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Exploring Hurdles to Transfer: Student Experiences of Applying Knowledge across Disciplines
- Source :
-
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology . 2015 46(3):404-419. - Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- This paper explores the ways students perceive the transfer of learned knowledge to new situations -- often a surprisingly difficult prospect. The novel aspect compared to the traditional transfer studies is that the learning phase is not a part of the experiment itself. The intention was only to activate acquired knowledge relevant to the transfer target using a short primer immediately prior to the situation where the knowledge was to be applied. Eight volunteer students from either mathematics or computer science curricula were given a task of designing an adder circuit using logic gates: a new context in which to apply knowledge of binary arithmetic and Boolean algebra. The results of a phenomenographic classification of the views presented by the students in their post-experiment interviews are reported. The degree to which the students were conscious of the acquired knowledge they employed and how they applied it in a new context emerged as the differentiating factors.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0020-739X
- Volume :
- 46
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- ERIC
- Journal :
- International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- EJ1052064
- Document Type :
- Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research<br />Tests/Questionnaires
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2014.982729