Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Theory and practice of teaching for transfer

  • Research
  • ERIC Annual Review Paper
  • Published:
Educational Technology Research and Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Transfer of teaching is central to education. In this article, the evolution of the sole viable theory of transfer—the theory of common elements—is traced from its mentalistic beginnings, through the behaviorist view of elements as stimuli and responses related by the mechanism of conditioning, to the contemporary view of elements as mental representations, knowledge, and strategies operated on by cognitive mechanisms including automatization, inferential reasoning, and metacognitive monitoring. Second, the cognitive theory of elements and mechanisms is used to answer three educationally crucial questions: (1) How do students select, from all they have learned, particular knowledge and skills for use in new situations? (2) What determines the utility of the knowledge and skills selected? (3) When selected knowledge and skills are not useful, what determines whether and how learners cope? Third, the authors identify what they view as needed refinements in experimental methods of studying transfer, in the theory of common elements, in basic and applied research, and in the uses of technology in education.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, J. A. (1987). Historical review and appraisal of research on the learning, retention, and transfer of human motor skills.Psychological Bulletin, 101, 41–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahlum-Heath, M. E., & DiVesta, F. J. (1986). The effect of conscious controlled verbalization of a cognitive strategy on transfer in problem solving.Memory & Cognition, 14, 281–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. R. (1983).The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. R. (1987). Skill acquisition: Compilation of weak-method problem solutions.Psychological Review, 94, 192–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. R., & Skwarecki, E. (1986). The automated tutoring of introductory computer programming.Communications of the Association of Computing Machinery, 29, 842–949.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ausebel, D. P. (1978). In defense of advance organizers: A reply to critics.Review of Educational Research, 48, 251–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baars, B. J. (1986).The cognitive revolution in psychology. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bassok, M., & Holyoak, K. J. (1989). Interdomain transfer between isomorphic topics in algebra and physics.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 153–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, W. C., & Engelmann, S. (1978).Teaching 3: Evaluation of instruction. Chicago: Science Research Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belmont, J. M. (1966). Long-term memory in mental retardation. In N. R. Ellis (Ed.),International review of research in mental retardation (Vol. 1, pp. 219–255). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belmont, J. M., & Butterfield, E. C. (1969). The relations of short-term memory to development and intelligence. In L. P. Lipsitt & H. Reese (Eds.),Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 29–82). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belmont, J. M., & Butterfield, E. C. (1971). Learning strategies as determinants of memory deficiencies.Cognitive Psychology, 2, 411–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belmont, J. M., & Butterfield, E. C. (1977). The instructional approach to developmental cognitive research. In R. Kail & J. Hagen (Eds.),Perspectives on the development of memory and cognition (pp. 437–481). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bereiter, C. (1981). Development in writing. In C. H. Frederiksen & J. F. Dominic (Eds.),Writing: The nature, development, and teaching of written communication (pp. 73–93). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beyer, B. K. (1985). Critical thinking: What is it?Social Education, 49, 270–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisanz, G. L., Vesonder, G. T., & Voss, J. F. (1978). Knowledge of one's own responding and the relation of such knowledge to learning.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 25, 116–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borkowski, J. G., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (1979). Maintenance and generalization of skills and strategies by the retarded. In N. R. Ellis (Eds.),Handbook of mental deficiency, psychological theory, and research (pp. 569–618). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bracewell, R. (1983). Investigating the control of writing skills. In P. Mosenthal, L. Tamor, & S. A. Walmsley (Eds.),Research on writing: Principles and methods (pp. 177–203). New York: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brainerd, C. J. (1978). The stage question in cognitive-developmental theory.Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1, 173–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bransford, J. D., & Franks, J. J. (1971). The abstraction of linguistic ideas.Cognitive Psychology, 2, 331–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bransford, J. D., & Johnson, M. (1972). Contextual prerequisites for understanding: Some investigations of comprehension and recall.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11, 717–726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bransford, J. D., & Stein, B. S. (1984).The IDEAL problem solver: A guide for improving thinking, learning, and creativity. New York: Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, L. W., & Dansereau, D. F. (1987). Transfer of information: An instructional perspective. In S. M. Cormier & J. D. Hagman (Eds.),Transfer of learning: Contemporary research and applications (pp. 121–151). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. L., & Campione, J. C. (1978). Permissive inferences from the outcome of training studies in cognitive development research.Quarterly Newsletter of the Institute for Comparative Human Development, 2, 46–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. L., & Campione, J. C. (1981). Inducing flexible thinking: A problem of access. In M. Friedman, J. P. Das, & N. O'Connor (Eds.),Intelligence and learning (pp. 515–529). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. L., Kane, M. J., & Echols, C. H. (1986). Young children's mental models determine analogical transfer across problems with a common goal structure.Cognitive Development, 1, 103–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, A. L., & McNeill, D. (1966). The “tip of the tongue” phenomenon.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 5, 325–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. S., & Burton, R. R. (1978). Diagnostic models for procedural bugs in basic mathematical skills.Cognitive Science, 2, 155–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bugelski, B. R. (1942). Interferences with recall of original responses after learning new responses to old stimuli.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 30, 368–379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C. (1986). Intelligent action, learning, and cognitive development might all be explained by the same theory. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.),What is intelligence: Contemporary viewpoints on its nature and definition (pp. 45–50). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C. (1988). On solving the problem of transfer. In M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, & R. N. Sykes (Eds.),Practical aspects of memory (Vol. 2, pp. 377–382). London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C., & Belmont, J. M. (1977). Assessing and improving the executive cognitive functions of mentally retarded people. In I. Bialer & M. Sternlicht (Eds.),Psychology of mental retardation: Issues and approaches (pp. 277–318). New York: Psychological Dimensions.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C., & Ferretti, R. P. (1984). Some extensions of the instructional approach to cognitive development and a sufficient condition for transfer of training. In P. H. Brooks, C. McCauley, & R. Sperber (Eds.),Learning and cognition in the mentally retarded (pp. 311–332). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C., & Ferretti, R. P. (1987). Toward a theoretical integration hypothesis about intellectual differences among children. In J. G. Borkowski & J. D. Day (Eds.),Cognition in special children (pp. 195–233). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C., & Nelson, G. D. (1989). Instruction of knowledge, strategies, and metacognition as ways to promote positive transfer of different types.Cognition and Instruction, under review.

