1.8C Problem 6
Transfer
Transfer- when something you learn in one situ affects how you
learn or perform, in another situ
o Regular part of everyday life
o Includes generalisation (little albert experiment)
o Essential component of human functioning
Without, would spend all time in trial-and-error learning
o Should be top priority in instructional settings
ability to transfer info learned in school to out-of-school lives
School learning often yields inert knowledge-
knowledge that students never use outside classroom
Types of transfer
o Declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, interplay between the
two
Can go in either direction: declarative -> procedural; procedural -
> declarative
o Positive VS Negative Transfer
Positive transfer- when learning in one situation facilitates learning
or performance in another situation
Eg. reading practice helps spelling
Includes meaningful learning and elaboration- they inc previous
info to understand new material
More common than negative
Negative transfer- when something learned in one situation hinders
a person’s ability to learn or perform in a second situation
Eg. learn a second language, apply characteristics of mother tongue
Common in decimal questions with maths, applying rules for
whole numbers to decimals
Typically, only problematic in early stages of learning new
domain
o Vertical VS Lateral Transfer
Vertical transfer- learner acquires new knowledge or skills by
building on more basic info and procedures
Eg. learn how to write a sentence, to then learn how to write a
paragraph
Lateral transfer- when knowledge of first topic is helpful, but not
essential to learning the second topic
Eg. learn Latin, then Spanish, some of the words are similar
o Near VS Far Transfer
Near transfer- situations or problems that are similar in superficial
characteristics and underlying relationships
Similar surface characteristics and similar underlying structures
More common than far
Better prospects than far transfer
Strong local knowledge= little far transfer
, Far transfer- two situations similar in one or more underlying
relationships but different in their surface features
Appear different but have similar underlying concepts
o Specific VS General Transfer
Specific transfer- original learning task and transfer task overlap in
some way
Eg. if learn German, know more English words as overlap, than if
learnt Chinese
Includes near and far transfer
If you learn something in one specific context, doesn’t
necessarily transfer to another one
More common than general
General transfer- original task and transfer task are different in
content and structure
Eg. physics equations helps learn Latin
Mechanism of Transfer
Abstraction
o Trying to find possible underlying connections
Transfer of affordances
o Learners acquire action schema responsive to affordances
(action opportunities) of the learning situation
o If transfer situ presents similar affordances and they’re
recognised, person may apply same or similar schema
High road and load road transfer
o Low road transfer- triggering of well-practiced routines by
stimulus conditions similar to those in learning context
o High road transfer- deliberate effortful abstraction and a
search for connections
Depends on mindful abstraction from context of learning
or application
Theories of Transfer
o Formal discipline (Historical perspective)
Learn and study difficult topics, memorising things to
improve general learning capabilities
Formal discipline- exercise your mind to learn more
quickly and deal with new situations more effectively
Emphasis on importance and likelihood of general transfer
Mind-is-like muscle
General mental exercise might have long-ranging transfer
effects: Nun-study showed that nuns practicing repeated
similar puzzles had axons and dendrites typical of people
much younger than them
o Adults, daily based practice with computer-based
memory enhances memory in other, dissimilar situations
Extreme general transfer probably doesn’t occur
o Thorndike’s Identical Elements (Early Behaviourist Theory)
Thorndike- transfer occurs only to extent that original and
transfer tasks have identical elements- two tasks
Transfer
Transfer- when something you learn in one situ affects how you
learn or perform, in another situ
o Regular part of everyday life
o Includes generalisation (little albert experiment)
o Essential component of human functioning
Without, would spend all time in trial-and-error learning
o Should be top priority in instructional settings
ability to transfer info learned in school to out-of-school lives
School learning often yields inert knowledge-
knowledge that students never use outside classroom
Types of transfer
o Declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, interplay between the
two
Can go in either direction: declarative -> procedural; procedural -
> declarative
o Positive VS Negative Transfer
Positive transfer- when learning in one situation facilitates learning
or performance in another situation
Eg. reading practice helps spelling
Includes meaningful learning and elaboration- they inc previous
info to understand new material
More common than negative
Negative transfer- when something learned in one situation hinders
a person’s ability to learn or perform in a second situation
Eg. learn a second language, apply characteristics of mother tongue
Common in decimal questions with maths, applying rules for
whole numbers to decimals
Typically, only problematic in early stages of learning new
domain
o Vertical VS Lateral Transfer
Vertical transfer- learner acquires new knowledge or skills by
building on more basic info and procedures
Eg. learn how to write a sentence, to then learn how to write a
paragraph
Lateral transfer- when knowledge of first topic is helpful, but not
essential to learning the second topic
Eg. learn Latin, then Spanish, some of the words are similar
o Near VS Far Transfer
Near transfer- situations or problems that are similar in superficial
characteristics and underlying relationships
Similar surface characteristics and similar underlying structures
More common than far
Better prospects than far transfer
Strong local knowledge= little far transfer
, Far transfer- two situations similar in one or more underlying
relationships but different in their surface features
Appear different but have similar underlying concepts
o Specific VS General Transfer
Specific transfer- original learning task and transfer task overlap in
some way
Eg. if learn German, know more English words as overlap, than if
learnt Chinese
Includes near and far transfer
If you learn something in one specific context, doesn’t
necessarily transfer to another one
More common than general
General transfer- original task and transfer task are different in
content and structure
Eg. physics equations helps learn Latin
Mechanism of Transfer
Abstraction
o Trying to find possible underlying connections
Transfer of affordances
o Learners acquire action schema responsive to affordances
(action opportunities) of the learning situation
o If transfer situ presents similar affordances and they’re
recognised, person may apply same or similar schema
High road and load road transfer
o Low road transfer- triggering of well-practiced routines by
stimulus conditions similar to those in learning context
o High road transfer- deliberate effortful abstraction and a
search for connections
Depends on mindful abstraction from context of learning
or application
Theories of Transfer
o Formal discipline (Historical perspective)
Learn and study difficult topics, memorising things to
improve general learning capabilities
Formal discipline- exercise your mind to learn more
quickly and deal with new situations more effectively
Emphasis on importance and likelihood of general transfer
Mind-is-like muscle
General mental exercise might have long-ranging transfer
effects: Nun-study showed that nuns practicing repeated
similar puzzles had axons and dendrites typical of people
much younger than them
o Adults, daily based practice with computer-based
memory enhances memory in other, dissimilar situations
Extreme general transfer probably doesn’t occur
o Thorndike’s Identical Elements (Early Behaviourist Theory)
Thorndike- transfer occurs only to extent that original and
transfer tasks have identical elements- two tasks
