Topic 3
Transfer of Learning
❑ The concept transfer of learning
❑ The importance of transfer of learning
❑ Aspects of transfer of learning / Types of transfer
❑ Methods of teaching for transfer
1
The concept transfer of learning
◼ Knowledge that is learned in school is intended to prepare the student
for life outside school.
◼ Content learned in one context can be applied in another context within
the same subject or in another subject. For example, learning English
grammar should help a student write correct English.
◼ knowledge gained in geography can be used to solve a problem in
agriculture.
◼ Transfer of learning refers to the ability to apply knowledge and
skills in new situations/context.
◼ If a learner cannot apply knowledge from situation to situation learning
will have little purpose.
2
The importance of transfer of learning
◼ The importance of the transfer of learning lies in its ability to
apply knowledge and skills from one situation to another,
making it a fundamental aspect of education, personal growth,
and professional success.
◼ It allows individuals to use what they've learned in new, novel
situations, which is crucial for solving problems, adapting to a
changing world, and performing well in future jobs.
◼ Transfer of learning is also important for educators to gauge
the effectiveness of their teaching.
3
Cont.…
◼ Applies knowledge to new situations: Transfer allows
individuals to use previous knowledge to understand and
navigate new and complex situations, rather than having to
learn everything from scratch.
◼ Prepares for future careers: Many future jobs do not exist
yet, so the ability to transfer skills and knowledge is essential
for adapting to a rapidly changing workforce.
◼ Enhances problem-solving and critical thinking: It is a
foundational cognitive process that supports higher-level
thinking, such as reasoning, planning, and decision-making.
4
Cont.….
◼ Makes education more effective: Transfer of learning is the
ultimate goal of teaching; it ensures that students learn skills
that are valuable and applicable beyond the classroom and
can be used in their personal lives and careers.
◼ Connects different subjects: It helps learners see the
connections between different subjects, such as using
mathematical principles to solve physics problems.
◼ Demonstrates the value of training: For organizations, it
allows them to measure the impact and effectiveness of their
training programs by tying learning outcomes directly to
improved job performance and business results. 5
Factors affecting transfer of learning
◼ Similarity between learning situations
◼ The closer the relationship between different learning situations, the
more likely transfer is likely to occur.
◼ Depth of original understanding
◼ Transfer requires a high level of original understanding.
◼ The creation of opportunities for students to practice enhances the
depth of understanding, and increases the likelihood of transfer.
◼ Important concepts should be emphasized to ensure they are well
understood.
◼ Students should also be given a chance to share ideas and identify
relationships in various topics to increase the depth of
understanding 6
Cont.
◼ Quality of learning experiences
◼ The examples used and other content representations
should include all the information that students need to
understand the topic.
◼ Context for learners’ experiences
◼ Learners encode information together with the context in
which the information is presented. If transfer is to occur
effectively, knowledge and skills learnt in one context
should be applied to others.
Cont.….
◼ Variety of learning contexts and experiences
◼ Variety is crucial in transfer of learning.
◼ It is sometimes referred to as multiple knowledge
representation. Topics should be covered in several ways
and from different perspectives.
◼ As learners construct understanding and prepare for
transfer, diverse examples should be used.
◼ Lack of variety may make learners to undergeneralize, and
to form incomplete concepts, and consequently failure to
transfer.
Cont.…
◼ Emphasis on metacognition (awareness and control
of one’s cognitive process)
◼ This entails encouraging students to monitor, reflect upon
and improve their learning strategies and problem-
solving skills.
◼ This increases the likelihood of transfer of understanding.
Theories of Transfer
1. Transfer through identical elements
◼ It proposes that transfer occurs readily when the contents or
techniques in the two tasks are similar.
◼ Thus, transfer of a behavioral pattern to a new situation is
likely to occur whenever the person recognizes the new
situation as similar to other situations for which the behavior
has been appropriate.
2. Transfer of principles
◼ This is whereby there is greater emphasis on cognitive
elements such as understanding and problem- solving.
