From monocontextual to multicontextual transfer

Abstract

An important goal of educational designers is to achieve long-term transfer of learning that is the learner's application of newly acquired competencies. Extensive research during more than a century shows that especially in formal educational settings this fundamental aspect of education often occurs poorly or not at all, leading to what is called a Transfer Problem. To address this transfer problem, the present study examines intentions to transfer learning to multiple contexts; this focus on multiple transfer contexts extends previous research focusing on a single transfer context, typically the workplace. The present study aimed to estimate the influence of five organizational variables (peer support, supervisor support, opportunity to use, openness to change, and feedback) on pre-training intention to transfer prospective learning in two different transfer contexts: study and work. Participants were 303 students at an open university starting a digital course in information literacy. The model was tested using structural equation modelling. The results indicated that before starting the course supervisor support and feedback were considered the strongest predictors of intention to transfer new learning in both the study and the work contexts. This research is amongst the first in the training literature to address multicontextuality and examines intentions to transfer generic competences to the two transfer contexts study and work within one single study.

Learning and Satisfaction in Webinar, Online, and Face-to-Face Instruction: A Meta-Analysis

“…As e-learning technologies become increasingly common in educational contexts (Ruiz et al, 2006;Testers et al, 2019), there is a need to examine their effectiveness compared to traditional learning modalities. The aim of the current meta-analysis was to investigate the effectiveness of webinars on promoting participant knowledge at post-test and the satisfaction scores of participants in higher education and professional training.…”

“…The middle of the 1990s witnessed the slow advent of Internet-based education and early applications of online distance learning (Alnabelsi et al, 2015). Since then, there has been a significant increase in the number of available e-learning resources and educational technologies (Ruiz et al, 2006;Gegenfurtner et al, 2019b;Testers et al, 2019), which have gained more importance in the higher education and professional training contexts (Wang and Hsu, 2008;Nelson, 2010;Siewiorek and Gegenfurtner, 2010;Stout et al, 2012;Knogler et al, 2013;McMahon-Howard and Reimers, 2013;Olson and McCracken, 2015;Testers et al, 2015;McKinney, 2017;Goe et al, 2018). To date, various possibilities regarding the implementation of e-learning in educational contexts exist, one of which is the use of webinars-a prototypical form of synchronous online courses.…”

Taking Affective Learning in Digital Education One Step Further: Trainees’ Affective Characteristics Predicting Multicontextual Pre-training Transfer Intention

“…This study aimed at supporting the design of digital educational interventions that enhance the transfer of learning to multiple contexts by estimating the extent to which five affective learner characteristics predicted intention to transfer: learner readiness, motivation to learn, expected positive personal outcomes, expected negative personal outcomes, and personal capacity. Complementing previous literature (Testers et al, 2019) the present study adds a new aspect to transfer research by comparing two different transfer contexts within one single study: Study and Work.…”

“…This also accounts for the subsequent step in the learning process namely the transfer of learning. Often interchangeably used with transfer of training, in this study it is more generally defined as the application of what has been learned to new situations (Testers et al, 2019). It has been studied for more than a century and is considered the raison d'être of education and an important indicator of the quality and success of the instructional design.…”

Evaluating webinar‐based training: a mixed methods study of trainee reactions toward digital web conferencing

“…Digitalization is a global trend that has also transformed the way in which training and adult education is designed, delivered and implemented (Bell et al, 2017;Gegenfurtner et al, 2014;Goe et al, 2018;Martin et al, 2014;McKinney, 2017;Schmid et al, 2014;Testers et al, 2015;Testers et al, 2019). Among the digital tools and infrastructures for training, webinars are commonly applied in distance education and blended learning training programs.…”