Introduction

Students go to school for learning purpose. Transferring knowledge is successful when the

environment and the conditions in which it is integrated, is organized effectively.

How people learn depends on their learning environment which can be l e a r n e r c e n t e r e d ,

knowledge centered or assessment centered learning environment.

Designing effective learning environment is a daunting task that requires the

teachers to think about what they teach, how they teach, and how they assess it. The

focus in this study is to discuss about the point at which each of the three learning

environments intersects after the examination of the Figure6.1 Perspectives on

Learning Environments (p. 134) of the Bransford text which i l l u s t r a t e s t h e

intersection of learner-centered, knowledge-centered, and assessment-

centered learning environments embedded within a community setting.

A best case scenario in which each of the learning environments is aligned as

depicted in Fig 6.1 is first a classroom in which teachers value students ‘thoughts and

make their thinking visible so that they can us e it as an opportunity to

understand the student’s misconceptions and correct them. “If teaching is

conceived as constructing a bridge between the subject matter and the

student, learner-centered t e a c h e r s k e e p a c o n s t a n t e y e o n b o t h e n d s o f t h e

bridge. The teachers’ attempt to get a sense of what each student knows, cares about,

is able to do, and wants to do can serve as a foundation on which to build bridges to new

understandings. (“Learner-Centered Learning Environments”). This means that there

is a real contact and interaction. Riel, M.M., and J.A. Levin (1990)
A major goal of schooling is to prepare students for flexible adaptation to new

problems and settings. The ability of students to transfer provides an important

index of learning that can help teachers evaluate and improve their instruction.

Many approaches to instruction look equivalent when the only measure of

learning is memory for information that was specifically presented.

Instructional differences become more apparent when evaluated from the

perspective of how well the learning transfers to new problems and settings.

Several critical features of learning affect people’s abilities to transfer what

they have learned. The amount and kind of initial learning is a key determinant

of the development of expertise and the ability to transfer knowledge. Students

are motivated to spend the time needed to learn complex subjects and to solve

problems that they find interesting. Opportunities to use knowledge to create

products and benefits for others are particularly motivating for students.

While time on task is necessary for learning, it is not sufficient for effective

learning. Time spent learning for understanding has different consequences for

transfer than time spent simply memorizing facts or procedures from textbooks

or lectures. In order for learners to gain insight into their learning and their

understanding, frequent feedback is critical: students need to monitor their

learning and actively evaluate their strategies and their current levels of

understanding.
The context in which one learns is also important for promoting transfer.

Knowledge that is taught in only a single context is less likely to support

flexible transfer than knowledge that is taught in multiple contexts. With

multiple contexts, students are more likely to abstract the relevant features of

concepts and develop a more flexible representation of knowledge. The use of

well-chosen contrasting cases can help students learn the conditions under

which new knowledge is applicable. Abstract representations of problems can

also facilitate transfer. Transfer between tasks is related to the degree to which

they share common elements, although the concept of elements must be

defined cognitively. In assessing learning, the key is increased speed of

learning the concepts underlying the new material, rather than early

performance attempts in a new subject domain.

All new learning involves transfer. Previous knowledge can help or hinder the

understanding of new information. For example, knowledge of everyday

counting-based arithmetic can make it difficult to deal with rational numbers;

assumptions based on everyday physical experiences (e.g., walking upright on

a seemingly flat earth) can make it difficult for learners to understand concepts

in astronomy and physics and so forth. Teachers can help students change their

original conceptions by helping students make their thinking visible so that

misconceptions can be corrected and so that students can be encouraged to

think beyond the specific problem or to think about variations on the problem.

One aspect of previous knowledge that is extremely important for

understanding learning is cultural practices that support learners’ prior

knowledge. Effective teaching supports positive transfer by actively

identifying the relevant knowledge and strengths that students bring to a

learning situation and building on them.

Transfer from school to everyday environments is the ultimate purpose of

school-based learning. An analysis of everyday environments provides

opportunities to rethink school practices in order to bring them into alignment

with the requirements of everyday environments. But it is important to avoid

instruction that is overly dependent on context. Helping learners choose, adapt,

and invent tools for solving problems is one way to facilitate transfer while

also encouraging flexibility. Pea, R.D., and D.M. Kurland (1987).

Conclusion

Finally, a metacognative approach to teaching can increase transfer by helping

students learn about themselves as learners in the context of acquiring content

knowledge. One characteristic of experts is an ability to monitor and regulate

their own understanding in ways that allows them to keep learning adaptive

expertise: this is an important model for students to emulate.

The principles of learning and their implications for designing learning environments apply

equally to child and adult learning. They provide a lens through which current practice can be

viewed with respect to K-12 teaching and with respect to preparation of teachers in the

research and development agenda. The principles are relevant as well when we consider other

groups, such as policy makers and the public, whose learning is also required for educational

practice to change.
References

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain,

mind, experience, and school.  National Academy

Press.  https://www.nap.edu/download/9853

Resnick, L.B. (1987) Education and Learning to Think. Committee on Mathematics, Science,

and Technology Education, Commission on Behavioural and Social Sciences and

Education, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Available: http://www.nap.edu.

Pea, R.D., and D.M. Kurland (1987) Cognitive technologies for writing development. Pp. 71-

120 in Review of Research in Education, Vol. 14. Washington, DC: AERA Press.

Riel, M.M., and J.A. Levin (1990) Building global communities: Success and failure in

computer networking. Instructional Science 19:145-169.