Program for Educational Research and Development, McMaster University, 1200 Main St. West, Hamilton, ON L8N 3Z5, Canada.
Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2012 Oct;17(4):489-99. doi: 10.1007/s10459-011-9326-z. Epub 2011 Sep 30.
Applying a previously learned concept to a novel problem is an important but difficult process called transfer. It is suggested that a commonsense analogy aids in transfer by linking novel concepts to familiar ones. How the context of practice affects transfer when learning using analogies is still unclear. This study investigated the effect of a commonsense analogy and context familiarity for transfer of physiological concepts. First year psychology students (n = 24) learned three concepts: Starling's law, Laplace's law, and laminar-turbulent flow. The control group saw standard explanations while the intervention group saw an additional commonsense analogy. The context of learning was the organ system used for two practice clinical cases which differed for all concepts. Testing consisted of 12 new clinical cases. Starling's law cases used the organ system from practice while the other concepts presented in both novel and familiar organ systems. Half of the sample repeated testing after 1 week delay. The outcome was ratings of explanations of cases on a 0-3 scale. The effect of analogy was significant (Mean = 1.24 with, 0.86 without, F(1,22) = 4.26, p < 0.05) but not after delay (means of 1.08 and 0.75 respectively, F = (1,10), p = 0.06) There was significant effect for familiar context (Same = 1.23 (Starling), different = 0.68 (Laplace) and 0.73 (laminar-turbulent flow) (F(2,44) = 5.14, p < 0.01). Laplace's law and laminar turbulent flow cases in the familiar organ system had means of 1.65 and 1.77 respectively compared to novel cases with means of 0.74 and 0.68 (F(1,22) = 35.64, p < 0.0001). Similar effects were observed after delay. There was significant decay in performance after delay for all participants (immediate = 1.17, delayed = 0.91, F = 11.9 (1,10) p < 0.01). Common analogies aid conceptual understanding necessary for transfer. Despite conceptual aids, solving transfer problems is difficult.
将先前学到的概念应用于新问题是一个重要但困难的过程，称为迁移。有人认为，常识类比通过将新概念与熟悉的概念联系起来，有助于迁移。当使用类比进行学习时，实践的上下文如何影响迁移尚不清楚。本研究调查了常识类比和上下文熟悉度对生理概念迁移的影响。首先，让 24 名心理学一年级学生学习三个概念：Starling 定律、Laplace 定律和层流-湍流。对照组看到了标准解释，而干预组则看到了额外的常识类比。学习的背景是用于两个实践临床案例的器官系统，这对所有概念都不同。测试由 12 个新的临床案例组成。Starling 定律案例使用实践中的器官系统，而其他概念则在新颖和熟悉的器官系统中呈现。样本的一半在一周后重复测试。结果是对案例解释的评分，评分为 0-3 分。类比的效果是显著的（Mean = 1.24 与 Mean = 0.86 相比，F(1,22) = 4.26，p < 0.05），但在延迟后没有效果（Mean = 1.08 和 Mean = 0.75，F = (1,10)，p = 0.06）。熟悉的上下文有显著影响（相同 = 1.23（Starling），不同 = 0.68（Laplace）和 0.73（层流-湍流）（F(2,44) = 5.14，p < 0.01）。在熟悉的器官系统中，Laplace 定律和层流湍流案例的平均值分别为 1.65 和 1.77，而在新案例中，平均值分别为 0.74 和 0.68（F(1,22) = 35.64，p < 0.0001）。延迟后也观察到类似的效果。所有参与者在延迟后表现均明显下降（即时 = 1.17，延迟 = 0.91，F = 11.9（1,10），p < 0.01）。通用类比有助于理解概念，这是迁移所必需的。尽管有概念辅助，但解决迁移问题仍然很困难。
