Adult education and training programs are diverse, ranging from learning computer languages to gaining teaching certifications to understanding digital photography to developing business acumen. These programs are characterized by the emphasis on using the skills learned after the end of the program, an idea commonly referred to as learning transfer. Learning transfer has been described “as the ultimate aim of teaching . . . however achieving this goal has been one of teaching’s most formidable problems” (McKeough, Lupart, & Marini, 1995, p. vii) and is a hallmark of many adult education programs.

Experiential learning techniques can be helpful in fostering learning transfer. Techniques such as project-based learning, reflective learning, and cooperative learning provide authentic platforms for developing rich learning experiences. In contrast to more didactic forms of instruction, experiential learning techniques foster a depth of learning and cognitive recall necessary for transfer.

This chapter describes how experiential learning techniques can be used to encourage transfer of learning. First, we describe several of the key characteristics of experiential education and experiential learning. Second, we briefly summarize literature on learning transfer and experiential learning techniques. Third, we provide three examples of how experiential techniques may be integrated into adult education to optimize transfer in adult learning con- texts. By the conclusion of the chapter, the reader will have a clear sense of how experiential techniques may be leveraged for transfer with adult learners.

Experiential Education and Experiential Learning

Experiential education is a method of education informed by the philosophies of Dewey, the social constructivism of Vygotsky, and the developmental theories of Piaget (Roberts, 2011). As a discipline, experiential education places a premium on constructing individual meaning, honors the prior experience of students, and values ideals central to social change. As a practice, experiential education prioritizes active learning components, frequently uses reflection activities as a tool to develop further meaning, and emphasizes peer-to-peer interaction. Typically, it deemphasizes rote learning, memorization, and inflexible, didactic interactions between teacher and learner.

Experiential learning is not bound by the social milieu, traditions, or philosophies like experiential education is. It is often used to describe both “meaning making from theoretical knowledge and [emphasis added] nondirected informal life experience from formal education” (Fenwick, 2000,

p. 243). Experiential learning structures include individual teaching techniques used by an instructor to achieve learning goals. For instance, an instructor may decide to design a cooperative learning project because that structure best develops student outcomes. Experiential learning may not require an instructor and may be as simple as someone teaching himself or herself to play the guitar or learn HTML code. There may be no direct, formal instruction of any sort, and the learner’s ability to acquire the skill is largely determined by his or her own process of trial and error.

This chapter focuses on explicating the experiential learning techniques commonly used for educative purposes that are best aligned with learning transfer. Some specific examples of experiential techniques or methods of interest include the following.

Problem-Based Learning. This technique may use the students’ interest in a problem to (a) create an experiment to answer a question or

(b) develop a course of action that helps in resolving the problem (Haas & Furman, 2008). In agriculture, does rotating crops with nitrogen-fixating plants increase crop yield? Is it really colder at night on a north-facing slope? Students can answer these problems by designing rather simple experiments that actively engage them in the learning process instead of simply remember- ing the answers.

Project-Based Learning. Project-based learning takes the interests of the students and creates a project around those interests that is rich with educational content (Marienau & Reed, 2008; Thomas, 2000). For example, students may be interested in climbing a mountain. From an adventure recreation perspective, this could, in and of itself, be the goal. However, an experiential educator will readily see how this project can be used as an authentic platform for teaching a wide variety of topics, such as altitude, physics, judgment, safety, climbing, group dynamics, leadership, decision making, time management, planning, math, ecological zonation, environmental ethics, knots, and so on. The project has the capacity to make each of these content areas authentic.

Cooperative Learning. This example deals with creating environments rich in learning between students, and where students learn from each other’s perspectives and past experience (Hamm & Adams, 1992). This type of learn- ing is readily evident in many distance learning programs, adult education programs, and continuing education programs where students learn through discourse, observation, and interaction with peers. One might readily notice that cooperative learning can be used in conjunction with other techniques.

Service Learning. Service learning combines educational objectives with community service needs (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996; Smith, 2008). The objectives and the service must be aligned in a way to benefit both the students and the community. A typical service-learning program might include some classroom sessions to prepare and situate a service experience, participation in a service experience, and a reflective component that links the lived experience and the education objective of the course or program. Such experiences can be used as ongoing features of a course or may be specifically aligned with a subset of the course content. If, for example, an educator uses an invasive species removal project in a context of learning about streamside restoration or biological encroachment, then the educational value becomes more rich and meaningful.

