Debriefing for the Transfer of Learning: A Cognitive Approach

Abstract Transfer is the ability to mobilize learnt knowledge and skills in new situations. In simulation-based learning, it is also the ability to use acquired knowledge and skills in real-life situations. While transfer should be the endpoint of learning, studies have shown that it is hard to achieve and does not readily occur without guidance. This chapter provides debriefing strategies to enhance transfer, based on the frameworks of analogical transfer and situated cognition. It describes the CDR model of debriefing which alternates contextualization (C), decontextualization (D), and recontextualization (R) to foster transfer of learning.