Can Master's Students Apply What They Learn? A Mixed-Methods Evaluation From a Prominent Psychology Program

• In Event: 77.056 - Fairmont Royal York Roundtable Session Seven
  In Roundtable Session: 77.056-5 - Postsecondary and Lifelong Learning: Application, Self-Regulation, and Scoring Consistency

Abstract

The difference between earning high grades and learning has significant variability (Uttl, White, & Gonzalez, 2017). As such one measure of effective education is the ability to apply knowledge to solve authentic real-world problems. This mixed-methods study of a prominent psychology program used quantitative methods to determine if knowledge transfer was a function of course modality, subject, or knowledge type (declarative, procedural, conditional, self-regulatory). Qualitative methods employed content analysis to determine knowledge transfer. Findings revealed greater transfer for blended-learning students and significantly greater transfer for declarative and procedural knowledge related to learning and motivation in comparison to life-span development. Program design recommendations are advanced to promote authentic learning and knowledge transfer in psychology instruction.

Authors

• Bobby Hoffman, University of Central Florida

• Morgan Amanda McAfee, University of Central Florida