  • Butterfield, E. C., Nelson, T. O., & Peck, G. (1988). Developmental aspects of feeling of knowing.Developmental Psychology, 24, 654–663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C., Nielsen, D., Tangen, K. L., & Richardson, M. B. (1985). Theoretically based psychometric measures of inductive reasoning. In S. Embretson (Ed.),Test design: Contributions from psychology, education, and psychometrics (pp. 77–147). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C., Siladi, D., & Belmont, J. M. (1980). Validating theories of intelligence. In H. Reese & L. P. Lipsitt (Eds.),Advances in child development and child behavior (Vol. 15, pp. 96–162). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, E. C., Wambold, C., & Belmont, J. M. (1973). On the theory and practice of improving short-term memory.American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 77, 654–669.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campione, J. C., Brown, A. L., Ferrara, R. A., Jones, R. S., & Steinberg, E. (1985). Breakdowns in flexible use of information: Intelligence-related differences in transfer following equivalent learning performance.Intelligence, 9, 297–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carbonnell, J. G. (1981).Subjective understanding: Computer models of belief systems. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, J. M., & Mack, R. L. (1985). Metaphor, computing systems, and active learning.International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 22, 39–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver, S. M. (1987). Transfer ofLogo debugging skill: Analysis, instruction, and assessment.CSTG Bulletin, 14, 4–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavanaugh, J. C., & Perlmutter, M. (1982). Metamemory: a critical examination.Child Development, 53, 11–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charness, N., & Campbell, J. I. D. (1988). Acquiring skill at mental calculation in adulthood: A task decomposition.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 117, 115–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, P. W., Holyoak, K. J., Nisbett, R. E., & Oliver, L. M. (1986). Pragmatic versus syntactic approaches to training deductive reasoning.Cognitive Psychology, 18, 293–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chi, M. T. H., Feltovich, P. J., & Glaser, R. (1981). Categorization and representation of physics problems by experts and novices.Cognitive Science, 5, 121–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chi, M. T. H., Glaser, R., & Rees, E. (1982). Expertise in problem solving. In R. S. Sternberg (Ed.),Advances in the psychology of human intelligence (Vol. 1). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clancey, W. J. (1986). FromGuidon toNeomycin andHeracles in twenty short lessons: ONR final report 1979–1985.AI Magazine, 7(3), 40–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, R. E. (1983). Reconsidering research from learning on media.Review of Educational Research, 53, 445–460.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, A. M., & Loftus, E. F. (1975). A spreading activation theory of semantic processing.Psychological Review, 82, 407–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, C. (1974). Context effects in sentence comprehension: A study of the subjective lexicon.Memory & Cognition, 2, 130–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, R. (1962). An association between memory errors and errors due to acoustic masking of speech.Nature, 193, 1314–1315.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, R. (1963). Acoustic confusions and memory span for words.Nature, 197, 1029–1030.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, R. (1964). Acoustic confusions in immediate memory.British Journal of Psychology, 55, 75–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, G., & Sweller, J. (1987). Effects of schema acquisition and rule automation on mathematical problem-solving transfer.Journal of Educational Psychology, 79, 347–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cormier, S. M. (1987). The structural processes underlying transfer of training. In S. M. Cormier & J. D. Hagman (Eds.),Transfer of learning: Contemporary research and applications (pp. 152–182). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cormier, S. M., & Hagman, J. D. (1987).Transfer of learning: Contemporary research and applications. San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crisafi, M. A. & Brown, A. L. (1986). Analogical transfer in very young children: Combining two separately learned solutions to reach a goal.Child Development, 57, 953–968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, J. D., & Hall, L. K. (1988). Intelligence-related differences in learning and transfer and enhancement of transfer among mentally retarded persons.American Journal on Mental Retardation, 93, 125–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • diSessa, A. A. (1988). Knowledge in pieces. In G. Forman & P. Pufall (Eds.),Constructivism in the computer age. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiVesta, F. J., & Peverly, S. T. (1984). The effects of encoding variability, processing activity, and rule-examples sequence on the transfer of conceptual rules.Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 108–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebbinghaus, H. E. (1964).Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Dover. (Original work published 1885; translated by H. A. Ruger & C. E. Bussenius, 1913)

