Transfer of Learning - Theories and Implications

Transfer of learning is the goal of all training and learning interventions. We know that the often the learning context is different from the context of real-life application. However, the training objective is not achieved until the learning transfers from one to context to another. So, what is it that makes learning 'stick' and allows learners to use the learning immediately and in the future?

The Theoretical View: Understanding Transfer of Learning
Before I reflect on the strategies that aid transfer of learning, it is important to discuss some theoretical views on learning transfer.


Transfer of learning is the application of skills and knowledge learned in one context being applied in another context (Cormier & Hagman, 1987). The best known and probably the most influential theory to explain transfer of learning is the near-transfer vs. far-transfer approach suggested by Thorndike in the "Theory of Identical Elements.” Simply put, this theory implied that transfer of learning would take place only if two activities contained similar or common elements. Within this theory, near transfer means that skills and knowledge are applied in the same manner each time the knowledge and skills are used. An example would be procedural training, perhaps using a software application to perform routine tasks – creating documents in MS Word. Far transfer means that skills and knowledge are applied in situations that change. An example of this will be perhaps understanding the economic concepts associated with how the stock market functions and then analysing trends and utilizing information to build a strong portfolio.


It is believed that it is easier for instructional designers to design training that leads to near transfer skills versus far transfer skills. This is because near transfer skills are highly procedural and beyond a certain point, almost mechanical. However, the truth is that most learning situations do not render themselves to this procedural/mechanical approach to solving problems. Solving problems usually involves deep thinking and analysis, and therefore involves teaching far transfer skills.


Post this theory; many new theories have been propounded. From the Wikipedia, here is a table, presenting different types of transfer, as adapted from Schunk (2004, p. 220). All these theories distinguish transfer into different types based on two parameters – the similarity and difference between two learning situations and the cognitive process and mental analysis involved in the learning.

The Practical View: Implications for Designing, Developing, and Delivering Training

As instructional designers the implications of understanding how learning transfer happens is critical to the design, development, and delivery of training. But even with so many theories about how transfer takes places, my interest as an L&D professional is more about - what can I do to make this transfer happen – popularly phrased as how do I teach to transfer?
The way I look at it, facilitating transfer of learning starts to happen at the training conceptualization stage and continues much after the training. Here are some of my thoughts on pre-training, during training, and post-training activities that help in learning transfer:

Pre-training:
- Design training with specific objectives around tasks that the learners perform in real-life
- Include relevant case studies and scenarios to help build connections between old and new learning
- Incorporate myths and misconceptions within the training design so that the same can be discussed and clarified during the training process
- Keep it hands-on, as much as possible
- Design performance support tools such as references, checklists, and guidelines that learners can use post training
- Inform learners towards their responsibility related to their own learning and seek commitment

During training:
- Invite experts to speak and discuss about how the learning helped them in real-life
- Seek on-the-job examples from the learners
- Use analogies from your own experience and that of the learners
- Discuss case studies and scenarios asking learners to select an appropriate approach and predict the consequences
- Include opportunities to practice the learning in similar and different situations – use compelling simulations, role-plays etc
- Provide feedback, guidance, and support during the training process
- Allow learners to learn not only from the content but also the environment including their peers
- Include reflection activities that can help learners think and analyze what they have learnt
- Share best practices and tips towards application of training

Post-training:
- Assess learners’ understanding of concepts by allowing them to apply the learning without feedback or guidance
- Ask learners about how and where will they apply the new learning – new situations, new contexts – perhaps drawing out an action plan
- Acquire post-training feedback on the relevance and applicability of training both from learners and line managers
- Ask learners to build a case study around how they applied their learning in new and challenging situations
- Follow-up with learners to identify the challenges in application of training and review the action plans
- Provide coaching and mentoring to help learners overcome the roadblocks in application of learning

Increasingly, transfer of learning is being discussed with a meta-cognitive point of view. So, learning from learning is perhaps more important than learning itself! Sounds strange but what it means is to allow learners to think about learning and therefore construct their own connections between what has been learnt in the past versus what is being learnt in the present. It is about being aware of your learning and taking control of the same. In that sense, when learners manage their own learning and are more self-aware, they increase the accessibility of their learning to be applied in situations that occur in the future and help themselves in transferring their learning! In this context, our role as L&D professionals changes to helping learners learn meta-cognition skills and strategies! Interesting.

The Importance of Reflective Practices

I read somewhere that "Reflection is a key to improvement as an educator." So often, we have read and spoken about experiential learning, learning-by-doing, task-based learning etc. However, what is it that really converts this experience into learning? For the uninitiated, it is Reflection.

