Chapter 5: Knowledge Representation and Coordination in the Transfer Process

We depart from the traditional view of transfer as the appropriate use of prior learning in new contexts. We conceptualize transfer as a complex dynamic process leading to the highly selective activation and application of knowledge in response to context. Transfer is viewed as a ubiquitous, ongoing process that allows the knowledge user to make sense of and to function in the world. We hypothesize two significant subprocesses supporting transfer. One subprocess allows the knowledge user to activate knowledge pieces in the form of observations about the world. The other subprocess allows the knowledge user to activate knowledge pieces in the form of beliefs about the world. Together, these two subprocesses lead to an evolving representation of context that plays an essential role in making meaning of context. We put forward a series of conjectures that characterize the transfer dynamic, and then illustrate and support the conjectures with interview data from student reasoning about motion. We conclude by discussing educational implications.