    Google Scholar 

  • Egan, D. E., & Greeno, J. G. (1974). Theory of rule induction: Knowledge acquired in concept learning, serial pattern learning, and problem solving. In L. W. Gregg (Ed.),Knowledge and cognition (pp. 65–79). New York: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Egeth, H. (1977). Attention and preattention. In G. H. Bower (Ed.),The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 11). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elio, R., & Anderson, J. R. (1984). The effects of information order and learning mode on schema abstraction.Memory & Cognition, 12, 20–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, H. C. (1965).The transfer of learning. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Embretson, S. (1987). Toward development of a psychometric approach. In C. S. Lidz (Ed.),Dynamic assessment: An interactional approach to evaluating learning potential (pp. 141–170). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Embretson, S. (1988). Diagnostic testing by measuring learning processes: Psychometric considerations for dynamic testing. In N. Fredericksen, A. Lesgold, R. Glaser, & M. Shafto (Eds.),Diagnostic monitoring of skill and knowledge acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engelmann, S., & Carnine, D. (1982).Theory of instruction: Principles and applications. New York: Irvington Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (1980). Verbal reports as data.Psychological Review, 87, 215–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, T. G. (1968). A program for the solution of geometric-analogy intelligence test questions. In M. Minsky (Ed.),Semantic information processing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrara, R. A., Brown, A. L., & Campione, J. C. (1986). Children's learning and transfer of inductive reasoning rules: Studies of proximal development.Child Development, 57, 1087–1099.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferretti, R. P., Butterfield, E. C., Cahn, A., & Kerkman, D. (1985). The classification of children's knowledge: Development on the balance scale and inclined-plane problems.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 39, 131–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feuerstein, R. (1980).Instrumental Enrichment: An intervention program for cognitive modifiability. Baltimore, MD: University Park Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fisk, A. D., & Schneider, W. (1983). Category and word search: Generalizing search principles to complex processing.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 9, 177–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flavell, J. H. (1970). Developmental studies of mediated memory. In H. Reese & L. Lipsitt (Eds.),Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 5). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry.American Psychologist, 34, 906–911.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flavell, J. H. (1985).Cognitive development (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gagné, E. D. (1985).The cognitive psychology of school learning. Boston: Little, Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gagné, R. M. (1977).The conditions of learning (3rd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, H. (1985).The mind's new science: A history of the cognitive revolution. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gelman, R., & Gallistel, C. R. (1978).The child's understanding of number. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentner, D. (1988a). Metaphor as structure mapping: The relational shift.Child Development, 59, 47–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentner, D. (1988b). Evidence for relational selectivity in the interpretation of analogy and metaphor. In G. H. Bower (Ed.),The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 22, pp. 307–358). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentner, D. (in press). The mechanisms of analogical learning. In S. Vosniadou & A. Ortony (Eds.),Similarity and analogical reasoning. New York: Cambridge University Press.