Without getting into semantics and/or an instructional definition; simply speaking, reflection is an image - a mirror image - that we can see of ourselves and other things around us. Extending this to learning experiences, reflection is the act of looking into (at) yourself and your learning experiences. So, while we learn by 'doing'. We actually learn more by thinking about what we did, how we did it, what was the experience like, can we do it differently the next time, how will we do it in another situation etc. It is therefore clearly an intense mental exercise. Many instructional models highlight that reflection is an integral component of learning. Kolb in his experiential learning model, shares the importance of reflective observation. I am convinced that reflection is an important and practical aspect of training and education. However, I do believe that as trainers and learners, we don’t spend enough time practicing reflection.

Let’s start with the trainer in us. I often observe that as trainers we do not include structured reflective practices in our training. The reasons could be multiple – we don’t know or understand the importance of reflection, we want to finish the curriculum so more time on action, less time on reflection, we don’t know what are reflection activities, we don’t know the design and implementation decisions – what to reflect on, how much, how to etc. This blog certainly can’t do justice to all the above reasons but the bottom-line is – we don’t create opportunities for our learners to reflect – or atleast not as much as required.

So, what do we need to do?
1) Design reflective exercises and activities at the beginning, middle, and end of training.
2) Relate reflection activities to learning outcomes and contextualize the activities to the learning process.
3) Use appropriate forms of reflection – individual vs. group reflection, discussion vs. paper writing etc.
4) Use appropriate structure for reflection – open-ended vs. guided reflection

Moving into the shoes of a learner, we probably don’t spend enough time reflecting about what we have learnt. Again the reasons for not reflecting could be many - we don’t know or understand the importance of reflection, we have other urgent and important tasks at hand, but more so – the act of reflection seems so natural that we believe it is happening by itself and further, when it is happening by itself, it is happening effectively.

So, what do we need to do?
1) Set aside time for reflection. This is probably the most important thing to do! Until reflection is deliberate and conscious, there can be no learning. Realize that most learning does not occur in a formal setting. Therefore, you are personally responsible for creating reflective activities for your own self in informal learning situations.
2) Observe your individual learning experiences – success and failures - and reflect on what you did in both situations and what could you have done differently. Ask yourself key questions about the learning.
3) Use a variety of tools and methods to think about and evaluate your learning – share, discuss, write in an attempt to improve.
4) Build upon your learning to create new knowledge.

So, I guess, if as learners, we are able to improve our own practice of learning using reflective activities, we will certainly impact those learning from us in a much more positive manner!

What's So About Learning Objectives

I often find myself thinking about learning objectives. Having gone through extensive research, documentation, and training on how to write SMART learning objectives, I am made to believe, they are important. But I am questioning...

How often have you found formal classroom or online training start with a bulletined list of learning objectives? Almost always...right? But does that list really help our learners? Can these words, "In this lesson, you will learn to...” actually motivate anyone? I don't think so. Atleast in my personal learning experiences, it didn't do much to see a page listing all objectives. More often than not, I skipped the page thinking ..."I will get to it when I will get to it.” Besides, with formal learning accounting for only 20-25% of all of my learning, I never start with a statement of learning objectives when I learn something informally, by-the-way. I don’t ever feel the need to see a list!

So why, for our learners, do we continue to begin all learning with a list of learning objectives?

I believe we do it because Benjamin Bloom suggested a taxonomy of learning objectives some 50 years ago that we continue to follow irrespective of all the changes that have occurred to the pedagogical approaches to learning and our learners. We continue to live in the old times where instructional design was more about teaching than learning....where instructional objectives were more for the trainer rather than the trainee.

50 years later, in the world of social learning, Web 2.0 and beyond, learners are demanding customized and personalized learning. The objectives are often only in the minds of the learners - not quite transparent for others to see. So, there is less of structured dissemination and more of informal, unstructured learning-by-doing. Where is the place for SMART learning objectives in all this?

So, if we don’t need a bulletined list of learning objectives, what do we need instead?

WIFIM – What is in it for me?

Instead of listing learning objectives, if we provide a context for our learners and establish the need for the learning intervention, they are more likely to be motivated and be ready for the training. The context has to be real and learners should be able to relate to it. And since all learning is meant to impact performance – directly or indirectly, what's the big deal about sharing learning objectives. I’d rather focus on performance objectives… not the ones listed in a bulletined form but the ones that I help my learner create in her mind based on the WHIFIM that I build at the start of the training. I want to give my learners the freedom to develop their own performance objectives and at the end of the training intervention, assess their own learning.