Reflective Learning. This concept allows students to make connections between theory and practice and allows the principles learned in a classroom to be applied elsewhere. Boyd and Fales (1983) describe reflective learning as “the process of internally examining and exploring an issue of concern, triggered by an experience, which creates and clarifies meaning in terms of self, and which results in a changed conceptual perspective” (p. 100). Reflective learning elements may include guided discussion, reflective writing exercises, blog writing, and essay-based examination.

These different types of experiential learning techniques—problem-based, project-based, cooperative, service, and reflective—are not entirely distinct from one another. Rather, they describe different ideas developed by different individuals and schools of thought at different times. Other ideas—such as collaborative learning, discovery learning, minimally guided learning, self- directed learning, and active learning—are also related. While these learning techniques maximize depth of learning and thinking and excel with process- focused educational content, they necessarily sacrifice breadth. Thus, experiential techniques may be considered less efficient methods of instruction for some learning outcomes such as content introduction or overview.

The five types of experiential learning techniques represent major approaches around which teachers might develop instruction. In addition to these ideas, educators may use a number of specific educational practices in their day-to-day lessons. Bonk and Cunningham (1998, pp. 33–34) provide examples of some of these practices:

•     Group processing and reflection. Processing activities focus on both the individual and the group.

•     Social dialogue and elaboration. Activities incorporate multiple solutions, novelty, uncertainty, and personal interests to encourage discourse.

•     Learning communities. The classroom ethos supports “joint responsibility for learning, students are experts and have learning ownership, meaning is negotiated, and participation structures are understood and ritualized” (p. 34).

•     Assessment. The focus on assessment is on the group as well as the individual, and the educational standards are socially negotiated.

•     Multiple viewpoints. The instructor provides explanations, examples, and different ways of understanding problems.

•     Team choice and common interests. Students are able to have choice in learning activities. Student and group autonomy, initiative, leadership, and active learning are encouraged.

Expanding on these ideas, Frontczak (1998) suggests that experiential learning is student-centered; that it emphasizes firsthand experience; that students are responsible for their own learning; that the orientation tilts toward flexibility and away from regimen; and that the goal of education includes a holistic combination of cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes.

Learning Transfer and Experiential Learning

Most of these experiential learning techniques and practices are well aligned with empirically supported approaches to teaching for transfer. Of specific note, reflection and processing information (Cranton, 2002; Jordi, 2010), active learning (Cox, 1997), discovery learning (Mayer & Wittrock, 1996), feedback plus remediation (Lee & Kahnweiler, 2000), and analogical approaches to thinking (Alexander & Murphy, 1999) are thought to enhance learning transfer. Reflection might include written, verbal, or strictly mental exercises designed to revisit covered course content and create additional mental connections. Active learning is generally considered more engaging and typically affords deeper interaction with the content, which itself is thought to increase transfer (Haskell, 2001). The provision of quality feedback coupled with reinforcement and remediation opportunities can be an effective way to enhance transfer potential (Lee & Kahnweiler, 2000). Drawing analogies between the course content and more distant applications can also assist with learning transfer, as the learner is more able to readily see the connections between the learning content and the application context. In addition, generally supported education principles such as goal setting and modeling are widely considered critical to andragogy, experiential learning, and learning transfer.

The recent work of Sibthorp, Furman, Paisley, Gookin, and Schumann (2011) adds to the existing literature on learning transfer in experiential programming. This study investigated how transfer operated in adults at an experiential education program run by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Researchers asked alumni who completed NOLS courses 1 to 10 years previously about transfer, including what they learned from their program, if they transferred those skills, and what it was about the program that helped them transfer those skills to life post-course.

The study found support for several of the experiential learning techniques discussed in this chapter. Both time for practice and active learning were reported as important mechanisms that led to learning transfer. In addition, general educational approaches including modeling, goal setting, and overlearning (where students practice past the point of initial mastery) were reported as critical to learning transfer. Notably, however, some of the main experiential learning techniques that showed up in our study were not explicitly present in the extant literature.