  • Gentner, D., & Toupin, C. (1986). Systematicity and surface similarity in the development of analogy.Cognitive Science, 10, 277–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gersten, R. M., & Maggs, A. (1982). Teaching the general case to moderately retarded children: An analysis of a five year project.Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 2, 329–343.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghatala, E. S., Levin, J. R., Pressley, M., & Goodwin, D. (1986). A componential analysis of the effects of derived and supplied strategy-utility information on children's strategy selections.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 41, 76–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gick, M. L., & Holyoak, K. J. (1980). Analogical problem solving.Cognitive Psychology, 12, 306–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gick, M. L., & Holyoak, K. J. (1983). Schema induction and analogical transfer.Cognitive Psychology, 15, 1–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gick, M. L., & Holyoak, K. J. (1987). The cognitive basis of knowledge transfer. In S. M. Cormier & J. D. Hagman (Eds.),Transfer of learning: Contemporary research and applications (pp. 9–47). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, S. R., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1987). Information processing and educational microcomputer technology: Where do we go from here?Journal of Learning Disabilities, 20, 144–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, S. R., Pellegrino, J. W., & Mertz, D. L. (1988). Extended practice of basic addition facts: Strategy changes in learning-disabled students.Cognition & Instruction, 5, 223–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, I. P. (1982). The genetic graph: A representation for the evolution of procedural knowledge. In D. Sleeman & J. S. Brown (Eds.),Intelligent tutoring systems (pp. 52–77). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gow, L. (1986). Enhancing far generalization in strategy use. In J. Berg (Ed.),Perspectives and progress in mental retardation. London: Methuen, pp. 345–352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gow, L., Ward, J., & Balla, J. (1985). The use of verbal self-instruction training (VSIT) to enhance learning in the mentally retarded: A study of techniques for improving acquisition, maintenance and generalization outcomes.Educational Psychology, 5, 115–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, W. D., & Orasanu, J. M. (1987). Transfer of cognitive skills. In S. M. Cormier & J. D. Hagman (Eds.),Transfer of learning: Contemporary research and applications (pp. 183–217). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruneberg, M. M., & Sykes, R. N. (1978). Knowledge and retention: The feeling of knowing and reminiscence. In M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, & R. N. Sykes (Eds.),Practical aspects of memory (Vol. 1, pp. 189–196). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haring, T. G. (1985). Teaching between-class generalization of toy play behavior to handicapped children.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18, 127–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hebb, D. O. (1949).The organization of behavior. New York: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegarty, M., Just, M. A., & Morrison, I. R. (1988). Mental models of mechanical systems: Individual differences in qualitative and quantitative reasoning.Cognitive Psychology, 20, 196–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hintzman, D. L. (1986). “Schema abstraction” in a multiple-trace memory model.Psychological Review, 93, 411–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffding, H. (1892).Outlines of psychology (M. E. Lowndes, Trans.). London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holyoak, K. J. (1985). The pragmatics of analogical transfer. In G. H. Bower (Ed.),The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 19, pp. 59–87). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holyoak, K. J., & Koh, K. (1987). Surface and structural similarity in analogical transfer.Memory & Cognition, 15, 332–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holzman, T. G., Glaser, R., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1976). Process training derived from a computer simulation theory.Memory & Cognition, 4, 349–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horner, R. H., Sprague, J., & Wilcox, B. (1982). General case programming for community activities. In B. Wilcox and G. T. Bellamy (Eds.),Design of high school programs for severely handicapped students. Baltimore: P. H. Brookes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hovland, C. I. (1937). The generalization of conditioned responses: I. The sensory generalization of conditioned responses with varying frequencies of tone.Journal of Genetic Psychology, 17, 125–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, E. (1974). Quote the raven? Nevermore! In L. W. Gregg (Ed.),Knowledge and cognition (pp. 129–157). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, E., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1985). Using interactive computing to expand intelligence testing: A critique and prospectus.Intelligence, 9, 207–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Indurkhya, B. (1987). Approximate semantic transference: A computational theory of metaphors and analogies.Cognitive Science, 11, 445–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1958).The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, P. I., & Vandeventer, M. (1971). The learning and transfer of double-classification skills: A replication and extension.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 12, 240–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, W. L., & Soloway, E. M. (1984). Intention-based diagnosis of programming errors.Proceedings of the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Austin, TX (pp. 162–168).

