Practicing the transfer of learning
The addition of the extend phase to the elaborate phase is intended to explicitly remind teachers of the importance for students to practice the transfer of learning. Teachers need to make sure that knowledge is applied in a new context and is not limited to simple elaboration. For instance, in another common activity students may be required to in- vent a sport that can be played on the moon. An activity on friction informs students that friction increases with weight. Because objects weigh less on the moon, frictional forces are expected to be less on the moon. That elaboration is useful. Students must go one step further and extend this friction concept to the unique sports and corresponding play they are developing for the moon environment.
The evaluate phase of the learning cycle continues to include both formative and summative evaluations of student learn- ing. If teachers truly value the learning cycle and experiments that students conduct in the classroom, then teachers should be sure to include aspects of these investigations on tests. Tests should include questions from the lab and should ask students questions about the laboratory activities. Students should be asked to interpret data from a lab similar to the one they completed. Students should also be asked to design experiments as part of their assessment (Colburn and Clough 1997).
Formative evaluation should not be limited to a particular phase of the cycle. The cycle should not be linear. Formative evaluation must take place during all interactions with students. The elicit phase is a formative evaluation. The explore phase and explain phase must always be accompanied by techniques whereby the teacher checks for student understanding.
Replacing elaborate and evaluate with elaborate, extend, and is a way to emphasize that the transfer of learning, as required in the extend phase, may also be used as part of the evaluation phase in the learning cycle.