Cont.…
3.Role of desired principles
◼ Principles derived by the student through the process of
discovery are more readily transferable.
◼ Contextualized information is more meaningful than
information learned is abstract.
◼ Context refers to real world application
Aspects of Transfer
i)Discrimination
◼ Discrimination requires the ability to pick out the difference
with regard to what is applicable in a specific situation and
what is not. It entails the understanding of specific features
and picking them out from the general features.
ii) Generalization
◼ It means understanding the general features, the similarities
or sameness of information or skills. Learners can acquire
generalization in transfer of learning e.g. sometimes the
dislike of one teacher may transfer to another teacher in a
different classroom.
Types of Transfer
1.Positive transfer
◼ It occurs when knowledge acquired in one situation helps the
learner to acquire knowledge, skills or principles in another
situation much faster.
◼ It is enhanced when the initial task is thoroughly learned and
well understood.
◼ In a school setting, learning of principles on one subject assists
learners in acquiring principles in other subjects e.g.
Mathematics Vs Physics, Grammar Vs writing composition,
Biology Vs Agriculture.
◼ This is an indication of positive transfer.
Positive transfer takes place at two
different levels:
i) Lateral transfer
◼ This is whereby knowledge/ content is transferred laterally
or horizontally at the same level in a particular subject or
situation.
◼ E.g. applying a physics concept learned in form one to learn
a maths concept in form one.
ii) Vertical transfer
◼ Knowledge acquired is applied to other learning at a higher
level in the same or another subject.
◼ E.g. a concept learned in form one can be used to learn a
concept in form four.
Cont..
2) Negative transfer
◼ It occurs when content in a subject or two different subjects has a
negative influence on one another.
◼ This occurs when what is learned in one situation hinders or inhibits
what is learned is another situation.
◼ Negative transfer operates the same way as proactive and retroactive
inhibition does
- Proactive interference- old learning interferes with new
- Retroactive- new information/ learning interferes with old
◼ E.g. learning two languages at the same time. A learner experiences
difficulties mastering both due to interference and mix up.
◼ This can slow down or retard learning.
Cont.…
3) Zero transfer
◼ This entails acquiring knowledge, skills or principles that
are not transferable from one situation to another.
◼ This occurs when there is no relationship between one
subject and another. Thus, learning one subject has no
effect on the other either positively or negatively.
◼ E.g. Kiswahili Vs Mathematics. The principles of one may
not help a learner understand the other.
Teaching for transfer
There are several basic ways of teaching for transfer
i) Substantive (specific).
ii) Procedural (general) transfer.
iii) High road transfer.
i) The substantive method
◼ The substantive method refers to specific transfer of rules facts or
skills. It is the direct transfer of knowledge from one situation to
another.
◼ For example, applying rules of punctuation to write a job
application letter or using the knowledge of the alphabet to find a
word n the dictionary.
Cont…
2) The Procedural Method
◼ This method is useful when applying knowledge about
how principles and rules apply across a wide variety of
situations.
◼ It includes the learning of broadly applicable concepts,
principles and procedures.
◼ For example, when pupils learn the meaning of words
such as untie, unfair that is useful to learning that the
prefix un means not or contrary to.
Cont.…
3) High road transfer
◼ This is training learners to consciously apply abstract
knowledge learned in one situation to different situations.
There are two methods of doing this:
i) Forward reaching method
ii) Backward reaching method
i) Forward reaching method
◼ This method is used when a learner intends to use a
principle or strategy in future. He plans transfer in advance.
For example, a surgeon taking theory and practical during
subsequent semesters may do some forward planning.
Cont.…
ii). The backward teaching transfer
◼ This method is used when the learner is faced with a
problem situation that requires some prior knowledge.
◼ The person has to look back on what has been learned in
previous situations to help to solve the new problem.
◼ This method requires the person to search for other
related situations that might provide clues to the solution
of the current problem.