  • Kahneman, D. (1973).Attention and effort. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamouri, A. L., Kamouri, J., & Smith, K. H. (1986). Training by exploration: Facilitating the transfer of procedural knowledge through analogical reasoning.International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 24, 171–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaye, D. B., Post, T. A., Hall, V. C., & Dineen, J. T. (1986). Emergence of information-retrieval strategies in numerical cognition: A developmental study.Cognition and Instruction, 3, 129–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keil, F. C., & Batterman, N. (1984). A characteristic-to-defining shift in the development of word meaning.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23, 221–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kieras, D. E., & Bovair, S. (1986). The acquisition of procedures from text: A production-system analysis of transfer of training.Journal of Memory and Language, 25, 507–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klahr, D., & Carver, S. M. (1988). Cognitive objectives in aLogo debugging curriculum: Instruction, learning, and transfer.Cognitive Psychology, 20, 362–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koriat, A., Lichtenstein, S., & Fischhoff, B. (1980). Reasons for confidence.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 6, 107–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotovsky, K., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Empirical tests of a theory of human acquisition of concepts for sequential patterns.Cognitive Psychology, 4, 399–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krantz, D. H., Luce, R. D., Suppes, P., & Tversky, A. (1971).Foundations of measurement (Vol. 1). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krinsky, R., & Nelson, T. O. (1985). The feeling of knowing for different types of retrieval failure.Acta Psychologica, 58, 141–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lachman, R., Lachman, J. L., & Butterfield, E. C. (1979).Cognitive psychology and information processing: An introduction. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langley, P. (1985). Learning to search: From weak methods to domain-specific heuristics.Cognitive Science, 9, 217–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larkin, J., McDermott, J., Simon, D., & Simon, H. A. (1980). Expert and novice performance in solving physics problems.Science, 208, 1335–1342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larkin, J., Reif, F., Carbonnell, J., & Gugliotta, A. (1988). FERMI: A flexible expert reasoner with multi-domain inferencing.Cognitive Science, 12, 101–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, C. O., Dansereau, D. F., O'Donnell, A. M., Hythecker, V. I., Lambiotte, J. G., & Rocklin, T. R. (1985). Effects of metacognitive and elaborative activity on cooperative learning and transfer.Contemporary Educational Psychology, 10, 342–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lebowitz, M. (1986). Integrated learning: Controlling explanation.Cognitive Science, 10, 219–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehrer, R. (1986). Logo as a strategy for developing thinking?Educational Psychologist, 2, 121–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehrer, R., & deBernard, A. (1987). Language of learning and language of computing: The perceptual-language model.Joural of Educational Psychology, 79, 41–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehrer, R., Guckenberg, T., & Lee, O. (1988). Comparative study of the cognitive consequences of inquiry-based Logo instruction.Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 543–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehrer, R., Harckham, L. D., Archer, P., & Pruzek, R. M. (1986). Microcomputer-based instruction in special education.Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2, 337–355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, M. W., & Anderson, J. R. (1985). Discrimination of operator schemata in problem solving: Learning from examples.Cognitive Psychology, 17, 26–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lichtenstein, S., Fischhoff, B., & Phillips, L. D. (1982). Calibration of probabilities: The state of the art to 1980. In D. Kahneman, P. Slovic, & A. Tversky (Eds.),Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases (pp. 306–334). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockhart, R. S., Lamon, M., & Gick, M. L. (1988). Conceptual transfer in simple insight problems.Memory & Cognition, 16, 36–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luchins, A. S. (1942). Mechanization in problem solving.Psychological Monographs, 54 (no. 248).

