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Understanding Transfer in Learning

Near transfer refers to applying skills in contexts very similar to how they were taught, while far transfer involves adapting skills to new contexts that are quite different from instruction. For example, a customer service training that teaches a three-step process for handling angry customers through repeated practice examples would require near transfer if used exactly as taught on the job, but far transfer if the process needed to be adapted to situations where the exact sequence did not apply.

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Ronald Guevarra
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42 views1 page

Understanding Transfer in Learning

Near transfer refers to applying skills in contexts very similar to how they were taught, while far transfer involves adapting skills to new contexts that are quite different from instruction. For example, a customer service training that teaches a three-step process for handling angry customers through repeated practice examples would require near transfer if used exactly as taught on the job, but far transfer if the process needed to be adapted to situations where the exact sequence did not apply.

Uploaded by

Ronald Guevarra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Near(er) vs.

far(ther) transfer
You may have noticed that I have referred a few times to the degree of transfer needed.
Degree of transfer refers to whether application in the real world is a lot like the
instructional context or quite different from it. For example, Mary takes a class on how to
handle an angry customer. She learns a three-step process in the course that includes
very careful listening, repeating back to the customer what she has heard, and then
suggesting solutions. In the course, learners practice this process over and over in a
variety of cases in order to get practice with the wide range of situations where this may
be useful. If she goes back to the job and is able to use the process exactly as she was
taught, the degree of transfer isn’t terribly far. Being able to adapt this process when the
exact sequence doesn’t make sense means the degree of transfer is far(ther), because
she is using the skill in a new context.

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