Compensating Children’s Transfer Decrease by Specific Training on the Tower of Hanoi Problem

Transfer of learning involves acquiring knowledge in one task and reusing it in a new task. In the current study we used the Tower of Hanoi problem to test the hypotheses that problem-solving transfer by children includes a transition phase and that specific training reduces the decrease in performance during this phase. In a pretest-posttest-transfer design, 6- to 7-year-old children solved two digital versions of the Tower of Hanoi, with participants divided between three conditions: specific-training (experimental group), non-specific training (active control group), and no-training (passive control group). Results showed a positive effect of training in the main task. All participants showed a decrease in performance at transfer, but those who had received specific training performed better than their peers on the two transfer trials, showing that the benefit of specific training remains despite the transfer decrease. The discussion considers our results in relation to the theoretical impacts of similarities between tasks and between contexts and examines the role of strategy training in transition phases. Children’s performances decrease temporarily during learning transfer between isomorphic digital versions of the Tower of Hanoi. Specific training in strategy reduces the decrease in performance during transfer. The decrease during transfer is followed by a rebound in performance. Non-specific training has a delayed benefit on transfer performance .