For instance, research participants reported that instructors played a central role in mediating transfer through a variety of means, ranging from inter- personal support and personal inspiration to role modeling and the central means of instructional delivery. The specifics of the backcountry setting and course highlights were impactful. Course length and the sheer isolation this specific program afforded was an important catalyst for some types of learn- ing. There was also learning potential in the group dynamics, which are likely more critical in a dense expeditionary setting than a typical classroom. While these are intentional practices on NOLS courses, they are also distinct to the nature and substance of an experiential outdoor education experience and its prolonged small group nature. Thus, these mechanisms are not universal but represent an important concept: that transfer mechanisms remain highly con- textual in any type of educational setting. Table 2.1 summarizes the experiential learning techniques and exemplary quotes from research participants.

Another important aspect of this study was its focus on mechanisms of

transfer beyond the direct influence of the program or educator. These mechanisms include the perceived value of the educational content, relevance to participants’ occupation, and the opportunity to perform the skill post-program. These mechanisms of transfer—ones that are difficult to directly influence by an educational program—further illustrate the importance of the learner characteristics and the application context and climate. Although bound by specific contexts, this study illustrates ways that experiential learning can be incorporated into other programs to support the transfer of learning.

Integrating Experiential Techniques

As transfer techniques and mechanisms are context and content specific, three examples of generic programs are introduced next to illustrate how experiential learning techniques may be integrated into adult education. In addition, practices such as reflection, collaboration, feedback, goal setting, and choice

Table 2.1. Experiential Learning Techniques and Practices That Can Enhance Learning Transfer.

***Go look at actual paper

Program 1: English as a Second Language Course

•     Cooperative learning. A course could incorporate a geography-based component where students observe physical, climate, economic, and political maps. Students work in pairs or small teams to create a labeled geographic model of a physical feature found on their map. This context- embedded lesson would address reading and writing objectives through active peer cooperation and collaboration.

•     Service learning. A course could work with a state or community agency hoping to better provide services for nonnative English speakers. The students could work on translating material from English into their native language for use in brochures, web site, or other resources. Not only would this necessitate reading and writing, but also speaking and communicating with the partner agency. Thus, while providing a service to the agency, the students are able to learn, practice, and reflect upon several course objectives around language use and interpretation.

•     Project-based learning. This course could plan a tour of the local area. This project could involve research on potential sites and routes, correspondence and communication with destinations, making transportation and accommodation arrangements, and onsite interaction with English-speaking staff. Addressing a variety of listening, writing, and speaking objectives is possible.

Program 2: Online Personal Finance Course

•     Reflective learning. This course could incorporate a reflective assignment that asks students to estimate what their net worth might be had they invested 10% of their lifelong income. This might be a very traumatizing assignment! It will require students to think reflectively on their financial decisions—and thus expose values—and then apply course content to predict what their investments might be in various investment forms.

•     Project-based learning. This course could incorporate an investment strategy game where each student is asked to develop an imaginary investment portfolio and then measure gains and losses on a daily or weekly basis. Given the scope of the course, the instructor would likely be wise to constrain the choices in a meaningful way. This assignment would also provide opportunity to reflect on decisions and the processes that informed them.

•     Problem-based learning. This course could incorporate a series of case studies, and each week a new case study is assigned. Each case study presents an individual, couple, or organization with an unclear financial situation and limited resources. The case study assignment is completed by students applying knowledge learned from the course to the specific context, and creatively applying principles to solve a financial problem.

Program 3: Continuing Education Vegetable Gardening Course

•     Service learning and project-based learning. This course could combine service learning and project-based learning by developing a community garden in a neighborhood that does not have one but would like one. This style of project requires substantial groundwork on the part of the instructor or program ahead of time. Students in the course are responsible for developing the community garden from a reasonable beginning point. They may teach clinics for and mentor community members.

•     Problem-based learning. This course could incorporate a series of “problems” by selecting five vegetables and then developing a set of experiments that seek to clarify which environmental conditions optimize plant health and yield: sunlight level, starting soil nitrogen content, soil moisture, temperature, and fertilization schedule. Each week the students spend time managing their experiment plants and noting differences in their success.

•     Cooperative learning. This course could delegate significant projects to individual students, such as “vegetable gardening at altitude” or “cold frame gardening topics.” Each student could serve as an expert on his or her selected topic and develop a poster for class presentation. The poster presentations take place at a potluck where students share dishes and recipes involving vegetables they grew during the course.

