Transfer Theory

The transfer theory of learning comes from Dr. Madeline Hunter’s theory of lesson design. She states that transfer is the heart and soul of all learning. Transfer is standard rarely taught to educators, but may be one of the most vital skills in the classroom. Transfer theory is the transferring of knowledge and skills from one situation to another often without conscience thought.
An example of this could come from a student’s knowledge of forces in nature. In the classroom they discuss the laws of motion and inertia. Specifically they talk about equal and opposite reactions. The teacher uses the famous model of five swinging steel balls that will continue to hit off each other for hours due to the transfer of energy from one side to the other. The knowledge from that lesson is later applied by student’s real life examples of the conservation of energy, where energy is conserved or transferred. A student in class shows transfer when she takes her newly learned understanding of energy and transfers her knowledge to a diver on a springboard loading and then jumping into the water. The student realizes that the stored energy in the springboard is equal to the height the diver will be propelled into the air once leaving the board. She has taken the acquired knowledge and transferred it into a new situation in her life.
In this program it is vital to have prior knowledge to transfer new knowledge. Without the one-year of experience, lessons in this course are just theory and lack relevant job based application. There would be no transfer, there would only be recall. It is clear to see that the application to current job practice is powerful and non negotiable in this process for superintendent certification.