: Practice
Practice
Strategies for positive transfer
- Hugging > desired results = low-road
- Bridging > close attnetion to characteristics/connections/mind-fullness = high-road
- Abstraction > differences
Article: situated learning and education
Influence of situated learning in education
Situated learning
- whats learned is specific to the situation its learned it.
- mis-match between school and real-world = no transfer. Emphasis on relationship between whats needed and whats learned.
1st claim
= Action is linked to the concrete situation = rejected
- the context-dependency effect: remember more in the situation u learned it in. (Depends on explanations - examples help)
2nd claim
= No transfer of knowledge between two things = rejected
- There can be high, medium, low, negative transfer depending on the situation + reliability of experience.
- Amount of transfer depends on degree of practice + representation of tasks.
- Amount of transfer also depends on where the attention is drawn to.
3rd claim
= training through abstraction would be of little use = rejected.
- can be effective and lead to more transfer
- later situations would have to be specific
- combination works best + problems should be authentic
4th claim
= instructions must take place in complex, social environments = rejected
- exercise in a complex setting can increase motivation, but it should not be the only form of exercise.
- negative consequences of social learning (in groups) have also been discovered = sucker effect.
Conditions for transfer
- thorough + varied practice
- explicit abstraction
- active self-monitoring
- arousing mindfullness = self-monitoring + explicit abstraction
- metaphors/analogies
Instructional practices
- PBL
- CoP: communities of practice (similar interest = form group where leadership is important)
- CA: cognitive apprenticeship (expert models + explanations = students participate)
- GBL: game based learning + simulations (increase understanding of the world.
