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So where does this leave us?
Most learning and instruction theories have difficulty in providing for the transfer of learning; that is, the ability to transfer skills and knowledge acquired in one context to a different context. Additionally learning theories and teaching theories have difficulties in accounting for and explaining the effects of individual differences.
You probably use a variety of methods in your own teaching practice to suit the learners’ needs and the subject material being taught. When teaching geography, for example, students may need to learn a certain amount of factual information (such as names and locations of states, cities and towns) as well as the conceptual understanding of why cities are located in certain places in order to be able to transfer the learning to another situation. You may use mnemonics or drill and practices techniques for basic-level learning in order to help your students acquire the necessary factual information and problem-based learning techniques to ensure that they are able to develop a deeper understanding of the subject and transfer what they learn to other situations.
Bransford et al (2000, p. 23) conclude that teaching both the “basics” and thinking and problem-solving skills are necessary.
Students’ abilities to acquire organized sets of facts and skills are actually enhanced when they are connected to meaningful problem-solving activities, and when students are helped to understand why, when, and how those facts and skills are relevant. And attempts to teach thinking skills without a strong base of factual knowledge do not promote problem-solving ability or support transfer to new situations.
Rather than argue that one teaching technique is better than another Bransford et al suggest that the variety of methods used in today’s classrooms remain appropriate if chosen for the right reasons:
Books and lectures can be wonderfully efficient modes of transmitting new information for learning, exciting the imagination, and honing students’ critical faculties – but one would choose other kinds of activities to elicit from students their preconceptions and level of understanding, or to help them see the power of using meta-cognitive strategies to monitor their learning. Hands-on experiments can be a powerful way to ground emergent knowledge, but they do not alone evoke the underlying conceptual understandings that aid generalization. There is no universal best teaching practice. (Italics in original) (Bransford et al 2000, p. 22)
Teachers and instructors should be flexible in respect of the theoretical position they adopt. Being too closely aligned to a particular theoretical position can restrict your options when you encounter an individual who fails to benefit from your instruction. You must be flexible in adopting methods that fit the desired outcome and this may require the use of techniques which are derived from a variety of theoretical perspectives.
References:
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (eds). 2000. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. The National Academy Press. Washington, D.C. (Available online) http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9853.html 
[19 October 2001]
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