Learning Transfer

In regards to the article ‘Developing Academic Skills that Transfer to the Workplace’ I find that they are addressing an issue or problem that has always been, at least partly, prevalent in Colleges.  Too often students find themselves wondering how the work and classes they are taking transfer to the workplace.  I have asked myself these questions more than once.  Unless the degree is in a very defined field, such as medicine, the learning tends to be generic and has little bearing on the ‘real world’.  I like how the ‘College For America’ recognizes this and has designed a program that develops skills that are valuable in the workplace and helps the students understand how the assignments are applicable in the workplace.  By professors giving context of the assignments and examples of when this will be used I think students will be more driven and feel that the work has meaning.  I have found that many of the courses that I have taken do directly relate to my career, at least the ones in the BTAS program.  The professors do a great job in relating the work to real like applications. 

I found Eraut’s article to be intriguing and enlightening.  Much of what he states I find can be applied to my own education and career experience.  To give some background, I stumbled upon my career and the education I had prior was in Veterinary Technology, a far cry from business, so everything I learned I learned as I went along, with very little educational context.  I absorbed everything around me, from how meetings were conducted, what was expected from the staff in regards to development, how situations were interpreted and solved, to how to conduct oneself in specific situations.  I absorbed all of this and applied it to myself and how I could bring new ideas, skills and thougths to the table.  All without formal learning.  Eraut describes this well in his article stating “Situations often develop over time. Instead of a static model one has a dynamic model in which constangly changing environement provides a changing input”.

I found another comment very thought provoking.   Eraut states “Teaching staff dominate the selection and treatment of academic content” I have never really thought about how that might affect a persons learning but it’s true.  How one teacher treats academic content may differ quite a bit from how another treats it.  How does this then affect learning and how it applies within the workplace? We are to all use the practices learned and to apply them to a situation.  This again comes back to situation learning. Recognizing which practice to use and when is learned through time and experience, feedback and reactions.  This can only be learned in the workplace.  So while higher learning may give us a base it is through work and experience that these ideas can be practiced.

To conclude I find that most learning is through experience itself and agree with much of what Eruat theorizes.  I am intrigued by the curriculum of the College for America and am hopeful they can bridge the gap between eduction and work practices.

Works Cited

Eraut, Michel. “Transfer of Knowledge Between Education and Workplace Settings.” Researchgate.net.  ResearchGate, January 2009. Web. 26 January 2019.

CFA Staff. “Developing Acedemic Skills that Transfer to the Workplace.” collegeforamerica.org. Southern New Hampshire University. 8 March 2017. Web. 26 January 2019.