April 16th, 2020 Trying to do 20 minutes, arrived at Chapter 5, p xxi
Introduction
Transfer is a term that describes a situation where information learned at one point in time influences performance on information encountered at a later point in time.
Harald Høffding (1892)
learning event A
stored internal representation when learned a
internal representation of response to learned event b
observable response B
chain A-a-b-B
event A triggers a leads to B
what if you encounter A'? Will it still trigger a? How likely?
​Isn’t it also about how b can be applied in a different way to a slightly different problem? You wouldn’t want an identical response? #q
Ideal
one learned event facilitates further learning
extend the range of events to which learned material can be applied
Types of transfer
Specific transfer, Near transfer and Literal Transfer are similar
application of an intact bit of knowledge to a new learning event
example: calculating the area of a rectangle can be applied to determining size of a rug for a room
Figural Transfer
involving application of a segment of world knowledge as a tool for thinking about or learning about a new problem
Metaphors like "Encyclopaedias are gold mines"
definition by example, and not very clear
Actor-oriented transfer
First chapter by Daniel Schwartz, John Bransford and David Sears
classic views of transfer measures transfer in ways that make people look dumb
measure what is "transferred out" (whether people directly apply what they learned in one context to another), and not what is "transferred in"
follow "sequestered problem-solving" paradigm, participants tested isolated from "contaminating" influences of information (colleagues, text, electronic resources)
propose expanded definition of transfer: preparation for future learning (things you learnt help you learn new things more effectively) ​pro-pedeutic?
transfer is not as rare as previously assumed
two-dimensional space of innovation and efficiency
Second chapter by Christopher Wolfe, Valerie Reyna, Charles Brainerd
explain surprising findings about relation between memory and cognitive processes
two independent memory systems
formed in parallel, but encoded and stored separately
gist
used to reason and problem solve
nebulous patterns
underlying meanings and patterns
more important for transfer
verbatim
used to answer questions about literal representations of knowledgesur
face details
Third chapter by David Hammer, Andrew Elby, Rachel Scherr and Edward Redish
transfer as a concept is not useful.
traditionally describes knowledge as unitary entity - learn in one context and apply in another
propose a manifold ontology
fine-grained resources that may or may not be activated by an individual in response to a context
learning is a cognitive state in which several resources in the student’s memory are activated and applied to deal with context under consideration
not as acquisition or formation of a cognitive object
Fourth chapter by Andrea diSessa and Joseph Wagner
view of knowledge as a complex system containing many kinds of elements and structures
perspective of coordination classes
a model of concepts as complex systems, and the principal function of the concept/system is to allow people read specific kinds of information out of situations in the world
possessing a scientific concept and applying it flexibly means
ability to coordinate large numbers of knowledge elements in various ways that accommodate wide range of contexts over which concept is applicable
measure of transfer
ability to apply knowledge flexibly across varying contexts
Types of transfer
Expert-like transfer
ability to compile appropriate knowledge reliably for application in specific contexts (concept projections)
Novices concept projections are extremely sensitive to context, and often result in unsuccessful performance.
Necessary research
Investigations that assess not just performance, but type of knowledge used by novices in early work in domain they are learning.