Does it matter how Molly does it? Person-presentation of strategies and transfer in mathematics

Abstract

Educational materials often present general concepts or strategies via specific people. Although this practice may enhance interest, it may also have costs for learning and transfer. Linking a strategy to a person (e.g., “Molly’s strategy”) could result in narrower transfer because students infer that the strategy is specific to the person, rather than a general strategy they should adopt. The present study tested this hypothesis among middle school students (N=191) who learned a novel strategy for solving a mathematics story problem. For some students, the strategy example was presented via a specific person, and for others it was not. Students then solved posttest problems and rated the generality of the strategy. Students who saw the example without the person were more likely to transfer the strategy to new problems, and this effect was mediated by students’ perceptions of the strategy’s generality. Thus, associating information with a person substantially limits the extent to which students transfer their knowledge.