LEARNING AND TRANSFER OF LEARNING
P R E PA R E D B Y
A H M E D A LY K H A L I FA
TOPICS

What is learning ? What is learned

The implications of learning theory for instructional design.

The Learning process

Incorporate adult learning theory into the design of a training program.

Describe how learners receive, process, store, retrieve, and act upon information.

Implications of the Learning Process and Transfer of Training for Instruction

The features of instruction and the work environment that are necessary for learning
and transfer of training

Obstacles in the work environment That Inhibit Transfer of Training

Characteristics of a positive climate for transfer of training

Learning Outcomes
ENERGIZING TRAINING MEANS BETTER LEARNING AND
TRANSFER OF TRAINING
Boring lectures, lack of meaningful content in e-learning, training that
doesn’t give employees the opportunity to practice and receive
feedback—all demotivate trainees and make it difficult for them to learn
and use what they learned on the job. How- ever, many companies are
using innovative instructional methods to make training more interesting
and to help trainees learn and apply it to their work.
certain conditions must be present for learning to occur
and employees to use what they learned on their jobs.
These include :
(1) providing opportunities for trainees to practice and receive feedback, i.e.,
information about how well people are meeting the training objectives,
(2) offering meaningful training content,
(3)
identifying any prerequisites that trainees need to complete
the
program successfully,
(4) allowing trainees to learn through observation and experience, and
(5) ensuring that the work environment, including managers and peers,
support learning and use of skills on the job. For example, feedback from
trainers and mentors is provided at Mindtree Limited and Nemours.
It is important to realize that for training to
be effective, both learning and transfer of
training are needed. Trainees can fail or
incorrectly apply training content (what was
emphasized in training) to their jobs, either
because the training was not conducive to
learning, the work environment provides
them with the opportunity to use training
content or supports its correct use, or both.
Also, it is a mistake to consider transfer of
training as something to be concerned about
after training because it deals with the use of
training content on the job. Instead, transfer
of training should be considered during the
design or purchase of training. If you wait
until after training to consider transfer of
training, it is likely too late. Trainees’
perceptions of the work environment and its
support for training have likely influenced
their motivation to learn and what, if
anything, they have learned
Intellectual skills
include concepts and rules, which are critical to solve problems,
serve
customers, and create products. For example, a manager must know the
steps in the
performance appraisal process (e.g., gather data, summarize
data, or prepare for an appraisal interview with an employee) in order to
conduct an employee appraisal.
Motor skills
include coordination of physical movements. For example, a telephone
repair person
must have the coordination and dexterity required to climb
ladders and tele- phone poles.
Attitudes
are a combination of beliefs and feelings that predispose a person to
behave a certain
way. Attitudes include a cognitive component (beliefs), an
affective component (feeling), and an intentional component (the way a person
intends to behave with regard to the
focus of the attitude).
LEARNING THEORIES
LEARNING THEORIES
GOAL THEORY
Affect the amount of effort that a trainee will expend in learning, Refers to the goals
held by a trainee in a learning situation it includes learning orientation
Performance orientation (refers to learners who focus on task performance, Persons
with a performance orientation define success as high performance relative to
others, value high ability more than learning, and find that errors and mistakes
cause anxiety and want to avoid them, will direct more attention to performing
well and less effort to learning)
NEEDS THEORIES
 A need is a deficiency that a person is experiencing at any point in time. A need
motivates a person to behave in a manner that satisfies the deficiency
 need theories focused on physiological needs, relatedness needs (needs to
interact with other persons), and growth needs, persons start by trying to satisfy
needs at the lowest level, then progress up the hierarchy as lower-level needs are
satisfied
 Need theories suggest that to motivate learning, trainers should identify trainees’
needs and communicate how training program content relates to fulfilling these
needs Also, if certain basic needs of trainees (e.g., physiological and safety
needs) are not met, they are unlikely to be motivated to learn.
EXPECTANCY THEORY
 Expectancy theory suggests that a person’s behavior is based on three factors:
expectancy, instrumentality, and valence.

