Generative Learning Communities: Preparing Leaders for Authentic Practice 77
DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP COMPETENCE: TRANSFER OF LEARNING
Whether learning is oriented toward cognition (e.g., developing new knowledge),
behavior (e.g., interacting appropriately with others), or dispositions (e.g., developing new
orientations to self and others), “learning involves change” (Beghetto & Alzono, 2006, p.
285). Thus, learning activities within leadership programs can develop and support
transformation in individuals that enhances the probability that new principals can and will
support effective learning processes, monitor learning progress, and cultivate learning-focused
communities in P-12 schools (Smith & Piele, 2006).
Conditions for Developing Learning Transfer
Learners need sufficient time to explore new information and develop concepts related to
the information before they are able to connect it with their prior knowledge. Time on task is
necessary but not sufficient for effective learning. Rather, learners also need to practice with
their new knowledge in settings where their performance can be monitored and assessed
because external feedback and reflection about new knowledge and its applications are
essential (Bransford et al., 2000).
The context in which learning occurs also influences learning transfer. Case-based
(Ashbaugh & Kasten, 1991; Journal of Cases in Educational Administration; Kowalski,
2001) and problem-based (Bridges, 1992) learning activities are common ways to provide
application practice in classroom settings. However, only careful attention by instructors to
solutions ensures high-probability learning transfer. In order to generalize cases or problems
to new contexts, guided questioning about application of solutions in other circumstances and
settings makes effective and flexible transfer more likely and appropriate. Thus, attention to
flexible transfer of learning can increase the speed with which learners develop general
principles for finding solutions and independently using knowledge (Bransford et al., 2000).
Conditions for Flexible Transfer of Learning
Being able to discern features and meaningful patterns within information and then
retrieve selected knowledge with little effort exemplifies learning transfer to novel practice
settings. Individuals who can organize, represent, and interpret information and think
effectively about problems within a particular knowledge area no longer are novices but
become experts. Expert knowledge underlies effective problem solving and affects how
quickly experts can retrieve and use knowledge (Bransford et al., 2000)..
Because learning transfer is influenced by the context in which learning takes place, a
community-centered approach increases the effectiveness of classroom environments
(National Research Council, 1999). Effective learning communities develop shared norms
about expectations and behavior. Such community-centered classrooms promote “intellectual
camaraderie” (p. 22) in which each participant helps others learn “by building on each other’s
knowledge, asking questions to clarify explanations, and suggesting avenues that would move
the group toward its goal” (p. 22). Through appropriate use of cooperative problem solving,
the resulting intellectual community enhances cognitive development and generates
excitement about and ownership of learning (National Research Council), attributes of a
community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998).