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Ways of Teaching Thinking
Thinking through Transfer
Ways of Thinking Contents

Introducing Transfer…

Transfer means connecting what we learn or what we know to other settings and contexts (Perkins, 1995). Getting students to connect or apply the skills and concepts they learn in class to other subjects or topics is arguably one of the primary goals of education. However, transfer does not occur as often or as richly as one might expect. Students do not tend to connect, apply, or extrapolate what they know to other learning contexts. In order for students to consistently make connections across contexts, instruction should attend to transfer directly. The good news is that transfer is learnable, and it is teachable.

Think of transfer as a flexible, understanding performance - one that helps students connect and secure knowledge. The more connections a student identifies and explores, the deeper their understanding becomes. However, such understanding performances require students to employ a number of thinking skills and transfer. The Thinking Through Transfer approach to teaching thinking introduces the idea of transfer, explains how transfer aids understanding, and offers thinking-centered tools that will cultivate a range of thinking skills needed to enrich transfer.

References

Perkins, D.N. (1995). Outsmarting IQ: The emerging science of learnable intelligence. New York. The Free Press. 223-227.

 

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© Al Andrade, Harvard Project Zero, 1999
The Thinking Classroom is based on the collective research
and ideas of the Cognitive Skills Group, Harvard Project Zero, 1999

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