Near and Far Transfer- Designing Your Lessons for Conceptual Understanding (Part 4)

 

Strategy 4 : Near and Far Transfer

Before we move on to the next strategy on designing concept-based lessons, please find links to the previous blog posts in case you want to read more about other strategies.

Part 1: Classification

Part 2: Representation

Part 3: Generalization

How is 'transfer' defined? 

When learning in one context enhances a related performance in another context. (Perkins and Salomon, 1992)

The ability to extend what has been learned in one context to new contexts (Brandsford, Brown, Cocking, 1999)

 The process of using knowledge or skills acquired in one context in a new or varied context. (Alexander and Murphy, 1992) 

Now let us break it down to -

Near Transfer - transfer between very similar but not identical contexts.

Far Transfer -transfer between contexts that, on appearance, seem remote and alien to one another. Applying learning to situations that are quite dissimilar to the original learning.

The strategy of near transfers may be fairly common in classrooms and occur more frequently. For instance:

1. We teach students fractions and then ask them to use their knowledge of  fractions to double or triple the amount used in a recipe.
2. As we learn about our role in the classroom or at home. we transfer the idea to communities and people's roles in it (firefighters, architects, teachers, doctors).
3. Skill based transfer - Learning presentation skills in the classroom  and reading out loud a poem and then moving onto presenting in an assembly or in front of an unfamiliar crowd.

Regarding Far Transfer, here is what I came across in an article by the University of California Press.

"According to the common elements theory (Thorndike & Woodworth, 1901), the likelihood of transfer to take place is directly related to the degree to which the source domain and the target domain share common features. That means that while near transfer is predicted to occur often, far transfer is supposed to be rare." University of California Press

I will defer to experts such as Julie Stern who is a strong advocate for this strategy. Check out her curation of storyboards here where there are many rich examples that look like this:

Far transfer examples from movies based on real-life experiences.

Here is a clip where Captain Sully applies what he has learnt during flight simulations and applies it to a real-life situation:

Here is another example of Far Transfer: from Apollo 13

In yet another example, watch Bear Grylls transfer his learning of the concept of 'shelter' 

Now that we know what transfer is and what it looks like, how do we enable it to happen? How do I prepare my lessons?

Transfer happens when students understand a concept. In order for them to understand a concept, the teacher has to curate a series of rich  and relevant resources that address the concept. The teacher becomes a concept hunter, a scavenger, on the lookout for resources that will enrich the students' experience of this concept. Keeping the avocado model in mind, teacher gather facts that are (1) worth knowing and (2) important to know and start looking for resources (rich case studies) apart from what is present in text books (use them as reference), ensuring that their students know what is going on in their local and global environment. 

After exposure to these resources, the students will begin to see similarities (and differences) and patterns begin to emerge. These patterns are the concepts you are aiming to teach. If anyone tells you that the PYP  program is not a knowledge-rich curriculum, they are sorely mistaken! 

 

 Julie Stern talking about transfer in the classroom.

-Naini Singh

Sources:

Sala, G., Aksayli, N. D., Tatlidil, K. S., Tatsumi, T., Gondo, Y., & Gobet, F. (2019). Near and far transfer in cognitive training: A second-order meta-analysis. Collabra: Psychology, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.203

Stern, J. (2021). Learning that Transfers. https://learningthattransfers.com/about/