The second type of transfer is near versus far transfer. This distinction refers to the type of task: near transfer tasks are those that look very much alike and follow the same rules for responding, while a far transfer task is where the same rules apply, but they are transferred to a different setting. “Far transfer” requires more thinking on the part of the learner. Svinicki (2004) offers driving a midsize automatic sedan as an example: if you've driven one, you can easily drive any other because the steering wheel, gear shift, windshield wipers, and turn signals all look alike and are in the same position. If, on the other hand, you get into a car that is very different (such as a convertible, stick-shift sports car), your normal driving responses are not instantly triggered and you have to stop and figure out where everything is. The rules are the same, but the car looks different. Moving between different midsize automatic sedans is a near transfer task; moving from a mid-level automatic sedan to a stick-shift sports car is a far transfer task (Svinicki, 2004, pp. 100–101). There are several factors that affect the quality of transfer: similarity/difference, association, and context and degree of original learning.
Similarity and Differences
How similar a previously encountered situation is to a new situation affects transfer. Interestingly, it appears that the brain generally stores new information in networks that contain similar characteristics or associations, but it retrieves information by identifying how the information is different from the other items in that network. For example, the visual appearances of people we know seem to be stored in the network of what humans look like (e.g., torso, head, two arms, two legs), but if we are trying to find someone we know in a crowd, we will look for the characteristics that distinguish them from other people in the group (e.g., facial characteristics, height, voice, and so forth). Obviously when there is high similarity with few differences, distinguishing between the two becomes more difficult (Sousa, 2006, p. 143). Thus, the potential for negative transfer is higher when concepts, principles, and data, or the labels for this information, are similar. For example, in music, “whole tone” and “whole note” sound similar, but the terms represent very different concepts (whole tone is a specific distance between two pitches, while whole note is the rhythmic duration of a single pitch).
Association
Learning two items together such that the two are bonded or associated also affects transfer, and when one of the items is recalled, the other is spontaneously recalled as well. When we hear or read “Romeo,” we unconsciously add “and Juliet,” or when we think of trademark symbols such as McDonald's golden arches or Apple's apple logo, we immediately think of the associated product (Sousa, 2006, p. 145). Since everything we know and understand is preserved as a network of associations, the more associations we make, the greater the number of potential places we have to attach new information and the easier it is for us to learn and retain that information. In short, the more we learn and retain, the more we can learn and retain.
Context and Degree of Original Learning
Emotional associations can have a particularly potent influence on transfer, as emotions usually have a higher priority than cognitive processing for commanding our attention. Words such as “abortion,” “torture,” and “terrorist” often evoke strong emotional responses. Math anxiety—the fear and tension that interferes with some students' ability to manipulate numbers or solve mathematical problems—is an example of the association of a negative feeling with a content area. Students with math anxiety will try to avoid situations involving math in order to spare themselves the negative feelings associated with it. In contrast, people will devote hours on hobbies because of the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction they associate with these activities (Sousa, 2006, p 145).
Not surprisingly, the quality of the original learning also strongly influences the quality of transfer to new learning. If the original learning was thorough, deep, and accurate, its influence will be much more constructive than learning that was originally superficial. At the college level, we work with the cumulative “prior learning” of K–12, over which we have little control. Because we have greater control over what students learn when they are with us in college (especially at the department/degree level), we should take extra care to help students connect positive feelings to new learnings and ensure that foundational material is taught well, as everything that is learned in these courses becomes the basis for future transfer.
Memory
Once students learn something, we want them to remember it. There are currently several different models describing memory, but a basic and generally accepted classification divides memory into two main types: short term and long term. Short-term memory gives continuity from one moment to the next and allows us to carry out hundreds of tasks each day by holding the data we are dealing with at the moment, but then letting it go so that our brain can turn its attention to other things. Short-term memory is where the brain works with new information until it decides if and where to store it more permanently. While short-term memory is supported by transient neuronal networks and functions as temporary storage, long-term memory is retained for greater lengths of time—days, decades, even an entire lifetime. It is structurally different from short-term memory in that it is maintained by permanent cellular changes that have been created by neuronal connections distributed throughout the brain. We want students to remember important new learning in the long term, so how do short-term memories become long-term memories? Research suggests that there is a special window in time during which this transition occurs: the time needed for neurons to synthesize the necessary proteins for “long-term potentiation” (LTP). An initial stimulation triggers communication across the synapse between two neurons; further stimulation causes the cells to produce key proteins that bind to the synapse, cementing the memory in place. If the memory is to last for more than a few hours, these proteins must bind to specific synapses and actually change the cellular structure.
The criteria by which short-term memory determines whether or not information should be stored for the long term is complex. Information tied to survival or information that has a strong emotional component has a high likelihood of being permanently stored. In classrooms, where these two elements are generally minimal or absent, other factors come into play. One important factor is whether or not the information “makes sense”—does it fit with what the learner already knows about the way the world works? When students say that they don't understand, it means that they cannot make sense of what they are learning, and hence probably won't remember it. The other important factor is whether or not the information “has meaning”—is it relevant, is there some reason the learner has for remembering it?
We remember some information just because it made sense, even though it isn't particularly meaningful to us (this is the kind of data people may recall when they are doing crossword puzzles or playing games such as Trivial Pursuit). We also remember information that didn't make sense to us just because it had meaning (it was important for us to memorize it in order to pass a test). Of the two criterion, meaning is more significant. For example, telling a student that they need x number of units in their academic major for a degree at your institution, but y number of units if they attended a different institution in another state “makes sense,” but the student will have a higher likelihood of remembering the number of units at her own institution because it is more meaningful and relevant to her educational plans. Thus, when new learning is readily comprehensible (it makes sense) and