Learning That Transfers

Foreword: The Pleasures of Teaching Transfer xiii John Hattie Preface: Where Are We in Place and Time? Why Do We Need to Rethink Curriculum Design? About the Authors INTRODUCTION: Chapter Overview and How to Use This Book CHAPTER 1: Learning Transfer: What Is It and How Can It Transform Teaching and Learning? The Role of Concepts in Promoting Transfer ACT: The Learning Transfer Mental Model Putting It All Together Envisioning the Possibilities CHAPTER 2: Shifts in Practice: How Can We Set the Foundation for Learning That Transfers? Shifts #1 & #2: The Roles of the Student and the Teacher Shifts #3 & #4: The Roles of Curriculum and Instruction Shift #5: The Role of Assessments Shifts #6 & #7: The Roles of Leaders, Parents, and the Community The ACT Model in Action CHAPTER 3: Disciplinary Literacy: How Can We Unleash the Power of the Subjects We Teach? The Power of Disciplinary Lenses: Focusing Our Attention to Move Students Toward Expertise Establishing a Vision for Each Discipline Articulating a Disciplinary Vision Vertical Alignment: Your Course in the Larger Context of a Student's Journey Through School Determining Disciplinary Lenses for Your Course CHAPTER 4: Modern Literacies: What Do Our Students Need to Navigate Today's World? Determining Modern Literacy Concepts Horizontal Alignment to Promote Cross-Disciplinary Breadth CHAPTER 5: The Story of Your Course: How Do We Craft a Compelling Narrative to Guide Learning? The Critical Steps in a Transfer-Focused Course Story of Your Course CHAPTER 6: Unit Planning: How Do We Intentionally Design for Learning That Transfers? Flexible Options for Unit Planning Steps Zooming In: The Unit Planner Assessing for Transfer The Unit Storyboard: Planning for Similar to Dissimilar to Real-World Transfer Preserving Space for Student Voice, Choice, and Passions CHAPTER 7: Assessments: What Is the Role of Assessment in a Classroom Focused on Transfer? Assessment as a System of Feedback Summative Assessments of Transfer Authentic Value Beyond School Walls Planning for Formative Assessment of Transfer Putting It All Together CHAPTER 8: Instructional Design: Building a Community for Learning That Transfers Highlighting the Importance of Intellectual Growth Acquiring Understanding of Individual Concepts Connecting Concepts in Relationship Transferring Conceptual Relationships to New Situations Designing Instructional Calendars Designing Lesson Plans Conclusion: Remaining Nimble: How Do We Continue to Evolve in an Unprecedented World? Afterword: Learning That Matters Glossary References Index

Learning that Transfers is a rare combination of practical and inspirational. Drawing together concepts from psychology, neuroscience, and the learning sciences, the authors mount a case that transfer is one of the keys to designing curriculum that can produce deep and durable learning for the 21st century. Educators everywhere will welcome the book for its clarity, use-value, and timeliness. -- Sarah M. Fine Accessible. Reflective. Timely. Inspiring. Engaging. By asking all of the right questions, this book enables teachers to navigate overwhelming numbers of outcomes by creating/ uncovering complex relationships between concepts and extending learning through real-world transfer. I want education to help develop deep thinking, compassionate humans, and this book supports this aim fully. -- Charlie Kraig There is so much I love about this book. Learning That Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World provides a step-by-step process that allows readers to connect their learning and transfer it to the work they do. It is based in research and practice. -- Peter DeWitt, Ed.D. This is a serious and ambitious book that makes explicit connections from a model of learning right through to curriculum design and implementation. In doing so, it provides the reader with an explicit structure that supports their progress as they acquire, connect and transfer what they learn, demonstrating the efficacy of their model of learning. -- Oliver Caviglioli The authors have brilliantly captured the purpose of instruction today. Our students MUST be able to acquire, connect and transfer knowledge and, as educators, we must be intentional in our curriculum design to ensure that happens. This book is a great resource for ALL 21st Century educators. -- Dr. Jeff Bearden How might we design agile curriculum that prepares learners for a wildly unpredictable world? How might we design learning experiences for a silo-free system, even as we continue learning inside of them? The practical wisdom and tangible tools tucked into every nook and cranny of this ground-breaking text make this the right book for the right time, and these are