Transfer Theory

Dr. Arterbury articulates well what is transfer theory.  He describes transfer theory in terms of being able to learn something, being able to synthesize that learning in other situations and that learning process becomes an immediate response for the person.  An example he gave to highlight this theory is when a child learns to tie their shoe with a particular color of shoelace but transferring that knowledge to a new set of shoes with a different color of shoe lace.

A very simple example as a child that came to my mind was when my father taught me how to throw a baseball.  He spent time teaching me that skill but when I went to the playground with my elementary PE teacher, he did not have to spend time with me to teach me how to throw a softball.  I was able to transfer the knowledge of throwing a baseball to throwing a softball.  Another example that came to mind was my grammar lessons throughout school and transferring those lessons into how I speak.  A final example was when I as a young educator how I learned about good classroom management to teach an elementary PE classroom.  After two years of elementary PE, I moved into a history and geography classroom for significantly older students.  I was able to transfer those lessons to utilize in a elementary gymnasium into a high school classroom to have successful classroom management strategies. 

 
Through the interview, Dr. Arterbury highlights the requirement that all participants in the program must have one year of administrative experience before participating in the program.  His comments focus on the idea that administrative experience as a campus administrator will transfer to the experiences as a school superintendent.  I personally believe that this requirement is a very sound requirement.  I am starting this program with almost twelve years of administrative experiences that include campus and district level positions.  I can say without hesitation that these experiences prepared me for this course but, more importantly, gave me knowledge that I have been able to transfer to each new position.