This study investigates the effect of elaborate retrieval, which is a byproduct of spaced practice, on adult cognition. It was hypothesized that elaborate re-conceptualization of new information, within a context that was disparate from the one used during learning, could facilitate learning transfer through the development of a broader conceptual frame of reference. The re-conceptualization task was not expected to degrade rote definitional memory. The two re-conceptualization tasks used in this study were termed model-building and free study. The model building task required the development of a personalized conceptual model using information provided within three spaced narrated information passages. The free study task required the unaided study of all three passages. Transfer of learning and rote memory were evaluated using a general knowledge test and a knowledge extension test. These tests were given at the end of the experiment. The general knowledge test required participants to match concept labels and definitions which were provided during the experiment. The knowledge extension test required participants to transfer knowledge amassed during the experiment to a complex “real world” situation. The results demonstrated that learners, who completed the spaced re-conceptualization task, improved their ability to transfer new information as the spacing intervals lengthened. Participants who were required to study the same information without any instruction did not show learning transfer improvement. Both groups illustrated parallel improvements in rote memorization due to spacing. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-19 09:35:45.095

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, l989. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Leslie Beebe. Dissertation Committee: John Fanselow. Bibliography: leaves 223-234.

SRL has been posited to explain student-athletes concurrent success in sport and academics. The purpose of this dissertation was to empirically explore student-athletes’ self-regulated learning (SRL) in and across their academic and sport learning. Three manuscripts addressed two overarching goals: (a) explore the relation between SRL in sports and academics, and (b) explore methods of measuring SRL. First, in McCardle, Jonker, Elferink-Gemser, and Visscher’s (2014) study, competitive youth athletes (N = 215) self-reported on self-regulatory and motivational engagement in sport and academics. Findings revealed a positive relation between SRL in these contexts and more reported engagement of SRL in sports than in school. Second, McCardle (2014) conducted a case study of one student-athlete’s SRL in sport and school. Based on interviews, journals, and video-stimulated recall, the student-athlete demonstrated clear similarities in how he engaged SRL in both contexts. Some differences between sport and academic learning emerged, suggesting potential differences in support for SRL in the two contexts. This paper explored potential of qualitative measures of SRL in by combining multiple qualitative measures of SRL to create SRL profiles in sport and academics. Third, McCardle and Hadwin (2015) explored use of two types of self-reports considered event measures of SRL as they focused on single learning episodes (N = 263): (a) a quantitative questionnaire measure of SRL related to one study episode for an exam, and (b) a qualitative diary related to setting and attainment of one study goal. Contrasting these two methods revealed varying degrees of similarities in students’ self-reports. Together, this research highlights the potential of transfer of SRL across sport and academic domains and the importance of appropriate measures to capture event- and aptitude-based SRL and suggests several avenues for future research. To conclude, I suggest Winne and Hadwin’s (1998) model of SRL serve as a framework for researching SRL transfer with a focus on conditions. New research in transfer has potential for contributing to SRL research on how learners draw on previous regulatory experiences to adapt to new challenges. / Graduate / mccardle@uvic.ca

Many researchers have examined the effect of various work-related factors on transfer of learning. However, there has been little or no focus on the effect of key workplace factors such as job stress and job satisfaction on transfer of learning. The current study examines the relationship among job stress, job satisfaction, motivation to transfer and transfer of learning based on the perceptions of selected Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) outreach trainers who underwent training conducted by the Texas Engineering Extension, Texas. A 24-item questionnaire was utilized to collect data. The questionnaire was sent electronically to all outreach trainers who underwent the OSHA General Industry Course 501 during 2005, and the first six months of 2006. The sample included 418 respondents representing a population of 1234 outreach trainers. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha estimates for reliability, factor analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, path analysis, and Sobel tests were the analysis methods used in the study. The results from the analysis suggest that job stress and its related dimensions, time stress, and anxiety had an indirect correlation with transfer of learning through job satisfaction and motivation to transfer. Further, it was found that job stress, time stress, and anxiety predicted job satisfaction; time stress predicted anxiety; job satisfaction predicted motivation to transfer; and motivation to transfer predicted transfer of learning. Finally, path analysis results and mediation tests showed that: (1) the relationship between job stress and transfer was mediated by job satisfaction and motivation to transfer, (2) the relationship between time stress and transfer was mediated by job satisfaction and motivation to transfer, (3) the relationship between anxiety and transfer was mediated by job satisfaction and motivation to transfer, and finally (4) the relationship between time stress and transfer was mediated by anxiety, job satisfaction, and motivation to transfer.