  • Matz, M. (1982). Towards a process model for high school algebra errors. In D. Sleeman & J. S. Brown (Eds.),Intelligent tutoring systems (pp. 25–50). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (1979). Twenty years of research on advance organizers: Assimilation theory is still the best predictor of results.Instructional Science, 8, 133–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (1980). Elaboration techniques that increase the meaningfulness of technical text: An experimental test of the learning strategy hypothesis.Journal of Educational Psychology, 72, 770–784.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., & Fay, A. L. (1987). A chain of cognitive changes with learning to program in Logo.Journal of Educational Psychology, 79, 269–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCutchen, D., & Perfetti, C. A. (1982). Coherence and connectedness in the development of discourse production.Text, 2, 113–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDaniel, M. A., & Kearney, E. M. (1984). Optimal learning strategies and their spontaneous use: The importance of task-appropriate processing.Memory & Cognition, 12, 361–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDaniel, M. A., & Pressley, M. (1987).Imagery and related mnemonic processes: Theories, individual differences, and applications. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDermott, L. C., Rosenquist, M. L., & van Zee, E. H. (1987). Student difficulties in connecting graphs and physics: Examples from kinematics.American Journal of Physics, 55, 503–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGeoch, J. A. (1942).The psychology of human learning. New York: Longmans, Green.

    Google Scholar 

  • Medin, D. L., Wattenmaker, W. D., & Michalski, R. S. (1987). Constraints and preferences in inductive reasoning: An experimental study of human and machine performance.Cognitive Science, 11, 299–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metcalfe, J. (1986). Premonitions of insight predict impending error.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 12, 623–634.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, D. E., & Schvaneveldt, R. W. (1976). Meaning, memory structure and mental processes.Science, 192, 27–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, C. D., Bransford, J. D., & Franks, J. J. (1977). Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 16, 519–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naglieri, J. A., & Das, J. P. (1988). Planning-Arousal-Simultaneous-Successive (PASS): A model for assessment.Journal of School Psychology, 26, 35–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neely, J. H. (1977). Semantic priming and retrieval from lexical memory: Roles of inhibitionless spreading activation and limited-capacity attention.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 106, 226–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, T. O. (1985). Ebbinghaus's contribution to the measurement of retention: Savings during relearning.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 11, 472–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, T. O., & Narens, L. (in press).A theoretical framework for self-directed memory. University of Washington. Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Nesher, P., Greeno, J. G., & Riley, M. S. (1982). The development of semantic categories for addition and subtraction.Educational Studies in Mathematics, 13, 373–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newell, A., & Rosenbloom, P. S. (1981). Mechanisms of skill acquisition and the law of practice. In J. R. Anderson (Ed.),Cognitive skills and their acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell, A., & Simon, H. A. (1972).Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novick (1988). Analogical transfer, problem similarity, and expertise.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 14, 510–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O'Shea, T., & Sleeman, D. H. (1973). A design for an adaptive self-improving teaching system. In J. Rose (Ed.),Advances in cybernetics. London: Gordon and Beach.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborn, A. F. (1963).Applied imagination (3rd ed.). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, C. E. (1949). The similarity paradox in human learning: A resolution.Psychological Review, 56, 132–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palinscar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities.Cognition and Instruction, 1, 117–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papert, S. (1980).Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paris, S. G., Cross, D. R., & Lipson, M. Y. (1984). Informed strategies for learning: A program to improve children's reading awareness and comprehension.Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 1239–1252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, W. C. (in press). Achieving thinking and discussion making objectives in social studies. In J. P. Shaver, (Ed.),Handbook of research on social studies, teaching, and learning. New York: Macmillan.