These program examples intentionally leverage experiential learning techniques for transfer. Specifically, these examples prioritize engaging students in deep, active learning activities; providing time for reflection; allowing for instructor feedback and role modeling; including a highlight or culminating event; and using real-world, contextualized problems to simulate, establish, or enhance relevancy. By incorporating experiential learning techniques that align with the literature on transfer into their lessons—while also attending to individual and contextual differences in populations and classes— educators can maximize the potential for transfer.

Conclusion

Experiential learning techniques are important tools to foster transfer for adult students, but caveats remain. Learning transfer is a notoriously difficult variable for programs and instructors to influence. Packer (2001) notes that “transfer has proven hard to define, difficult to investigate, and perplexingly controversial” (p. 493). Similarly, Barnett and Ceci (2002) contend, “There is little agreement in the scholarly community about the nature of transfer, the extent to which it occurs, and the nature of its underlying mechanisms” (p. 612). Nonetheless, if deeper and more conceptual learning forms the foundation of transferable learning, then experiential learning techniques are well situated to increase transfer.

Although this chapter advocates for experiential learning techniques, we recognize that these techniques may often be less efficient instructional tools. Experiential learning is often time consuming, challenging, and inconvenient for teachers to employ; other methods of teaching (expository approaches, for instance) may be more efficient and effective for certain outcomes. In addition, some educators who do not readily identify with the “experiential” label use some of the techniques described in this chapter. These techniques are often considered good practice and are not unique to experiential learning.

Despite these caveats, experiential learning techniques provide an authentic platform for rich educational experiences that optimize the potential for transfer. Experiential learning is especially well suited to complex, diver- gent content and process-oriented educational outcomes. It also fits well with the needs of adult learners, who have the life experience necessary to make critical mental connections, the will to direct their own learning, and the desire to fit the educational content into an immediately relevant context. While no educator can make a student retain and apply intended lessons, by leveraging some of the inherent strengths of experiential learning techniques, educators can afford experiences that are well suited to allow adults opportunities to transfer some of the intended lessons to other times, places, and contexts in their lives.

Learning Transfer and Its Intentionality in Adult and Continuing Education

Jeffrey M. Foley, Leann M. R. Kaiser

What Is Learning Transfer in Adult Education?

Three unemployed adults sign up for a back-to-work course at their local workforce education center. The course is designed to cover quite a bit of information in a series of classes spanning 3 weeks such as resume writing, completing electronic applications, interview skills, and other job-hunting skills. The instructor is well versed in workforce theory and has facilitated this course many times. To ensure that the participants have the information they need to successfully find employment, the instructor has put many hours into PowerPoint slides, handouts, and other job-searching resources. The course went quite well, and the end survey sheets indicate that learners “gained a lot from the course.”

Each of the learners in this course was motivated to attend and is eager to gain employment. After the course, Sue’s head is spinning; there was so much information that she is finding she is spending a lot of time going back through the handouts. Bob, however, feels like he absorbed all of the information, yet he is having a very difficult time figuring out where to start and how to proceed. Alice attended the course a few times before and has a high level of mastery over the skills she needs to move forward—her challenge is finding the confidence to implement the right set of actions to secure a job.

These learners had a good experience in this course, and the instructor had sincere intentions of helping the learners prepare to gain employment. The disconnect is that the instructor did not design the instruction with learn- ing transfer in mind. If the instructor had implemented specific instructional strategies that focus on learning transfer into the course design, the learner should leave the course with a greater likelihood of applying the new knowledge and skills to help him or her attain a job. This issue of New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education focuses on how to design instruction to enhance learning transfer in adult education and training settings.

Broad (1997) defined learning transfer as the “effective and continuing application by learners—to their performance of jobs or other individual, organizational, or community responsibilities—of knowledge and skills gained in the learning activities” (p. 2). Merriam and Leahy (2005) reviewed the available empirical studies in adult education and learning transfer from 1990 to 2005, noting that much of it came from human resource development and training areas. Within the research they reviewed, the focus was generally on the transfer of a skill, learned in school or work training, to the workplace. Although narrow, this research focus is not surprising. These are settings in which a return on investment of the time, energy, and financial resources dedicated to training is key to both the success of the business and the continuation of training programs. Thus, the vast array of other adult learning settings to which the learning may be transferred has not been well documented in the literature. On a practical level, this also means that few adult education and training programs account for transfer (Merriam & Leahy, 2005). Yet there is a strong need to foster learning transfer in all areas of adult learning such as work skills, life skills, adult literacy, and English as a second language (ESL), just to name a few examples. Think for a moment about a course, seminar, or training that you facilitate. In this context, what measures do you take to ensure that transfer occurs? Asking this critically reflective question is the key to designing learning for transfer.

