Explicitly teaching for transfer: Effects on third-grade students' mathematical problem solving

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of explicitly teaching for transfer by (a) broadening the categories by which students group problems requiring the same solution methods and (b) prompting students to search novel problems for these broad categories. This transfer treatment was combined with instruction on solution methods. The effectiveness of a combined treatment (transfer-plus-solution instruction) was contrasted to solution instruction alone and to teacher-designed instruction. Twenty-four 3rd-grade teachers, with 375 students, were assigned randomly to conditions. Treatments were conducted for 16 weeks. Improvement on immediate- and near-transfer measures supported the utility of solution instruction. Improvement on near- and far-transfer measures revealed the added contribution of explicitly teaching for transfer.