Transfer of Learning

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The process of learning is more complicated than it appears. The transfer of learning process helps in learning new information that is connected to information you already know. Knowing about this process can help you in your everyday life. If you have knowledge about how you learn, it makes it easier for you to learn in the future.

Transfer of learning has to do with things you already know. For example, we learn how to walk when we’re babies. That information helps us to learn how to run, which helps us learn how to race, and the process goes on and on. Another example is knowing basic customer service skills. Knowing these customer service skills provides us with a base for learning how to interact with a problematic customer. It’s a pyramid of knowledge, and the base of the pyramid usually consists of the most basic knowledge.

There are two different types of transfer related to the learning process. For now, we will talk about near transfer. Near transfer consists mostly of everyday, ritualistic tasks. These tasks are normally carried out without much thought. Near transfer does not require much of a change in the way we think. For example, the difference between learning how to drive a car and learning how to drive a bus. This transfer is easier and “closer” than far transfer.

Far transfer is a more complicated learning process. This process relates to things we have a very base knowledge of, and which we have to learn a great deal about. The average Joe does not know much about flying an airplane, but has a basic understand of gravity. This basic understanding of gravity provides the beginning of a far transfer of learning. Starting with the core knowledge of gravity, the average person can build upon that knowledge until he reaches an understanding of avionics. Far transfer is harder to learn and harder to teach, but is more continuous and is better in the long run.

In conclusion, the transfer of learning is pivotal in any knowledge process. It starts at a base knowledge and expands into something that is either easy or difficult to learn. Both near transfer and far transfer require different instructional techniques. Varying your learning processes helps you to learn more quickly and retain knowledge for a longer period of time. The most common area for transfer of learning to take place is in the classroom, but that is not the only place in which it can occur. The transfer of learning from the classroom to the workplace is what is most commonly used because of the importance of retaining knowledge. What you learn in the classroom does affect your life!

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