What is Transfer of Learning?

This image from an educational blogger, Kerri Flinchbaugh, captures what researchers have termed transfer of learning: Integration, transformation/repurposing, generalization, remix (Nowacek, 2011; Wardle, 2013; Lobato, 2012; Yancey et al, 2014)

In the Second Edition of the International Encyclopedia of Education, Perkins and Salomon introduce transfer of learning as follows:

Transfer of learning occurs when learning in one context or with one set of materials impacts on performance in another context or with other related materials... Transfer is a key concept in education and learning theory because most formal education aspires to transfer. Usually the context of learning (classrooms, exercise books, tests, simple streamlined tasks) differs markedly from the ultimate contexts of application (in the home, on the job, within complex tasks). Consequently, the ends of education are not achieved unless transfer occurs. Transfer is all the more important in that it cannot be taken for granted.

Reading and writing in the course Communication Across the Disciplines 101 at California State University, Monterey Bay, we have transferred our learning in many instances. One example is when we firstly analyzed the audience and purpose for an undergraduate student, Luna Mercenit, in a research essay from the journal of undergraduate student writing at California State University, Monterey Bay, Writing Waves:

"The takeaway is to let the readers understand the issues the track athletes have to deal with when not having a track anymore. The stress this issue can put on a track athlete, and the daily issues they have to deal with, while trying to juggle everything at once is too much".

While decided that Mercenit was trying reach a particular set of audiences and purposes, we applied this same thinking to our work on the research proposal that we wrote as an informal activity in the individual inquiry project. We were prompted with a set of questions:

• Explain why this is an issue for you and the members of your group. 
• Explain the particular focus you intend to pursue and why you will take that focus.
• Describe how your focus fits with the other focuses that group members are addressing.
• You will also discuss how you will address your specific audience of non-community members.

This graphic created by Elon University depicts the intellectual work required for making connections between different learning experiences and the effects on expertise for transfer of learning.  

In our work on the individual inquiry project, we decided on our own audiences and purposes for writing a research. Nevertheless, the thinking that we put into these assignments were very closely related. Transfer of learning is a useful educational theory for not only teachers but also students to have in mind for their work.