An additional implication, stemming from the fact that most of our knowledge about adult learning transfer originates in workplace training literature, is that the research does not discuss in any depth the ways that learn- ing transfer also applies to, and among, school, community, family, and life situations. There are myriad combinations of where or when learning may occur and to where it might be transferred. The scenario many people would think of first is learning a skill in the classroom and then being able to use that at work or at home. But learning transfer in adult education extends far beyond this. For example, an informal learning situation such as gathering information on gardening from a web site to grow vegetables might result in this same individual’s transferring that knowledge to also grow flowers. Or perhaps a nonformal ESL course allows the learner not only to pass an exam at the end of the course but also to communicate in a grocery store. We know that adult education finds its home far beyond the formal classroom, and this is also the case for learning transfer. Thus, learning transfer is not only a good idea to keep in mind when designing and facilitating adult learning; it is also fundamentally tied to all adult learning. Calais (2006) stated this relationship well by noting that we are always working toward transfer of learning because “we constantly perceive and interpret new things in light of our past experience” (p. 6).

Models of Transfer

Various distinctions in learning transfer have been discussed in the literature. Included here is a brief overview of several of the major concepts.

Near and Far Transfer. Near transfer refers to when a new situation is closely similar to the original learning situation. Near transfer usually includes specific concepts and skills such as learning to drive a car and then using those same skills to drive a truck. Conversely, in far transfer the original and new situations are dissimilar. The learner may not automatically understand the connection between the two situations (Detterman, 1993). As an example of far transfer, a student may learn math skills and then use the problem- solving skills fundamental to that math to design an electrical circuit.

High- and Low-Road Transfer. Perkins and Salomon (1989) argued that while near and far transfers do occur, far transfer does not occur as readily for many students. Simply understanding the idea of far transfer itself does not give a facilitator the tools to teach for far transfer. Thus, Perkins and Salomon introduced low-road and high-road transfer. In low-road transfer, a skill is well practiced in a learning setting and a learner can replicate it when the circumstances are similar to the original learning context. The replication occurs in a reflexive and automatic manner. High-road transfer involves more assistance for a learner to be able to reflectively think about what was learned and then deliberately abstract from the original context to connect it to other contexts. This assistance may take the form of encouraging cognitive understanding, purposeful and conscious analysis, mindfulness, and application of strategies across disciplines. High-road transfer is not dependent on identify- ing superficial similarities, but rather understanding deeper analogies.

Positive and Negative Transfer. We are always interpreting our current experience in light of our previous experiences. This can affect learning transfer in two ways. With positive transfer, learning from a previous context complements a current context. In other words, the experiences from both are complementary and in agreement. In negative transfer, previous experiences interfere with learning and transfer into a new context. When negative transfer occurs, a person is unable or unwilling to see how learning might be used in another context because of contrary experiences, expectations, or connotations between the two (Leberman, McDonald, & Doyle, 2006). For example, a per- son may have learned Spanish, but that knowledge may confuse the same person when he or she is trying to learn German.

Haskell’s Taxonomies for Transfer of Learning. Calais (2006) described a slightly different way of categorizing learning transfer rather than the dual classifications previously used. Calais used Haskell’s Taxonomy, which includes six progressive levels of learning transfer: nonspecific, application, context, near, far, and displacement/creative. Calais argued that only the near, far, and displacement/creative levels require something new to be learned, and thus may result in transfer. Calais continued by stating that there are not only levels of transfer but different kinds of transfer. The first kind is based on types of knowledge (for example, declarative, procedural, or theoretical). The second kind is based on types of transfer, including content-to-content transfer, vertical transfer, and relational transfer. Haskell’s Taxonomy is complex and not the focus of this chapter, but for more details, refer to Haskell (2001).

Barriers to Learning Transfer

Learning transfer may be a basic assumed outcome of most, if not all, learning situations. Educators want learners to be able to use knowledge or skills gained under their guidance in other situations. Even an individual engaged in learning without a facilitator most likely intends to take something forward from that learning.