Beliefs about the link between trying to perform a behavior and actually
performing well are called expectancies.
 Expectancy is similar to self-efficacy. In expectancy theory, a belief that
performing a given behavior (e.g., attending a training program) is associated
with a particular outcome (e.g., being able to better perform your job) is called
instrumentality.
 Valence is the value that person places on an outcome (e.g., how important it is
to perform better on the job).
EXPECTANCY THEORY CONT….
EXPECTANCY
THEORY CONT….
From a training perspective, expectancy theory suggests that learning is most likely to
occur when employees believe that they can learn the content of the program
(expectancy).
Also, learning and transfer of training are enhanced when they are linked to outcomes
such as better job performance, a salary increase, or peer recognition
(instrumentality), and when employees value these outcomes (valence).
ADULT LEARNING THEORY
Knowles’s model is based on several assumptions:
1.
Adults have the need to know why they are learning something.
2.
Adults have a need to be self-directed.
3. Adults bring more work-related experiences into the
learning situation.
4. Adults enter a learning experience with a problem-centered
approach to learning.
5. Adults are motivated to learn by both extrinsic and intrinsic
motivators
INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY
 Compared to other learning theories, information processing theories give more
emphasis to the internal processes that occur when training content is learned
and retained
 It propose that information or messages taken in by the learner undergo several
transformations in the human brain
 Besides emphasizing the internal processes needed to capture, store, retrieve,
and respond to messages, the information processing model highlights how
external events influence learning.
INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY COT…
INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY COT…
 These events include
1. Changes in the intensity or frequency of the stimulus that affect attention.
2. Informing the learner of the objectives to establish an expectation.
3. Enhancing perceptual features of the material.
4. Verbal instructions, pictures, diagrams, and maps suggesting ways to code the
training content
5. Meaningful learning context (examples, problems).
6. Demonstration or verbal instructions helping to organize the learner’s response,
as well as facilitating the selection of the correct response.
TRANSFER OF TRAINING THEORY
 It is more likely to occur when the trainee works on tasks during training (e.g.,
knowledge, equipment, or processes) that are very similar, if not identical, to the
work environment (near transfer).

