Reflections (Transfer of Learning)

Transfer of learning refers to the application of skills, knowledge or attitude that was learned in one
situation and applied in another situation. The concept of transfer of learning is within the applied
instructional arena of education. Transfer of learning is divided into two categories that is near
transfer and far transfer. Near transfer refers to the transfer of knowledge between similar contexts.
For instance, students who learnt the skills of writing references will apply it in every assignment
that they were being assigned. Far transfer refers to the transfer of knowledge at different contexts.
For instance, students will use the knowledge that they had learnt in Mathematics to determine the
price of a discounted item.

Positive transfer, negative transfer and neutral transfer are the types of transfer of learning. Positive
transfer occurs when learning in one context improves performance in other context. For instance,
the skills and knowledge learnt in Economics had helped students in determining their profit rates
during a business. Negative transfer occurs when learning in one context has a negative impact on
performance in other context. For instance, students who learned if the subject is singular, they will
put a ‘s’. However, if they did not learn the exception properly, they will put ‘s’ in I and You which do
not require ‘s’. Neutral transfer occurs when prior learning does not bring benefits or harm to new
learning. For instance, learning Geography has no relation to Chemistry.

There are a few theories that is related to transfer of learning. One of the theory is Theory of
Identical Elements by Thorndike. According to him, transfer of learning occurs when there is
similarity and identical elements. For instance, students who learn cooking skills in school will cook
at home. Apart from that, theory of generalizations by Charles H. Judd means that the experiences in
one context is applicable in other situations. For instance, the skills of skating are applicable to ice
hockey. The theory of configuration occurs when the skills learned in one situation can be shifted
directly to another situation. For instance, learning to drive a car helps a person to drive a truck.

As an educator, I had learnt to apply the knowledge of transfer or learning to my students. Doing
projects and research is one of the best way for students to apply transfer of learning. This is
because they need to analyse the situation and explain it using the knowledge that they had learnt in
classroom. Apart from that, leading students with critical group discussion will also help them in
transfer of learning. For instance, if they are studying about Environment, that teacher can relate to
the current situation and questioned the students about the causes and effects of the toxic pollution
in Pasir Gudang.

Reflections (Transfer of Learning)

Transfer of learning is about applying the knowledge learnt to a a new context whether it is near or
far transfer. Near transfer occurs when students apply skills learnt in one field to another similar
situation whereas far transfer occurs when knowledge is applied to a completely different context.
Positive transfer, negative transfer (habit interference) and neutral transfer are the 3 main types of
transfer of learning. Positive transfer happened when learning in one context improve performance
of the other context. Negative transfer on the other hand occurs when the process of solving an
earlier problem makes later problems harder to solve. This is interrelated to interference theory
where both old and new memories can impact how well we are able to recall existing knowledge.
Speaking mother tongue, for example, can affect the way we learn English as second language
subsequently. Zero or neutral transfer occurs when prior learning has no influence on new learning,
in this case knowledge are transferred independently.
Furthermore, there are 3 theories developed to explain the concept of transfer learning which are
the theory of identical elements by Edward Thorndike, theory of generalizations by Charles H. Judd
and theory of configuration by Gestalt. The efficiency of transferring knowledge depends on the
correct transfer of learning principles that put into practice. Teachers should have conscious
awareness in creating a stress-free learning environment in order to encourage students to see new
things from a wider perspective. It is important to always relate our learning by taking examples
from real life to avoid rote learning that can hinder the ability of students to retrieve knowledge.