While understanding the importance of learning transfer is not a point that needs to be belabored, it is imperative to understand that simply taking part in a learning transaction does not guarantee that the expectation of transfer will occur (refer to the scenario at the beginning of this chapter). In fact, each chapter in this issue examines different situations and methods through which the likelihood of learning transfer can be enhanced for adult learners. Thus, before these ideas on achieving transfer are explored, it is important to understand some of the potential barriers to learning transfer.

Thomas (2007) noted that barriers to transfer can be encountered before, during, and after the learning experience. A lack of foundational knowledge upon entering a learning situation, a lack of motivation or confidence during the learning, and a lack of support afterward can all adversely affect transfer. Lightner, Benander, and Kramer (2008) continued the discussion on barriers by noting that common classroom practices may not facilitate transfer. These include the facilitator’s not modeling, rewarding, encouraging, or giving opportunities to express and practice transfer. Lightner et al. also discussed that facilitators who assume the learner needs to take on the responsibility to achieve transfer find less success in transfer occurring. An example might include a facilitator who does not demonstrate that the computer skills a learner gains to increase workplace proficiency can also be used to communicate with family or plan a budget.

Illeris (2009) argued that learning transfer difficulties often occur across

learning space boundaries, for example, when something learned in school needs to be transferred to the workplace. He noted that integration projects between learning spaces are important to encourage transfer. Illeris also asserted that the “transferability of different kinds of learning processes and learning outcomes appears as directly dependent on the type of learning (cumulative, assimilative, accommodative, or transformative) and the resulting

knowledge” (p. 144). Thus, it is important to develop learning activities that encourage all four learning types. (For a further explanation of the learning types, see Illeris, 2009). Hager and Hodkinson (2009) continued this line of thinking by proposing that we should go as far as abandoning the term learn- ing transfer and “think instead of learning as becoming within a transitional process of boundary crossing” (p. 635). They argued that these boundaries are not just between school and work but other areas such as parenthood and retirement.

Finally, one of the most basic barriers to transfer is overlooking it in both design and facilitation phases. Simply ignoring that transfer needs to be accounted for, and that it may not occur on its own, is a common but costly mistake. This idea will be further addressed in the subsequent chapters in this issue.

General Tools to Improve Learning Transfer

Increasing learning transfer essentially entails integrating effective processes and methods of instruction into daily practice. Strategies such as scaffolding, schema theory, purposeful reflection, repetition, concept mapping, and utilizing a diversity of instructional methods increase learning transfer (Ford & Weissbein, 1997). Often, the challenge is determining where to integrate these tools into instruction when facilitators are already so bound for time, resources, and energy. The critically reflective facilitator of learning will not attempt to “add” these tools to instruction but actually replace less effective tools with more effective ones.

Scaffolding. Picture a little girl learning how to ride a bike. If she is given a bike and told to go ride, any number of outcomes are possible. However, if the girl is provided safety equipment, training wheels, support, and encouragement, the structures are in place to help the girl master the goal of riding a bike. As the girl practices, she finds that the training wheels are cumbersome and are keeping her from riding in a way that she wants. The training wheels can be taken off and the next step to learning can take place. If this step does not work, the training wheels can be put back on until the girl is more comfortable with the feel of the bike. In the end, the girl discovers that with some confidence and muscle mastery she can ride anywhere she wants with- out the additional supporting structures that were once necessary. While this is a simplistic example of scaffolding a learning experience to best ensure mastery of a given learning goal, it is an experience many are familiar with and is easily relatable.

Scaffolding a learning experience is a combination of ensuring that the learning environment, instructional plan, supporting resources, and instructional delivery are structured in a manner that best supports learning. Scaffolding in construction helps support the building process. The scaffold- ing does not actually build the building, the worker does. The scaffolding is just a temporary tool that assists the worker in the construction process. So is instructional scaffolding just a temporary tool that assists the learner in the process of constructing knowledge. The art of facilitating learning is to pro- vide the necessary structure and support to assist the learner in constructing his or her own way of knowing.

Scaffolding can take on many forms of support. In the simplest terms, the facilitator of learning wants to ensure that the learning environment is a safe and energetic place for learning to occur. Being conscious that the setup of the room, the temperature, the light, and the sound are significant physical factors of establishing a learning environment is important. The next level is emotional safety where specific attention is paid to inclusivity, language bias, and sociocultural diversity. Then there are the considerations of openness, communication style, and choice of instructional methods. While individually these forms of support may seem simple to control, in totality they have a large impact on the conductivity of the learning environment for learning and learning transfer.

