Editing Learning (section)

== Transfer ==
[[Transfer of learning]] is the application of skill, knowledge or understanding to resolve a novel problem or situation that happens when certain conditions are fulfilled. Research indicates that learning transfer is infrequent; most common when "... cued, primed, and guided..."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Perkins|first=D.N.|author2=Salomon, G. |title=Are Cognitive Skills Context-Bound?|journal=Educational Researcher|date=Jan–Feb 1989|volume=18|issue=1|pages=16–25 [19]|doi=10.3102/0013189x018001016|s2cid=15890041}}</ref> and has sought to clarify what it is, and how it might be promoted through instruction.

Over the history of its discourse, various hypotheses and definitions have been advanced. First, it is speculated that different types of transfer exist, including: near transfer, the application of skill to solve a novel problem in a similar context; and far transfer, the application of skill to solve a novel problem presented in a different context.<ref>{{cite book|last=Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning with additional material from the Committee on Learning Research|title=Chapter 3. Learning and Transfer. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition|year=2000|publisher=The National Academies Press|doi=10.17226/9853 |isbn=978-0-309-07036-2 |url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9853|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426234827/http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9853|archive-date=2013-04-26}}</ref> Furthermore, Perkins and Salomon (1992) suggest that positive transfer in cases when learning supports novel problem solving, and negative transfer occurs when prior learning inhibits performance on highly correlated tasks, such as second or third-language learning.<ref name="Perkins">{{cite journal|last=Perkins|first=D.N.|author2=Salomon, G. |title=Transfer of Learning|journal=International Encyclopedia of Education|year=1992|volume=2}}</ref> Concepts of positive and negative transfer have a long history; researchers in the early 20th century described the possibility that "...habits or mental acts developed by a particular kind of training may inhibit rather than facilitate other mental activities".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rogers|first=Agnes L.|title=The Bearing of the New Psychology upon the Teaching of Mathematics|journal=Teacher's College Record|year=1916|volume=17|issue=4 |pages=344–352|doi=10.1177/016146811601700413 |s2cid=251487440 }}</ref> Finally, Schwarz, Bransford and Sears (2005) have proposed that transferring knowledge into a situation may differ from transferring knowledge out to a situation as a means to reconcile findings that transfer may both be frequent and challenging to promote.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schwartz |first1=Daniel L. |first2=John D. |last2=Bransford |first3=David |last3=Sears |title=Efficiency and innovation in transfer |journal=Transfer of Learning from a Modern Multidisciplinary Perspective |year=2005|pages=1–15}}</ref>

A significant and long research history has also attempted to explicate the conditions under which transfer of learning might occur. Early research by Ruger, for example, found that the "level of attention", "attitudes", "method of attack" (or method for tackling a problem), a "search for new points of view", a "careful testing of hypothesis" and "generalization" were all valuable approaches for promoting transfer.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ruger|first=Henry Alfred|title=The psychology of efficiency: an experimental study of the processes involved in the solution of mechanical puzzles and in the acquisition of skill in their manipulation|journal=Science Press|year=1910|volume=19|issue=2}}</ref> To encourage transfer through teaching, Perkins and Salomon recommend aligning ("hugging") instruction with practice and assessment, and "bridging", or encouraging learners to reflect on past experiences or make connections between prior knowledge and current content.<ref name="Perkins" />