Leveraging the Transfer in Transferable Skills

By Lia Olson, Ph.D.

There is no question that teaching transferable skills can be powerful. In many ways, it is the cape we don to prepare our diverse adult learners to meet the varied needs and goals that will make them successful in any endeavor they pursue. After all, the skills they are learning are transferable.

We know there is truth to this, despite my hyperbole. According to The National Research Council in its synthesis of the literature on the subject of transferable skills, “Business leaders, educational organizations, and researchers have begun to call for new education policies that target the development of broad, transferable skills and knowledge” (2012).

We have responded to that call. First, we adopted College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education (2013) and purchased quality instructional resources to promote rigorous learning. Then we combed our textbooks, googled “transferable skills lists,” and read the WIOA legislation (2014) cover to cover to discover the identity of those transferable skills that would pack the most punch. We added them to our curriculum, our daily lessons, our learning goals, our learning tasks, and our assessments. Finally, our learners have been practicing them in class and even mastering them on our assessments.

Yet, our lamentation still rings out: “Why don’t my students apply what they have learned?” This lamentation clearly puts the ownness on the students, for we know we have done about everything we could do. And, after all, according to our assessments many of them learned it. But…(long pause here)…did they learn it?

The lists we consult, the learning goals we outline, the tasks we design focus on the skills in transferable skills. Indeed, this is a crucial element. But, isn’t its modifier equally crucial? The National Research Council (2012) states that learning that is transferable must “include both [emphasis added] knowledge in a domain and [emphasis added] knowledge of how, why, and when to apply this knowledge to answer questions and solve problems.” In other words, transferable skills must transfer.

The idea of transfer

So, what is transfer? We know what it looks like in everyday life: we transfer money from one account to the other, we transfer from one bus to another, one job to another, and one customer service rep to another and another and another.  In every instance, we are called upon to use what we know about the first situation, how it is connected to the next, and how to use what we already know when we get there. This transfer is successful, according to the National Reacher Council (2012), when the “ability to recognize familiar elements in novel problems allows them [expert learners] to apply (or transfer) their knowledge to solve such problems.”

If they are not practicing transfer, they are just learning skills

According to the National Research Council, that transfer becomes possible “when effective instructional methods are used.” What are these “effective instructional methods”? Many of them we are already using. We are already teaching the knowledge and skills in rigorous ways to engage our learners in productive struggle. Yet, we can teach our learners transferable skills all day long, but if they are not practicing transfer, then they are just learning skills. By the same token, we can teach any skill and make it transferable when our learners practice transfer!

So, what does it mean to “teach” transfer?  Let’s look for guidance from two gurus of the constructivist theory, the theorist Jerome Bruner and the philosopher John Dewey (p. 137).

Teaching specific topics or skills without making clear their context in the broader fundamental structure of a field of knowledge is uneconomical.  ~Bruner (1960)

To grasp the meaning of a thing, an event, or a situation is to see it in its relations to other things: to see how it operates or functions, what consequences follow from it, what causes it, what uses it can be put to.  ~Dewey (1933)

Creating a formula for transfer from their combined wisdom could, then, look like this:

Formula for transfer
Formula for transfer

In some ways, we already do this. We have tasks to activate prior knowledge, application tasks, and expansion activities. But are we leveraging them to focus on transfer? How often have we shortened or skipped one for the sake of time? Do these tasks transfer the learning to multiple contexts, or better yet, contexts of the learners’ choosing? We are still largely driven by the content we need to cover, and our students are still largely assessed on what they learn within one context.

Leveraging transfer

Leveraging transfer takes a paradigm shift in our thinking about instruction and instructional planning. No longer are we satisfied with a focus on knowledge and skills if it does not include an emphasis on transfer. In this way, we make time for transfer by including learning tasks that allow students to contextualize the content they are learning in multiple ways, make connections between the content and other content, and apply the content to multiple situations.

How do we do this? The good news is there are already many tried-and-true tasks we can leverage to maximize student practice in transferring knowledge and skills. Here are some examples:

KWL+

The KWL chart, sometimes with the addition of the plus, is an activity to effectively support and evaluate student learning from the start of a lesson to its finish.

KWL+ chart
KWL+ Chart
  • The K can meaningfully extract the prior knowledge students have, not just about the topic at hand but about other topics that relate to it or are relevant to them.
    • What other things do you know that can help you understand this topic/learn this skill?
    • What learning have we done that will help you learn about this topic/learn this skill?
  • The W can include a question starter that helps students connect the current learning to other relevant areas in the lives.
    • How does this information/skill apply to __?
    • How will this information/skill help me ___?
  • The L can maintain its context-dependent stance to focus on the objectives of the lesson within the context to set the stage for greater transfer.
  • The + column can be expanded to include how the topic/skill relates to learners’ goals, needs, and interests.
    • How do I apply this knowledge/skill to __?
    • How do I use this knowledge/skill to __?

Activate Prior Knowledge

Often lessons begin with a discussion or prompt to help students connect the new learning with what they already know. Adding the K questions from the KWL+ chart above leverages this activity to include other knowledge and skills (including learning strategies) that students can connect to as they begin the lesson.

Venn Diagram

The Venn diagram is used to explore connections between things, specifically how they compare and contrast. Strategic placement of a Venn diagram task in the lesson allows learners to explore the connections between and among contexts by identifying the knowledge and skills they have in common and considering how those knowledge and skills would be used in other context(s).

