The 2024 National Registry Summit was held September 17-18, 2024, in Nashville, TN. The conference featured a handful of speakers to discuss CPE reimagined with artificial intelligence (AI), engagement and innovation. Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, Ph. D., M.Ed. was a keynote speaker on day one of the conference. His presentation covered Digital Technology and Transfer – Moving Knowledge and Skills Between Contexts. 

Dr. Horvath is a former teacher who is now a neuroscientist.  He has blended his passion for learning and how the brain works to understand the science of learning with the most effective ways to retain information. He shared with attendees that his motto for teaching has always been “teach the why, not the what.” 

Throughout his presentation, Dr. Horvath discussed effective methods for retaining information by explaining the ‘transfer dilemma.’ He explained that transfer and learning are synonymous, and that the dilemma is that these things do not happen automatically. Dr. Horvath then introduced attendees to the the three hurdles of transfer: knowledge, contextualization and adaptation. 

For the knowledge portion, Dr. Horvath explained how all skills are tied to information an individual already knows, therefore making it a transfer hurdle. The more knowledge one has around a subject, the easier it is to build a skill, keeping in mind that fact always precedes skill (the skill is useless if it is not based in fact). He went on to discuss how repetition and exposure are key methods to building knowledge because it creates semantic memory. Recall helps cement knowledge because it requires one to go back and pull a memory out. Dr. Horvath also recommended that educators both open and close classes with recall exercises to facilitate effective learning.

Next, Dr. Horvath shed insight on contextualization. Contextualization is introduced because context matters when building memory, therefore posing as the second transfer hurdle. Contextualization requires organizing facts to build concepts and concepts allow individuals to think about large chunks of information without taxing the part of their brain that processes new information.  

Lastly, Dr. Horvath introduced attendees to adaptation, the third transfer hurdle. He demonstrated the importance of adaptation by engaging the group in a ‘game.’ The game illustrated how just knowing the facts is not always effective – students must be able to apply that knowledge in a variety of ways to fully know and understand it.

Dr. Horvath explained how the brain has neuroplasticity and adapts to the individual’s behaviors. By exposing the brain to a variety of scenarios in which knowledge can be applied, the deeper the understanding of that knowledge can develop.  

To close out his presentation, Dr. Horvath informed the group that the most important ingredient to biological learning is repetition. He encouraged educators to implement different forms of repetition in the classroom to cultivate an effective learning environment and reminded them that practice makes permanence, not perfect.