the right people to learn from. -- Angela Stockman The book guides you from "what to WOW" in a clear and concrete way, offering a multitude of strategies as a primer to design learning that transfers. Everything in it has been tested with diverse students around the globe by educators like you. This work is a promise for transformation in education with an abiding focus on student ownership, complex thinking, and relevant learning. -- Alena Zink The authors have advanced a critically important new synthesis of the science and art of effective teaching. By focusing on the practical methods teachers can use to help students engage deeper conceptual understanding, this book helps keep the big questions about life, humanity, and sustainability in mind, even as we structure the fine-grained details of everyday classroom lessons. -- Dr. Susan Hanisch & Dustin Eirdosh We live in a world of often bewildering particularities. Children begin thinking, Vygotsky says, by assembling their immediate world into mental complexes where particularities understood by their juxtaposition. With schooling, children learn to organize the world by concepts or transferable patterns of meaning. The authors of this important new book masterfully explore the way these two pivotal ideas- concepts and their transfer-play out in educational practice. -- Dr. Bill Cope In an increasingly neoliberal world of performance and accountability, this book is a call-to-arms for anyone passionate about real learning. The "Try Next Day" strategies would enhance any classroom because they complement what you do already. -- Gregory Anderson Learning That Transfers articulates the interconnected relationships between past and present knowledge, offering a framework for future learning that will stand strong as education evolves. As a teacher educator, I value the fusion of theory combined with practical "Next-Day Strategies" that make this book a valuable addition to any teacher preparation program. -- Michele Dugan Imagine an education system that "empowers teachers and students to tackle the problems facing us in the 21st century and beyond". It's possible and this book shows us how. With equal parts inspiration and practical implementation, the authors detail the strategies, tools and supports they use in their own classrooms to enable their students to thrive in an unknowable future. HIGHLY recommend! -- Julie M Wilson As educators, we constantly strive to prepare our learners to navigate the complexities of their world. Drawing on latest research, the authors articulate a compelling visual model that enables students to apply their understanding to new contexts. Learning that Transfers is a must for teachers who are seeking ways to provide opportunities for authentic learning. -- Richard Healy Our world is increasingly complex and preparing our students for tomorrow depends on our teacher's ability to teach more than just curriculum. Learning That Transfers is a thoughtful and essential guide for any educator concerned with preparing students to meet challenges through deep, powerful thinking and learning. -- Katie Graham What a fantastic resource! This book is loaded with concrete examples of how to design meaningful and engaging learning experiences for students. I felt empowered as I read each chapter, thinking the ideas could easily be integrated into my practice immediately. This book should be a mandatory resource in every school and in teacher education programs. -- Jenni Donohoo In a connected and complex world, our ability to navigate myriad contexts becomes paramount. What's essential in that world? Learning transfer. Immediately practical, drawing on diverse scholarship and rich classroom experience, this book reveals the what, why, and how of learning transfer, for teachers of all types. This is a must-read for anyone striving for equity and excellence in education. -- Michael Crawford, PhD No one today would suggest that we live in a stable world with little change, little need to adapt as individuals, to meet the challenges of the next several months let alone the next 10, 20 or 30 years. Ch 4 Modern Literacies alone is why every educator should read this book. Like never before we must teach and lead our students not for a final exam, but for life. This book will help. -- Dr. Rick Gilson It's a uniquely human trait to make deep meaning out of knowledge, giving it significance and context. Through the ACT mental model, practical examples of shifts in practice, guidance in curriculum planning and more, Learning That Transfers is a text that empowers readers to reframe learning and build in that deeper level of meaning that makes all the difference in revolutionizing education. -- Caitlin Krause