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A State of Flow

I haven't blogged for a while now. Why? I ask myself. No particular reason other than the fact that I have been actively engaged in an activity that has completely taken over me. I realized that I was in a state of flow - as described by Jeff in his blog.

I learnt that "flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields."
The concept has wide application in all areas of our life including as learning consultants. The way I look at it, I need to ensure that my learners are able to seek active engagement in the learning process and therefore experience this state of flow.

The factors that determine flow as suggested by Csíkszentmihályi include:
1. Clear goals
2. Concentrating and focusing
3. A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness
4. Distorted sense of time
5. Direct and immediate feedback
6. Balance between ability and challenge
7. A sense of personal control
8. Intrinsically rewarding activity
9. Absorption in the activity

With a learning consultant hat on, these seem to be the 'mantra' - the core learning design principles. To allow my learners to experience flow, the learning intervention that I design should include some of these 9 factors. I also feel that these factors already resonate with many learning principles that make their way through concepts like learning-by-doing, action-learning, task-based learning etc.

An interesting application of flow is in the area of group-learning or what Csíkszentmihályi calls as Group Flow. Csíkszentmihályi suggests several ways in which a group could work together so that each individual member could achieve flow. In the context of some of the Web 2.0 methods of learning and increased use of online learning and social learning, these considerations could help learning consultants design effective group learning interventions that allow the entire group to learn together.

To learn more about flow and its value:-
http://www.abdsurvivalguide.com/News/030404.htm
http://www.meaningandhappiness.com/zone-enjoyment-creativity-elements-flow/26/
http://feedblitz.com/r.asp?l=40568457&f=236900&u=11337876

Asking the right questions

A Zen saying goes like this - "Only the crystal-clear question yields a transparent answer".

The importance and value of asking the right question has been established by many. What is a right question one may ask? Well, I believe that the right question has an answer that opens our eyes to better understanding and greater knowledge. A right question is also one that is asked at the right time.

On the subject of asking the right questions, some of the articles/blogs that I have enjoyed reading are:
http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2006/07/better-questions-for-learning.html http://michelemartin.typepad.com/thebambooprojectblog/2009/06/do-you-know-how-to-ask-the-right-questions.html
http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/02/questions-questions-and-more-questions.html
http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/2009/04/teaching-students-to-ask-right.html
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/02/asking-the-right-questions/

Asking the right questions is important towards our learning efforts both personal and professional. But I have a question. Are we giving our learners the opportunity to ask the right questions within the training that we develop for them? Are we allowing the learners to ask questions and then receive information (pull) vs. dump a lot of information and content on them irrespective (push)? How are we ensuring that in our training, learners are asked questions, given an opportunity to reflect and respond to the questions, and then provided feedback/coaching based on the response?

One of the techniques that I have used when creating training is using Socratic Questioning. This technique is difficult to implement, is rigorous, and needs immense thought during the initial analysis and design of the training. But I believe that using such a technique can help me make better training - one that helps learners not only build their questioning skills but also critical thinking skills that are so important for any learning initiative.

Towards Meta-learning

Wikipedia defines meta-learning as '...the process by which learners become aware of and increasingly in control of habits of perception, inquiry, learning, and growth that they have internalized. It is the state of being aware of and taking control of one’s own learning'. In their article in the Chief Learning Officer magazine, Jay Cross and Clark Quinn highlight that 'Chief Learning Officers should take a meta-learning viewpoint to increase an organization's odds of sustainability.'

I guess in simple terms meta-learning is learning about learning. Today, learners need to take increased responsibility for their learning. With social learning and informal learning taking bigger pieces of the learning pie, it is becoming even more critical for learners to know what helps them learn better.

Meta-learning has its application for both individuals and organizations. As individuals, meta-learning helps us become better learners. The more we become aware of our own attitudes, beliefs, and motivation towards learning - the better learners we become. This also means that we take increased responsibility for our own learning and participate in learning as a continuous process.

Within an organization, meta-learning helps create and support an optimal learning environment and promotes a learning culture. With meta-learning, organizations are more focused on learning interventions and encourage learners to develop new skills. Becoming aware about meta-learning also enables individual learners to share their views, insights, and learning with other learners and highlight some of the best practices from their own meta-learning process therefore helping the organization to move towards becoming a 'learning organization'.

As an instructional designer and learning consultant, I feel a need to explore meta-learning at a deeper level to identify techniques that will help my learners learn and create simulating learning environments. I also realize that somewhere, I need to help my learners develop their own learning skills and therefore learn better using the available resources.