More complex forms of scaffolding in the learning experience focus on authenticity. The written, audio, visual, and tactile resources introduced into the learning environment serve as scaffolding to support learning. The key to the effectiveness of the resource is relevance. The more relevant and authentic a learning resource is to the actual applied end use of the learning, the more impactful that resource will be to learning transfer. For example, a learner can be shown how to use a word processing program, but that does not automatically mean that he or she can then write a thesis. Even though the intent was to have the learner master a word processing program, the gap between the known (word processing program) and the unknown (writing a thesis) was too large for learning transfer to take place.

Another form of scaffolding pertains to community learning and problem-based learning. In community learning or group learning situations, the learn- ers serve as the temporary support structure for each other in the learning process. In problem-based learning, the learners take on successively more difficult tasks or problems as they master the current challenge. Both of these learning methods are discussed in depth in the chapters in this issue.

In reading this information on scaffolding, the concern may arise that these are just good instructional methods, rather than directly relating to increasing learning transfer. This is one case where the absence of a phenomenon defines the outcome. Without scaffolding, the learner can spend a majority of the time devoted to learning just trying to develop a foundation and frame of reference for the learning. The time spent struggling to grasp specific concepts that could be supported by scaffolding instruction directly eats away at the time for the learning, mastery, and building toward learning transfer.

Schema. Schema is the concept that information is organized by the learner in specific patterns or order. Our schemas are changed or modified by our interaction with the world through sight, sound, taste, and communication. As we interact with a new phenomenon, we compare and contrast those phenomena with what we have previously experienced. Our current way of knowing and the foundation of how we interact with the world is often referred to as a worldview. Thus, schema is the foundation or fabric through which we form our worldview.

In its simplest form, schema is how we categorize information. If we con- sider our brain as an elaborate filing system, our schema is organized in drawers of similar information so that it is easier for us to recall information as well as to retain new information. If you see an animal that has four legs, a tail, and pointy ears, you brain quickly goes to the animal file drawer, sorts through and pulls out the file for “cat.” Most people are familiar with the domestic house cat, but there are many types of cats, large and small, that all have these same features. When we see a different type of cat, we recognize it as a cat, learn what this new cat is—perhaps a lion—and add it to our file on cats and easily store it away. Good facilitators of transfer find ways to help learners activate (or find the file for) their existing schema that is related to the learn- ing at hand. This increases the likelihood of retaining this new information for later application.

In a more complex example, picture an adult learner who finished his primary and secondary education 20 years ago. He experienced a very traditional form of education where the professor (Latin: person who professes) was the center of knowing and the deliverer of knowledge. This learner has held to this view of education for the entirety of his adulthood to date. Because of a recent layoff, this learner has decided to return to higher education in hopes of increasing his employability. When he enters the classroom for the first learning session, he is greeted by a facilitator who uses a collaborative and co-creating (constructivist) method of facilitating learning.

In this learner’s current worldview, the role of the facilitator is to impart knowledge to the learner. The student’s role is to take or absorb that knowledge and at some point prove to the facilitator that he or she has mastered the concepts. Yet in this current situation, the role of the facilitator is to serve as a facilitator of learning, create a safe and energized learning environment, and engage the learner(s) in the co-construction of new ways of knowing. The learner’s role is to directly engage in the learning with the support of the facilitator.

This learner should be supported in making a modification to his world- view based on his current schema and the new information at hand. The question becomes: How can a facilitator provide the support and resources to assist a learner in making this modification? The chapters in this issue provide examples of how to support learners as they challenge their known schema and integrate new information into their worldview. When reading these chapters, try to keep the concept of schema as a mental frame through which to explore different approaches and methods to facilitating learning.

Purposeful Reflection. In a traditional teaching and learning paradigm, information is presented by the facilitator through lecture, PowerPoint, or other delivery techniques (Palmer, 2007). When the learning session is over the learners are left to interpret the meaning of the subject presented (or not). Purposeful reflection is a tool that can be introduced into instruction that helps the learner stay engaged with the subject and to start laying roots for meaningful transfer by creating relevance. The word purposeful is used as an indicator that this is a guided form of reflection and not just a general reflection on the subject.

