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Full-Text Articles in Education
Contextual Effects On A Well Learned Task: Isolated Or Broad?, Matthew J. Parkinson
Contextual Effects On A Well Learned Task: Isolated Or Broad?, Matthew J. Parkinson
Theses : Honours
Skill transfer is a fundamental feature in the domain of skill acquisition, however different theories present conflicting ideas regarding prediction of transfer. Anderson's (1982) Adaptive Control of Thought theory posits that the amount of transfer is proportional to the number of shared productions. Logan's (1988) Instance theory in contrast, posits that complete transfer will only occur on tasks which have been experienced before. However, work by Speelman and Kirsner (1997), Speelman, Forbes and Giesen (2004) and Johnson (2005) have produced results that counter the implicit assumptions of these theories. More specifically a disruption from the predicted learning curve was found …
Skill Acquisition And Transfer To Contextually Different Tasks: Complete, Partial Or Zero Transfer?, Lois E. Johnson
Skill Acquisition And Transfer To Contextually Different Tasks: Complete, Partial Or Zero Transfer?, Lois E. Johnson
Theses : Honours
There are differing opinions as to whether skills learned in one situation can be transferred and used in new situations. Anderson's (1982, 1993) Adaptive Control of Thought theory states that complete transfer of skills from one situation to another will occur when the processes used in training are the same as those required in transfer. Logan's (1988) Instance theory posits that complete transfer will occur only if the problems used in training are identical to those used in transfer, and that partial transfer should not occur in any transfer situation. However research by Speelman and Kirsner (2001), and Speelman, Forbes …
Effect Of The Specificity Of Training Delivery On Skill Acquisition And Transfer, Suzanne Mary Matthews
Effect Of The Specificity Of Training Delivery On Skill Acquisition And Transfer, Suzanne Mary Matthews
Theses : Honours
Past research (e.g., Brewer, 1998) has shown that when people learn to solve simple formulae where elements are repeated over and over again, the greater the degree of repetition, the less transferable the skill. The current study tested one explanation for this observation; that training conditions involving little stimulus variation encourage the development of specific skills with low transferability. These habit-encouraging conditions were compared with a habit-breaking manipulation that involved presentation of unfamiliar stimuli throughout training. Participants were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups, the habit-encouraging and habit-breaking groups. The groups had 22 and 20 participants respectively. Participants were …
The Effect Of Conceptual Context Changes On Skill Transfer Performance, Kris Giesen
The Effect Of Conceptual Context Changes On Skill Transfer Performance, Kris Giesen
Theses : Honours
The effect of changing the conceptual context on task performance was examined. The aim was to evaluate whether power functions that describe improvement on old skills during practice can be used to predict further improvement on these skills when they are presented in a novel environment. This research was designed to extend Speelman and Kirsner's (under review) study, which involved testing the assumption made by many skill theories: that performance should continue to improve as if a change in task conditions had no effect. Eighty participants were randomly allocated to one of four distractor conditions: Operand Change (e.g., 2 x …
The Effects Of Conceptual Change On The Transfer Of Established Skills, John Forbes
The Effects Of Conceptual Change On The Transfer Of Established Skills, John Forbes
Theses : Honours
When people practice a task, their performance in terms of speed and accuracy normally improves in a smooth manner that follows a power function. The consistency with which the performance of a wide range of skills conforms to this power function relationship is known as the Power Law of Learning, and has been an important assumption of many of the dominant theories of skill acquisition and transfer. As such, the form of the power function that is derived from the training process has been used to predict performance when task conditions remain constant. However, Speelman and Kirsner (under review) have …
The Specificity Of Skill Acquisition: Is It Task Related?, Dawn Darlaston-Jones
The Specificity Of Skill Acquisition: Is It Task Related?, Dawn Darlaston-Jones
Theses : Honours
The plethora of research into the area of skill acquisition and transfer has resulted in conflicting conclusions regarding the nature of transfer. Some researchers have found skill transfer to be specific to the items experienced during training (Logan, I 988, alphabet-arithmetic task; Masson, 1986, reverse reading task). Others have found transfer to be general (Speelman & Kirsner, I 997, syllogism task) or both general and specific in the same task (Greig & Speelman, 1999, algebra task). This study investigated the assumption that the task involved dictates the specific nature of skill acquisition and transfer. Sixty participants drawn from the Edith …
The Effect Of Training Mode On Skill Acquisition And Transfer, Douglas F. Brewer
The Effect Of Training Mode On Skill Acquisition And Transfer, Douglas F. Brewer
Theses : Honours
This study examined the transfer of skills developed in solving a simple algebraic formula. Forty-two university Psychology undergraduates, randomly assigned to one of two training groups. were required to practice solving the formula (X2-Y)/2 by substituting numbers for the variables x and y. One group of participants practiced with eight sets of numbers, while the other group practiced with 16 sets of numbers. All participants performed 320 trials during training. In the transfer phase, the response times required to solve the same formula with a set of numbers not previously encountered was analysed to determine if the variation …