Transfer of training is more difficult when tasks during training are different from
the work environment, i.e.,
far transfer, such as applying customer service principles to interaction with an angry
customer in front of a long line of customers at a cash register
TRANSFER OF TRAINING THEORY CONT….
 Closed skills refer to training objectives that are linked to learning specific skills
that are to be identically produced by the trainee on their job. There is only one
correct way to complete a task if it requires closed skills.
 open skills are linked to more general learning principles. For example, customer
service skills are examples of open skills. There is not a single correct way to
perform and the learner is given some general principles to follow, Open skills are
more difficult to train than closed skills because they require the trainee to not
only acquire and recall general principles, but also to consider how they can be
adapted and used to fit a wide range of circumstances
THREE THEORIES OF TRANSFER OF TRAINING
HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAINING DESIGN
1.
The theory of identical elements proposes that transfer of training occurs when
what is being learned in the training session is identical to what the trainee has
to perform on the job.
2. The stimulus generalization approach suggests that the way to understand the
transfer of training issue is to construct training so that the most important features
or general principles are emphasized
3. According to the cognitive theory of transfer, the likelihood of transfer depends on
the trainees’ ability to retrieve learned capabilities.
THE LEARNING PROCESS
1. Mental and Physical Processes
 The learning processes, which include expectancy, perception, working storage,
semantic encoding, long-term storage, retrieval, generalizing, and gratification,
emphasizes that learning depends on the learner’s cognitive processes, including
attending to what is to be learned
THE LEARNING PROCESS
CONT….
2. The Learning Cycle
Learning can be considered dynamic cycle that involves
Four stage
1. Concrete experience
2. Reflective observation
3. Abstract conceptualization
4. Active experimentation
Trainee encounters (concrete experience}
E.g.
work problem
This is followed by thinking (reflective observation)About the problem
Which leads to generation of ideas of how to solve the problem{ abstract
conceptualization}
Ana finally to implementation of the ideas directly to the problem (active
experimentation)
THE LEARNING PROCESS CONT….
learning styles should be considered to adjust the
training or instructional strategy
LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS
THE LEARNING CYCLE CONT…
Learning characteristics
1. DIVERGER
good At generating ideas, seeing a situation from multiple perspectives, and being
aware of meaning and value
Tends to be interested in people, culture, and the art
2. Assimilator
Tends to be less concerned with people than with ideas and abstract concepts
LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS CONT…
3. Converge
Prefers dealing with technical tasks rather than interpersonal issue
4. Accommodator
- Is good at implementing decisions, carrying out plans, and
getting involved in new experiences
- Tends to be at ease with people but may be seen as impatient or pushy.
IMPLICATIONS OF THE LEARNING
PROCESS AND TRANSFER OF TRAINING
FOR INSTRUCTION
 Employees Need to Know the Objectives
 Employees Need Meaningful Training Content
 Employees Need Opportunities to Practice
 Employees Need to Commit Training Content to Memory
 Employees Need Feedback
 Employees Learn Through Observation, Experience, and
Interaction
 Employees Need the Training Program To Be Properly Coordinated and Arranged
EXAMPLES OF PERFORMANCE OR OUTCOMES
FOR OBJECTIVES
 Performance
Arrange , Define ,list ,recall ,repeat classify ,discuss
,explain ,review
Translate ,apply ,choose ,demonstrate ,prepare analyze,
collect,
EMPLOYEES LEARN THROUGH
EMPLOYEES
LEARN THROUGH OBSERVATION,
 Employees learn is through observing and imitating the actions of models.
EXPERIENCE,
AND
 After observing the model,
trainees should have the opportunity in practice
sessions to reproduce the skills or behavior shown by the model.
INTERACTION
 Employees also learn best through interaction

Interacting with training content with other learners Like :
reading text on the web or in books,
listening to multimedia modules
case studies and worksheets,
or creating new content based on learned information
THREE TYPES OF INSTRUCTIONAL INTERACTION
1.
Learner-content
Requires mastering a task that is completed alone
2. Learner-learner
with or without an instructor , sharing experience with peers e (such as tacit
knowledge)
3. Learner-instructor
Learner-instructor discussions can be useful for helping learners understand content,
enhance learners’ self-awareness and self-assessment, gain an appreciation for
different opinions, and implement ideas on the job.
OBSTACLES IN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT
THAT INHIBIT TRANSFER OF TRAINING
 Obstacle Work Conditions
Time pressures
Inadequate equipment
Few opportunities to use skills
Inadequate budget
 Lack of Peer Support
Peers discourage use of new knowledge and skills on the job.
Peers are unwilling to provide feedback.
Peers see training as waste of time.
Lack of Management Support
Management does not accept ideas or suggestions in training. Management does not
discuss training opportunities.
Management opposes use of skills learned in training.
Management communicates that training is a waste of time. Management is unwilling to
provide reinforcement.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A POSITIVE CLIMATE FOR
TRANSFER OF TRAINING
Supervisors and coworkers encourage and set goals for trainees to use new skills and
behaviors acquired in training
Remind him or her to use new skills and behaviors acquired in training
Feedback consequence
Lack of punishment
Extrinsic reinforcement consequences: Trainees receive extrinsic rewards for using
new skills and behaviors acquired in training
Intrinsic reinforcement consequences: Trainees receive intrinsic rewards for using
new skills and behaviors acquired in training
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Verbal Information
Facts, and propositions
 Intellectual Skills
Knowing how
 Cognitive Strategies
Process of thinking and learning
 Attitudes
Choice of personal action
 Motor Skills
Muscular actions