Picture a facilitator who just delivered an energetic and engaging PowerPoint presentation that explored the roots and development of adult education. The facilitator has about 10 minutes left in class and asks the learners to take out a sheet of paper and answer this question: “In the context of the material presented in class, please think of an adult learning situation that you have participated in recently (another class, a training, etc.) and try to identify similarities and differences from your experience to one of the roots of adult education that was covered in the presentation.” So instead of just asking, “Please reflect on the material presented today and summarize the main points” (which is a valid classroom assessment technique in itself), the facilitator is asking the learners to draw relevance between the subject covered and one of their life experiences. That is purposeful reflection.

Here are some suggestions for purposeful reflection:

•     Attempt to tie real experiences to the presentation of theory or concepts.

•     Allow for a pause between questions when facilitating a discussion.

•     Encourage alternative solutions to problems presented and encourage different or dissenting viewpoints.

•     Have three or four reflective activities at the ready for when you might need them.

•     Use electronic discussion boards, blogs, and the like to encourage reflection and sharing outside of class.

•     Make sure that reflections are directed toward achieving the stated learning outcomes.

•     Use the reflective process to move toward higher levels of critical thinking as indicated in Bloom’s taxonomy.

•     Ask the learners to step out of their dominant worldview and experience the situation or problem through another’s eyes.

Purposeful reflection is a powerful tool that enhances learning transfer in adult learning. The key to successful purposeful reflection is to be intentional in integrating this method into instruction and out-of-class assignments.

Repetition from Multiple Aspects. Repetition has been a long-standing tenet of education. Repetition is the revisiting of information at different points of time. From a cognitive theory perspective, the brain reinforces learning and strengthens neural pathway connections in part through repetition. While rote learning is memorization and recall of information without knowing the relevance, we recommend revisiting information from multiple aspects and different contexts to increase the likelihood of the learner making connections in his or her unique settings. Facilitating learning sessions that help the learner gain mastery of the new knowledge and skills increases the likelihood of learning transfer.

Concept Mapping. Concept mapping is a tool that allows the learner to externalize a thought process or new information and then manipulate the individual pieces into a more cogent picture or flow process. Figure 1.1 is a concept map created for a research study.

The key elements of this concept map are the central theme, the major dependent and independent variables, and the sub-variables. This concept map might first appear to be very complex and difficult to interpret. But once learners are able to externalize all of the different variables, they can then start grouping and organizing the information into logical groups and then find the central theme (inductive reasoning). When facilitating the use of concept maps, the learner might start with a general theme and break the information into smaller parts or groups (deductive reasoning). Also, the learner can take one group of variables and move them from one side of the concept map to the other if that makes more sense. Concept mapping allows learners to organize, group, move, and reorganize information as they gain mastery over the information and the organizing process.

Diversity of Delivery Methods. Integrating a multitude of delivery

methods into instruction can improve learning transfer. The brain loves stim- ulation. If facilitators find themselves falling back to the same delivery method for each class, they may find that their learning environment is becoming stale. A recent study (CDW-G, 2012) highlights that in the past two years half of higher education faculty report a shift away from the traditional lecture model, integrating group learning projects, self-paced study, virtual learning, and collaborative projects into their instruction. Some programs are moving to a flipped classroom where the lecture portion of the class is recorded so that the learner can access the information any time prior to the class via the Internet, and class time is devoted to interactive and experiential approaches to learning.

The ultimate goal is to identify what the learners need to best master the subject or content and choose the best methodology to engage those learners. This does not mean the death of traditional lecture, but allows the facilitator of learning to integrate lecture where it is the best tool to engage the learner in meeting the learning outcomes.

Learning Transfer: Revisiting Its Importance to Adult Learning

In this chapter, a cursory review of learning transfer, its role in adult learning, and the major models and tools related to the transfer of learning were discussed. The remainder of the chapters in this issue strive to add the necessary detail and context to this topic. For a facilitator practitioner involved in the instructional design or facilitation process of adult learning, learning transfer is not an idea that can or should be ignored. This is not to suggest that practitioners do not want their learners to be able to take forward what they have learned and apply it in other situations. Rather, with few conversations happening around this topic, they may not have the available resources to achieve this goal. Thus, beginning with a foundation on learning transfer as shared here is an important starting place to encourage a greater awareness of the importance of planning for learning transfer in adult learning settings.

 ******Look at paper for Figure 1.1. A Concept Map.