  • Paul, R. W. (1987). Dialogical thinking: Critical thought essential to the acquisition of rational knowledge and passions. In J. B. Baron & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.),Teaching thinking skills: Theory and practice (pp. 127–148). New York: W. H. Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, D. N., & Salomon, G. (1989). Are cognitive skills context-bound?Educational Researcher, 18, 16–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phye, G. D. (1986). Practice and skilled classroom performance. In G. D. Phye & T. Andre (Eds.),Cognitive classroom learning: Understanding, thinking, and problem solving (pp. 141–168). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pressley, M., Levin, J. R., & Ghatala, E. (1984). Memory strategy monitoring in adults and children.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23, 270–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pressley, M., Snyder, B. L., & Cariglia-Bull, T. (1987). How can good strategy use be taught to children? Evaluation of six alternative approaches. In S. M. Cormier & J. D. Hagman (Eds.),Transfer of learning: Contemporary research and applications (pp. 81–120). San Diego: Academie Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. D., & Bruce, D. (1982). Longitudinal tracking of difficult memory retrievals.Cognitive Psychology, 19, 90–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reder, L. M. (1987). Strategy selection in question answering.Cognitive Psychology, 19, 90–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reder, L. M. (1988). Strategic control of retrieval strategies. In G. H. Bower (Ed.),The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 22, pp. 227–259). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, S. K., Ernst, G. W., & Banerji, R. (1974). The role of analogy in transfer between similar problem states.Cognitive Psychology, 6, 436–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivers, R. H., & Vockell, E. (1987). Computer simulations to stimulate scientific problem solving.Jornal of Research in Science Teaching, 24, 403–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, E. S. (1927). The “similarity” factor in retroaction.American Journal of Psychology, 39, 297–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, B. H. (1987). This is like that: The use of earlier problems and the separation of similarity effects.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 13, 629–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, E. B., Ledger, G. W., & Weed, K. A. (1987). Acquisition and transfer of an integrative imagery strategy by young children.Child Development, 58, 443–452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scandura, J. M., & Scandura, A. B. (1987). The intelligent Rule Tutor: A structural approach to intelligent tutoring—Phase II.Journal of Structural Learning, 9, 195–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scandura, J. M., Stone, D. C., & Scandura, A. B. (1986). An intelligent RuleTutor CBI system for diagnostic testing and instruction.Journal of Structural Learning, 9, 15–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1986). Written composition. In M. Wittrock (Ed.),Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed.). London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schank, R. C., & Abelson, R. P. (1977).Scripts, plans, goals, and understanding. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, K., Murray, T., Clement, J., & Brown, D. (1987). Overcoming misconceptions with a computer-based tutor. In J. Novak (Ed.),Proceedings of the Second International Misconceptions and Educational Strategies in Science and Mathematics III. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seamon, J. G., & Virostek, S. (1978). Memory performance and subject-defined depth of processing.Memory & Cognition, 6, 283–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shafer, D. (1988). Ask the experts.MacUser, 4(12), 135–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shepard, R. N. (1974). Representation of structure in similarity data: Problems and prospects.Psychometrika, 39, 373–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiffrin, R. M., & Schneider, W. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory.Psychological Review, 84, 127–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegler, R. S. (1976). Three aspects of cognitive development.Cognitive Psychology, 8, 481–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegler, R. S. (1981). Developmental sequences within and between concepts.Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 46 (2, Serial No. 189).