The current study aims to investigate the source(s)of cross linguistic influence(CLI)on the production of future encoding strategies by L1 Cantonese learners of L3 Swedish who speak L2 English. In the literature of third language acquisition (TLA) research, the language status of native and non-native languages as well as genetic and (psycho)typological language distance are identified to be important to TLA processes but the current knowledge is insufficient to inform which factor(s) is/are more influential. Given the close genetic distance between English and Swedish and the status of English as a second language, it is hypothesized that CLI on L3 Swedish comes from L2 English rather than L1 Cantonese. Any confirmation or rejection to this hypothesis serves to inform the relationship of language status and language distance to TLA. To test this hypothesis, linguistic background questionnaire and a picture elicitation task are designed to record the production of future ideas in the three languages. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses, mixed sources of CLI from Cantonese and English are identified. An equidistance representation of non-native languages is also identified in which non-native English and Swedish respectively show similar degree of cross linguistic matching in relation to native Cantonese regardless which of them is the principal source of CLI. The hypothesis of differentiation of linguistic representation in the minds of polyglots is therefore proposed and further verification and investigation is required. / published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Linguistics. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-148). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ99397

M.Phil. (Human Resources Development) / The transfer of learning after training courses is relevant to Human Resource Development (HRD) professionals, human resources divisions and managers within organisations. HRD managers in particular must secure a suitable training budget, present learning interventions, and employ qualified HRD practitioners who add value to a company’s turnover and profitability. When the HRD unit assists employees in improving their performance with training, this enables the Human Resources (HR) division to be a strategic business partner to the organisation. HRD practitioners should ensure that the learning provided to employees improves their performance in delivering strategic results without any obstacles or barriers. The aim of the study was to conduct an investigation into the potential learning transfer barriers that could have an impact on the successful transfer of learning within the financial services sector. This study sought to identify the predominant barriers to transfer of learning when employees return to the workplace after attending training. The literature review on the transfer of learning and the barriers to the transfer of learning highlighted an international survey instrument designed to measure the workplace barriers to effective learning transfer. This instrument was used in conducting the research for this study. The unit of analysis of this study included financial services managers from one bank operating within three provinces of South Africa: Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Western Cape. The mixed method approach used in this study favours a dominant quantitative approach with a secondary qualitative component. Data was obtained using the adapted, international survey instrument, the Learning Transfer Systems Inventory (LTSI) questionnaire. The LTSI is a validated instrument that is used to diagnose factors affecting successful transfer of learning. HRD professionals are able to use the LTSI to identify potential transfer barriers after administering a learning intervention. The findings reveal that line managers are key role players in the learning transfer challenge. Line managers who fail to support and encourage the application of learning after training represent a barrier to employee transfer of learning. This report recommends that managers play the role of performance coaches, and become enablers of rather than barriers to employee transfer of learning.

Magister Educationis - MEd / The literature identifies the importance of teaching for transfer as one of the most important goals in education. According to Broad and Newstrom (1992) transfer is the “effective and continuing application of the knowledge and skills gained in training. The end goal of training is not achieved unless transfer occurs” (p.15). The literature identified various factors that have an influence on the transfer of learning, but this study focused on factors in the workplace environment. The roles of principals (managers) and peers in reinforcing and supporting what practitioners have learned in the college classroom is seen as one of the main factors influencing transfer of learning (J. Kirkpatrick and W. Kirkpatrick, 2010, p.7). The study explored HRD perspectives in the literature which provided useful information on factors in the workplace environment which support the application of learning. The literature on adult learning and training in the workplace provided insights on learning as a social process – concepts such as guided participation and communities of practice linked directly to my research question on the role of principals and peers in supporting learning transfer in the ECD workplace.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Royce Ann Collins / Transfer of learning research traditionally relies on quantitative research to determine the occurrence of transfer. Many of these studies generally result in a failure to transfer. Few of these studies utilized either mixed methods or a qualitative methodology to determine transfer of learning, and none of these studies looked at graduate level education. This study addressed the gap between the occurrence of transfer of learning and workforce application of learning. A qualitative multi-case study methodology was used to explore the activation of previous learning by graduates of a graduate level education degree program. The conceptual framework of this study was situated on Bransford and Schwartz’s transfer of learning approach as the preparation for future learning blended with Dufrense’s definition of transfer as an individual learner’s complex, dynamic, and highly selective activation and application of knowledge in response to context to explore how graduates of an Adult and Continuing Education degree program transfer learning into the educational workforce (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999; Dufresne, Mestre, Thaden-Koch, Gerace, & Leonard, 2005). The multi-case study research design included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, participant reflective journals supported by other data sources. A comprehensive comparison was used to analyze each case and a cross-case analysis was conducted to codify the findings to answer the research questions. The findings support the activation of previous learning as the complex, dynamic and highly selective and application of knowledge of the individual learner. The results have implications for degree programs and instructional practices.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Physics / Dean A. Zollman / This research presents an investigation of how students dynamically construct knowledge in a new situation. In particular, this work focuses on the contexts of light and optics, and examines the dynamic construction of an understanding of wavefront aberrometry. The study began with clinical interviews designed to elicit students’ prior knowledge about light, basic optics, and vision; the data were analyzed phenomenographically to obtain student models of understanding and examine the possible model variations. The results indicate that students have a significant number of resources in this subject area, though some are incomplete or less useful than others. In subsequent phases, many learning and teaching interviews were conducted to design and test scaffolding procedures that could be of use to students as they constructed their understanding of the given phenomenon. Throughout this work, student responses were analyzed in terms of the resources that were being used through the knowledge construction process. Finally, a modified analysis method is presented and utilized for quantifying what types of concepts students use while constructing their understanding, and how they are able to link varying types of concepts together. Significant implications extend beyond the single context of wavefront aberrometry. Each distinct analysis technique provides further insight to the ways in which students learn across contexts and the ways in which we can scaffold their learning to improve curriculum and instruction.