Venn Diagram
Venn Diagram

Brainstorm

Who hasn’t done a brainstorm? What about one that specifically asks where else learners can use the new knowledge or skill?  This activity can be done before the learning to get buy-in and show relevance or after the learning as a way for students to reflect on how the learning can transfer to other areas of their lives.

Brainstorming graphic
Brainstorm

Expansion

We plan for expansion activities all the time. Often, they are the task that gets cut when we run out of time. In addition, they often don’t expand beyond the context at hand. Instead, learners apply the learning to a new situation within the same context. Leverage expansion activities to move students beyond the current context to explore other contexts that are directly relevant to them. Students can choose the context and discuss how the new learning would transfer. What knowledge and skills could they use in that context? How could they use them? What adaptations would they make to what they learned to fit this new context?

Exit ticket

One common closure activity is the exit ticket. This can take the form of written or oral answers to 1 – 3 summary questions; a think-pair-share where students think of one thing they learned in class, pair to talk about it with a peer, and then share out with the class; or a turn-and-talk partner exchange to summarize the learning of the day. Including a question around where and/or how students are going to transfer the learning from the lesson means that students leave the classroom with transfer at the forefront of their thoughts, just when they need it the most.

The heart of the matter is that without transfer, transferable skills are just skills. They only become magical when we create the opportunity for transfer.  When our lessons brim with the lively exploration of concepts, connections, and contexts then, just maybe, the cape fits…and we should wear it. After all, we and our learners are up against a lot. We need all the leverage we can get!

References

Bruner, J. (1960). The process of education. Cambridge, MA:  Harvard University Press.

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: Henry Holt.

National Research Council. (2012). Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13398.


Lia Olson, Ph.D., has served as an ESOL classroom teacher, professional developer, curriculum design specialist, author, and consultant. She has taught adult learners for more than 20 years at St. Paul Public Schools Adult Education. In addition, she is an adjunct professor for the Teaching English as a Foreign Language program and Adult Basic Education licensure program at Hamline University. As a curriculum design expert, Dr. Olson has developed curricula and teaching materials for ESOL students at all levels that integrate English language acquisition with numeracy, technology, and work-readiness skills.

Standards are changing. We’ve got your back.

Changes to the NRS Standards for Adult Education

In January, the U.S. Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) released the long-awaited updates to the National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS), including the new Educational Functioning Level (EFL) descriptors for ESL. These updates are of critical importance to programs that receive funding under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The details of the revision are provided in the document titled “Technical Assistance Guide for Performance Accountability under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,” which can be accessed here.

Below is a summary of what you need to know about the new NRS EFL descriptors for your English language learners. Please note that these descriptors are still evolving, and it is not clear when the changes will come into effect. We will update you when there is additional information published by OCTAE.

  1. The NRS descriptors for English language learners cover six educational functioning levels (EFLs).

1 – Beginning ESL Literacy
2 – Low Beginning ESL
3 – High Beginning ESL
4 – Low Intermediate ESL
5 – High Intermediate ESL
6 – Advanced ESL

  1. These six levels focus on three main modalities:
  • Interpretive: Receptive skills to understand, process, and interpret written and oral language delivered at an appropriate level and presented in a variety of contexts and genres.
  • Productive: Productive skills that allow learners to produce spoken and written language that transmits meaning in a variety of contexts, both in everyday and academic interactions.
  • Interactive: Skills that allow learners to process and produce meaningful interactions in spoken and written forms in a variety of contexts and settings.

The three modalities cover four language skills:

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Speaking
  • Listening
  1. The revised NRS EFL descriptors for English language learners draw content from the recently published English Language Proficiency Standards for Adult Education (ELPS). The ELPS are designed to identify skills most important and most relevant for adult English language learners as they pursue their educational, career, and life-improvement goals. The ELPS integrate with the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), providing a foundation for academic rigor.
  1. The revision of the NRS EFL descriptors calls for an increase in text complexity and progression of topics (progressive complexity) from familiar to academic in both instruction and assessment. Materials need to present level-appropriate text complexity that includes demanding language structures, academic vocabulary, and concepts as well as tasks that develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
  1. The new version of the NRS EFL descriptors puts a significant emphasis on the development of college and career readiness skills and the integration of academic rigor in the English language learning process at all levels, including the use of level-appropriate academic language in a variety of academic content areas, and including informational text in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
  1. The new NRS EFL descriptors promote the integration of technology in instruction, including the application of digital tool and resources, and the development of learners’ digital literacy.
  1. Although these new NRS EFL descriptors present the most important concepts and skills that should be taught at each level, they also leave room for state and local instructional frameworks and standards to guide lesson planning and curriculum development.

In this new WIOA landscape, programs need to not only help learners develop competence in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, but also develop the skills to problem-solve, evaluate complex texts, analyze information, and think critically so that they are prepared to achieve their educational, career, and personal goals.

Pearson ELT is committed to adult education and to the instructors who work to help learners achieve success. We are committed to keeping up with the changing landscape of adult education and to ensuring that our materials and tools are in alignment with the most recent standards. Comprehensive correlations of our materials to current standards are at your fingertips and can be accessed here.

The chart below outlines the correspondence of the NRS EFL descriptors to CCRS, ELPS, and CASAS and shows how Pearson materials are positioned within each level.

Click on the chart to enlarge the image.