Transfer of learning is when learning in one context enhances a similar performance in another context. It includes near transfer and far transfer. Near transfer is the use of knowledge for a closely related circumstance. On the other hand, far transfer is the use of knowledge for situations that are not related.
Transfer of Learning
For any learning to be active, the learner must display the lessons he or she learned before. When a student applies the knowledge in the class by passing exams, it is still ordinary learning. However, when he or she can use those lessons in life to solve other problems related or unrelated, it becomes the transfer of learning (Donovan, Townsend & Hailstone, 2011).
In learning, there is positive transfer and negative transfer. Positive transfer occurs when learning in one context helps to improve the status of another context. Negative transfer, on the other hand, impacts negatively. But it is also important to mention that negative transfer may only occur in the early stages of learning. Later on, the learner may improve some of the problematic areas and be able to impact positively.
Cherry Hill Women’s Center needs the transfer of learning. It would involve the nurses being able to share the skills they acquired while in school with the patients. They even got some of the skills during the job training (Donovan, Townsend & Hailstone, 2011). They have understood diabetes well and can train their patients. The women, in this case, are the patients that the nurses would pass the knowledge to.
Cherry Hill Women’s Center has 48 patients who already have Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Such a group would not need training on preventive measures. It would need training on how to manage the condition. It would also include how to prevent diabetes type II from developing.
Strategies for Effective Transfer of Learning
Education is the best way to propagate learning. When it comes from the qualified personnel like the nurses and other experienced workers, the patients would appreciate it. The main agenda is to train the patients on how to reduce their overall health risks. They need to understand that this would improve their quality of life.
Since diabetes mellitus is a preventable disease, education by health care professionals would have a direct impact. Gestational diabetes mellitus can easily lead to type II diabetes. Women diagnosed with gestational diabetes are seven times more likely to develop type II diabetes than other pregnant women (ADA, 2016). Therefore, education, after a woman has delivered her baby, is a missed opportunity that may decrease her health risks. Health care workers cannot predict future infections of type II diabetes. But the GDM patients are the biggest risk group. Unfortunately, a diagnosis of gestational diabetes may ultimately have a long-lasting effect on the child. The unborn fetus has an increased likelihood of macrosomia as well as injuries during birth.
Additionally, after birth, the infant may have breathing problems and need close monitoring for hypoglycemia. Lastly, according to the American Diabetes Association (2016), these babies are at an increased risk for obesity and developing type II diabetes later in life. Education can have a positive effect on the mother and the unborn child. It may significantly affect the future health of the new baby and the continuing health of the mother. Transfer learning would focus on education during and immediately after the pregnancy. The training would begin as early as 15 weeks into pregnancy.
The health care professionals would arrange the lessons into three modules. The first module would focus on a few selected pregnant mothers. The group would comprise of women who are 15 to 32 weeks pregnant. The learning objectives would be necessary for prevention purposes. The lessons would include lessons on the description of the diabetes disease, its causes, prevention and treatment measures. It would also include the type of diet the patient should take to prevent it.
The second module would comprise of lessons for the women who have tested positive for GDM. It would include the management of the disease. They would learn when and how to test their blood glucose levels. The instructions would include changes in their diet. A particular class would be available for the group. Its name would be Care for Women Diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. For efficient transfer of learning to occur, the women would have to participate fully in the training module. The course would be one to two hours in length depending on class participation. It would take place two times a week at different times to accommodate patient’s scheduling preferences. Additionally, women would have to come with their spouses or significant others. The person would support them with the lifestyle changes they would need to make. Women would also need to attend classes regularly to ensure they have met the program objectives. Handout information would also be available to supplement the teachings.
The third module, Post-partum Gestational Diabetes Care, would be essential for post-partum women who had gestational diabetes. Many people think that once the baby is born, high glucose levels are no longer an issue. But it is only a myth. Glucose levels return to normal 95% of the time (Repke, Gilmartin & Ural, 2008). The follow-up module would target post-partum women. The module would require the women to attend the lessons twice a week at different times to accommodate their concerns. The class would focus on additional ways to lower blood glucose and how to reduce health risks associated with type II diabetes.
Application of the Strategies in the Team’s Program
The health care professionals would have to specialize according to the groups. About five of them would be dealing with each module. Most of the lessons would take place in a particular room for education purposes. Another room would be available mainly for personal consultation purposes.
Relationship of the Strategies to the Learning Domain
Effective learning needs to be streetwise. The patients need to make a commitment that they would adhere to the teachings. After the classes, the nursing team would award them with certificates of participation. They would use the materials that the program would have availed to them to teach others.
Evaluation of Transfer of Learning
The best way to evaluate the transfer of learning is to see if the patients follow the instructions. They need to continue coming back to the hospital after the training for refresher lessons. Their tests must also show that they have adhered to the teachings. They would also have to demonstrate that they have taught someone else the same lessons that have benefited them.
Conclusion
Transfer learning is the best way to foster learning. If the learners get the right information, they need to practice what they have learned. They also need to teach others. If this continues then, people would understand why they have practice and improve their skills every time.
References
American Diabetes Association (ADA). (2016). What is gestational diabetes? Web.
Donovan, P., Townsend, J., & Hailstone, P. (2011). The transfer of learning pocketbook. Alresford, UK: Management Pocketbooks.
Repke, J., Gilmartin, A., & Ural, S. (2008). Gestational diabetes mellitus. Reviews in Obstetrics And Gynecology, 1(3), 129-134.