We often talk about "real world learning" but what does that actually look like in the classroom? In Chapter Six of Leveraging Deep Learning, we explore the powerful idea of transfer: students taking what they’ve learned in one context and applying it meaningfully in another. As Dixon and Brown (2012) state, “It is clearly not enough to change teaching strategies to promote transfer; assessment strategies must also change to acknowledge and support transfer of learning.”

Transfer is not just about using knowledge in a different subject. It’s about using understanding to engage with unfamiliar problems, take action, or design solutions. When students transfer learning, they show us what they truly understand.