Principle 3: Skills are built in specific contexts. Change the context, change the skill.
We can intentionally design learning environments and experiences to help children grow new, more complex skills.
Note: Unconstrained Kids unpacks, translates, and integrates academic research and data about constrained and unconstrained skills for people that run, fund, and assist organizations that teach and serve kids. This post is part of a series that describes 14 key principles of skill building I identified from the Science of Learning and Development. (Especially Dynamic Skill Theory.) Like everything on this Substack, this post is a work-in-progress. I will make updates as needed. Citations are included at the end. Questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome.
Last updated: June 4, 2025
Key Takeaway
Skill is the ability to think and act in an organized way in a specific context (Immordino-Yang and Fischer, 2010). We can intentionally design of learning environments and experiences to help children grow new, more complex skills and domain-specific knowledge. This can be particularly beneficial for children affected by chronic stress and adverse childhood experiences (Cantor et al., 2019; Osher et al., 2020).
“In ordinary English usage, skill implies both person and context simultaneously. People have a skill for riding a bicycle, a skill for listening to their friends, a skill for repairing Toyota engines, a skill for doing analysis of variance. A person cannot have a skill independent of context. Skill requires a collaboration between person and context. This conception means that skills vary not only between people but also across contexts for a given person.” (Fischer et al, 1993)
We do not have abstract, general skills. We have skills for specific contexts. We have different abilities in different contexts (Fischer & Bidell, 2006). “Context” means many things at once: the physical environment, emotional state, social support, domain or subject area, and the specific task involved (Fischer & Immordino-Yang, 2002).
Context helps explain why a child who is able to solve a math problem one day or in a particular situation is unable to repeat this performance the next day or in a different or similar situation (Fischer & Bidell, 2006). Context also explains the challenge of transferring skill and ability developed in one situation or domain to another. (See Principle 13.)
Researchers found that children who were adept in complex mental math calculation in street markets in Kolkata and Delhi were not able to successfully apply the same math concepts in classroom settings. Moreover, children who were able to successfully complete these same calculations in classroom settings struggled to apply these concepts to real-world situations like the street markets (Banerjee et al., 2025).
Change the context, change the skill.
Chronic stress and adversity can have profoundly negative effects on skills. Insufficiently supportive physical and social contexts can hinder skill development. Developmentally rich relationships and experiences, however, can buffer the effects of stress and trauma (Cantor et al., 2019). Teachers, mentors, coaches, and other adults can create the conditions to better support skill building.
Change the context, change the skill.
Family obviously is the most important context for skill building. Early childcare and school are the next most important contexts for early development (Cantor et al., 2019). However, every encounter and interaction that a child has with other people – in houses of faith, youth programs, sports clubs, mentoring programs, cultural institutions, and more – is an opportunity for social learning and skill development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006; Osher et al., 2020). Each encounter is an opportunity to support and contribute to a child’s skill building.
But wait, there’s more
Works Cited
Banerjee, A. V., Bhattacharjee, S., Chattopadhyay, R., Duflo, E., Ganimian, A. J., Rajah, K., & Spelke, E. S. (2025). Children’s arithmetic skills do not transfer between applied and academic mathematics. Nature, 639(8055), 673–681.
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In R. M. Lerner & W. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., pp. 793–828). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cantor, P., Osher, D., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2019). Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context. Applied Developmental Science, 23(4), 307–337.
Fischer, K. W., & Bidell, T. R. (2006). Dynamic development of action and thought. In R. M. Lerner & W. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., pp. 313–399). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fischer, K. W., Bullock, D. H., Rotenberg, E. J., & Raya, P. (1993). The dynamics of competence: How context contributes directly to skill. In R. Wozniak & K. Fischer (Eds.), Development in context: Acting and thinking in specific environments. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Fischer, K. W., & Immordino-Yang, M. H. (2002). Cognitive development and education: From dynamic general structure to specific learning and teaching. In E. Lagemann (Ed.), Traditions of scholarship in education. Spencer Foundation.
Immordino-Yang, M. H., & Fischer, K. W. (2010). Neuroscience bases of learning. In V. G. Aukrust (Ed.), International encyclopedia of education (3rd Edition, pp. 310–316). Elsevier.
Osher, D., Cantor, P., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2020). Drivers of human development: How relationships and context shape learning and development. Applied Developmental Science, 6–36.