  • Siegler, R. S. (1984). Mechanisms of cognitive growth: Variation and selection. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.),Mechanisms of cognitive development. New York: W. H. Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegler, R. S. (1987). The perils of averaging data over strategies: An example from children's addition.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 116, 250–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegler, R. S., & Shrager, J. (1984). A model of strategy choice. In C. Sophian (Ed.),Origins of cognitive skills (pp. 229–294). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A., & Kotovsky, K. (1963). Human acquisition of concepts for sequential patterns.Psychological Review, 70, 534–546.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. A., & Lea, G. (1974). Problem solving and rule induction: A unified view. In L. W. Gregg (Ed.),Knowledge and cognition (pp. 105–127). New York: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singley, M. K., & Anderson, J. R. (1985). The transfer of text-editing skill.International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 22, 403–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sleeman, D. H. (1984). A user-modelling front-end subsystem.International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 23, 71–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. B. (1983). Development of classification: The use of similarity and dimensional relations.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 36, 150–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. B. (1989). A model of perceptual classification in children and adults.Psychological Review, 96, 125–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. B., & Kemler, D. G. (1978). Levels of experiences dimensionality in children and adults.Cognitive Psychology, 10, 502–532.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soloway, E. (1986). Learning to program = learning to construct mechanisms and explanations.Communications of the Association of Computing Machinery, 29, 850–858.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spohrer, J. C., & Soloway, E. (1986). Novice mistakes: Are the folk wisdoms correct?Communications of the Association of Computing Machinery, 29, 624–632.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J. (1985).Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence. New York: Cambridge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J. (1986).Intelligence applied: Understanding and increasing your intellectual skills. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J., & Gardner, M. K. (1983). Unities in inductive reasoning.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 112, 80–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stokes, T. F., & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization.Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10, 349–367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swing, S. R., Stoiber, K. C., & Peterson, P. L. (1988). Thinking skills versus learning time: Effects of alternative classroom-based interventions on students' mathematics problem solving.Cognition & Instruction, 5, 123–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tennyson, R. D. (1987). MAIS: An educational alternative to ICAI.Educational Technology, 27 (5), 22–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorndike, E. L., & Woodworth, R. S. (1901a). The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficiency of other functions. (I).Psychological Review, 8, 247–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorndike, E. L., & Woodworth, R. S. (1901b). The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficiency of other functions. (II. The estimation of magnitudes).Psychological Review, 8, 384–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorndike, E. L., & Woodworth, R. S. (1901c). The influence of improvement in one mental function upon the efficiency of other functions. (III. Functions involving attention, observation and discrimination).Psychological Review, 8, 553–564.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torgerson, W. S. (1965). Multidimensional scaling of similarity.Psychometrika, 30, 379–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tversky, A. (1977). Features of similarity.Psychological Review, 84, 327–352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood, B. J. (1945). The effect of successive interpolations on retroactive and proactive inhibition.Psychological Monographs,59, No. 273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Underwood, G. (1968).Strategies of information processing. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • VanLehn, K., & Brown, J. S. (1980). Planning nets: A representation for formalizing analogies and semantic models of procedural skills. In Snow, R., Frederico, P., and Montague, W. (Eds.),Aptitude, learning, and instruction: Cognitive process analyses. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Voss, J. F. (1978). Cognition and instruction: Toward a cognitive theory of learning. In A. M. Lesgold, J. W. Pellegrino, S. D. Fokkema, & R. Glaser (Eds.),Cognitive psychology and instruction (pp. 13–26). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978).Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Sonberman, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1935).

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, R. E. (1972). Stimulus encoding and memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 94, 90–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E. (1987).Artificial intelligence and tutoring systems: Computational and cognitive approaches to the communication of knowledge. Los Altos, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wickens, C. D. (1984).Engineering psychology and human performance. Columbia, OH: Charles E. Merrill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkening, F., & Anderson, N. H. (1982). Comparison of the two rule-assessment methodologies for studying cognitive development and knowledge structure.Psychological Bulletin, 92, 215–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. S. (1972). Computer program organization induced from problem examples. In H. A. Simon & L. Siklossy (Eds.),Representation and meaning: Experiments with information processing systems. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M. D., & Hollan, J. D. (1981). The process of retrieval from very long-term memory.Cognitive Science, 5, 87–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woolf, B. P., & McDonald, D. D. (1983). Human-computer discourse in the design of a Pascal tutor.CHI 83: Human factors in computer systems. New York: Association for Computing Machinery.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wylie, H. H. (1919). An experimental study of transfer of response in the white rat.Behavioral Monographs,3, No. 16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zechmeister, E. B., & Shaughnessy, J. H. (1980). When you know that you know and when you think that you know but you don't.Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 15, 41–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, X., & Simon, H. A. (1987). Learning mathematics from examples and by doing.Cognition and Instruction, 4, 137–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. the University of Washington, Seattle

    Earl C. Butterfield & Gregory D. Nelson

Authors
  1. Earl C. Butterfield
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gregory D. Nelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

This is the invited ERIC Annual Review Paper, supported by the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) Clearinghouse on Information Resources, Syracuse University.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Butterfield, E.C., Nelson, G.D. Theory and practice of teaching for transfer. ETR&D 37, 5–38 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02299054

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02299054

Keywords

Search

Navigation