Transfer of training is applying knowledge and skills acquired during training to a targeted job or role. This is a term commonly used within

industrial and organizational psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology), an applied discipline within psychology, is the science of human behavior in the workplace. Depending on the country or region of the world, I-O psychology is also known as occupational ...

. For example, after completing a safety course, transfer of training occurs when the employee uses learned safety behaviors in their work environment. Theoretically, transfer of training is a specific application of the theory of

transfer of learning Transfer of learning occurs when people apply information, strategies, and skills they have learned to a new situation or context. Transfer is not a discrete activity, but is rather an integral part of the learning process. Researchers attempt to ...

that describes the positive, zero, or negative performance outcomes of a training program. The positive transfer of training-- the increase in

job performance Job performance assesses whether a person performs a job well. Job performance, studied academically as part of industrial and organizational psychology, also forms a part of human resources management. Performance is an important criterion for or ...

attributed to training-- has become the goal of many organizations. Characteristics of trainees, the work environment, and training strategies contribute to this goal of positive transfer. Ultimately, transfer of training provides organizations with a method to evaluate training's effectiveness and identify areas for training's improvement.

Types

There are three types of transfer of training: # Positive Transfer: Training increases performance in the targeted job or role. Positive transfer is the goal of most training programs. # Negative Transfer: Training decreases performance in the targeted job or role. # Zero Transfer: Training neither increases nor decreases performance in the targeted job or role.

Model of transfer

Baldwin and Ford (1988) is the most commonly cited model of transfer, which defines the transfer of training as the generalization and maintenance of material learned in training to the work environment. Within this model, the authors conceptualize transfer of training as a three-stage process. In the first stage, the inputs to training, including the training strategies, the work environment, and trainee characteristics are defined. Next, through the training process, these inputs generate training outputs in the form of learning and retention. Ultimately, transfer of training occurs in the final stage when learning and retention are generalized and maintained in the work environment. Using the training inputs defined in this model,

psychological research Psychological research refers to research that psychologists conduct for systematic study and for analysis of the experiences and behaviors of individuals or groups. Their research can have educational, occupational and clinical application ...

has identified many factors that contribute to the positive transfer of training.

Influences on positive transfer

Within the current literature, there is a lack of consensus over what factors contribute to the positive transfer of training. However, across psychological research, the following factors have consistently impacted positive transfer.

Trainee characteristics

# Cognitive Ability: Higher cognitive ability typically leads to higher levels of retention and

generalization A generalization is a form of abstraction whereby common properties of specific instances are formulated as general concepts or claims. Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characte ...

of learned material. # Self-efficacy: Higher self-efficacy contributes to positive transfer through its influence on

confidence Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

and persistence. # Motivation: Individuals with a higher motivation to learn tend to experience higher levels of positive transfer of training. #

Personality Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over time. While there is no generally agreed-upon definition of personality, m ...

: Higher measures of

conscientiousness Conscientiousness is the personality trait of being careful, or diligent. Conscientiousness implies a desire to do a task well, and to take obligations to others seriously. Conscientious people tend to be efficient and organized as opposed to ...

increase the likelihood of positive transfer. #

Perceptions Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

of Utility: Beliefs in the value and usefulness of training increase the likelihood of positive transfer.

Work environment

# Transfer climate: By definition, a positive transfer climate is a work environment that contains cues and feedback mechanisms that remind employees of learned material. Positive transfer climates tend to facilitate higher levels of positive transfer. # Support: Support from supervisors and peers leads to higher levels of positive transfer. # Opportunity to Perform: Work environments that provide opportunities to use learned material promote higher positive transfer of training. # Check-Ins: Regular reviews of training material solidify knowledge and contribute to positive transfer.

Training strategies

# Similarity: Also referred to as identical elements theory, a high degree of similarity between the training environment and work environment increases the positive transfer of training. #

Active Learning Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." states that "students partici ...

: Hands-on practice of material contributes to positive transfer, especially when it incorporates a variety of different contexts. #

Behavioral Modeling The behavioral approach to systems theory and control theory was initiated in the late-1970s by J. C. Willems as a result of resolving inconsistencies present in classical approaches based on state-space, transfer function, and convolution represe ...

: A training technique inspired by

Albert Bandura Albert Bandura (; December 4, 1925 – July 26, 2021) was a Canadian-American psychologist who was the David Starr Jordan Professor in Psychology at Stanford University. Bandura was responsible for contributions to the field of education and to ...

's theory of social learning, which involves explanations, demonstrations, and

active learning Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." states that "students partici ...

, feedback, and reinforcement . Behavioral modeling is associated with increased positive transfer, especially when both incorrect and correct

behavioral Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as we ...

examples are provided during training. # Error-based examples: Training that focuses on how to deal with problems and learn from errors facilitates higher positive transfer. # Collaboration: Collaboration between trainees, trainers, and supervisors during training increases positive transfer. # Multiple Strategies: The use of variety of teaching and learning strategies facilitates positive transfer. # Goals: Setting goals and expectations for training increases positive transfer. # Assessments: Intermittent assessments of participant's knowledge of learned material increases positive transfer.

Assessment

Positive transfer is the goal of many organizational

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

programs. Therefore, transfer of training plays a vital role in evaluating a training program's

effectiveness Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression. Etymology The ori ...

. Common training evaluation methods, such as Kirkpatrick's Taxonomy and the Augmented Framework of Alliger et al.,{{Cite journal, last1=Alliger, first1=George M., last2=Tannenbaum, first2=Scott I., last3=Bennett, first3=Winston, last4=Traver, first4=Holly, last5=Shotland, first5=Allison, date=1997, title=A Meta-Analysis of the Relations Among Training Criteria, journal=Personnel Psychology, language=en, volume=50, issue=2, pages=341–358, doi=10.1111/j.1744-6570.1997.tb00911.x, issn=1744-6570 utilize transfer as an essential criterion to evaluate

. Due to its behavioral outcomes, transfer of training allows organizations to quantify the impact of

and measure differences in performance.

References

External links

* '
Baldwin and Ford (1988)
''
Similarity

identical elements theory

Kirkpatrick's Taxonomy