How can Teaching for

Understanding and Teaching

for Transfer of Learning be
more appropriately taught?
Reporter: Ciocson, Kresha Joy G
III-11 BS psychology

MOTIVATION

Teaching for understanding: A meaningful

education for 21st century learners
What is understanding?

In Understanding by Design, Wiggins and McTighe

describe the nature of understanding and also
propose that understanding is revealed through
six facets that offer different types of evidence
of understanding

Explain

Display
Empathy

Interpret

When
someone
truly
understand
they can
Have Selfknowledge

Apply

Demonstrate

Why should we teach for

understanding?

Why should we teach for

understanding?
Mastery

of Learning

Application

MASTERY OF LEARNING MODEL BY BLOOM

How do we teach for understanding

EFFECTIVELY?

How do we teach for understanding

EFFECTIVELY?

Teaching for understanding involves two

interrelated approaches

ENGAGE LEARNERS
IN MEANING-MAKING.

TEACH AND ASSESS

FOR TRANSFER.

O_ER_T_ O_

PAINLESS OPERATION

Engage learners in meaning-making.

Meaning-making occurs when learners are given the

opportunity to construct their own understanding around
big ideas and essential questions.

Teach and assess for transfer.

Wiggins and McTighe characterize transfer as follows:

Students can only be said to have fully understood if they

can apply their learning without someone telling them what
to do and when to do it.

Here are several examples of such tasks:

Reading, Writing and Literature

Geography:

Mathematics

Science

Technology

Visual Arts

Teaching for Transfer of Learning

What is transfer of learning?

Transfer of learning is the use of knowledge and skills

(acquired in an earlier context) in a new context. (Bigge &
Shermis, 1992).

Why is transfer important in education?

Transfer of learning is the cornerstone upon which

education should ultimately rest. In its broadest sense,
transfer of learning is basic to the whole notion of
schooling. If there is no transfer at all, students will need
to be taught specifically every act that they will ever
perform in any situation (Bigge & Shermis, 1992).

Types of transfer
NEAR TRANSFER
- transfer between very
similar contexts

FAR TRANSFER
- transfer between contexts
that, on appearance seem
remote and alien to one
another.

How to teach for transfer

of learning EFFECTIVELY

Focus on big ideas

Use Hugging

Time for Learning

Use contrasting cases

Use Bridging

How to teach for transfer of learning

EFFECTIVELY

How to teach for transfer of learning

EFFECTIVELY
Focus

on big ideas

How to teach for transfer of learning

EFFECTIVELY
Time

for Learning

How to teach for transfer of learning

EFFECTIVELY
Use

hugging

How to teach for transfer of learning

EFFECTIVELY
Use

bridging

How to teach for transfer of learning

EFFECTIVELY
Use

contrasting cases

Here is a set of ten observable indicators that highlight the

practices we would expect to see in classrooms where
understanding based teaching and learning are occurring.

Understanding core ideas and the ability to

transfer them to new situations should be the twin
goals of education today.

Education is what remains when we have forgotten all

that we have been taught.
-George Savile