Rote Memorization vs. Meaningful Learning — Is There a ...

Memorized data stays within the student's short-term memory. · Rote learning is a type of "mental training" that helps students with future ... RoteMemorizationvs.MeaningfulLearning—IsThereaPlaceforBoth?September24,2021AllPostsWrittenbyMelanieArdenCategoryTeachingStrategiesContentsWhatisrotememorization?Doesrotememorizationwork?Whatismeaningfullearning?HowtocreatemeaningfullearningintheclassroomTothisday,rotememorizationisstillpopularinschoolsthroughouttheworld.However,rotelearninghasanegativereputationofhinderingstudent'screativityandfailingthelearningprocessindevelopingcriticalthinkingskills.Modernteachingmethodssuchasmetacognition,associativelearning,meaningfullearning,andcriticalthinkinghavetakentheplaceofrotememorization.Metacognitionappearstomakeanimpactonhowstudentslearnmathematics.Incontrasttoremotelearning,associativelearningisdefinedas"alearningprinciplethatstatesthatideasandexperiencesreinforceeachotherandcanbementallylinkedtooneanother.”Examplesofassociativelearningincludehowswimmingmaybeconnectedtosomeone'sfearofdrowningoramisbehavingstudentwhodoesnotgettotakepartinaclassactivityaspunishment.Whatisrotememorization?Rotememorizationrequirestheuseofrepetitiontokeepinformationinthebrain. Twosimpleexamplesofrotelearningincludememorizingthealphabetandnumbers.Asstudentstransitionintohighergrades,multiplicationchartsandtimestablesarefrequentlylearnedthroughmemorization.Thereareseveralrotememorytechniquesthatmayhelpyourstudentstoremembermostorallofwhatthey'veattemptedtomemorize:Tapeflashcardsthroughoutyourhome.Everywhereyouturn,therearereminderspostedinvarioussectionsofyourhometohelpyourememberkeypoints.Recordyournotesandplaythemback.Audiolearnersfindthismethodofrotememorizationeasytouse.Itcanhelpthemremembersmallerdetailsduringexams.Learningthroughtheuseofallfivesenses.Somestudentsarevisuallearners,whileothersholdontoinformationbetterthroughaudiomeanssuchasin-personlectures.Breakingdowninformationintosmallereasier-to-digestchunks.Thehumanbrainisincapableofmemorizinglargeamountsofdataatonce.However,ifstudentsattempttomemorizeshorterpassagesandnumbers,ithelpsthemtorecalltheinformationatalaterdate.Rotememorizationandrotelearningareinterchangeabletermsthatmeanthesamething.Doesrotememorizationwork?Rotelearninghasitsownsetofadvantagesanddisadvantages.Ithasbeeneffectiveinhelpingstudentslearnbasicmathematicslikemultiplicationtablesbecause:Purposefulrotelearningtendsto'stick'moreinstudents'mindsvs.meaninglessorrandommemorizationIt'satypeofbrainexercisethatenhancesneuroplasticity,improvesmemoryandchangesthewayyourbrainworksRotelearninghasbeenshowntochangethebrain'sstructureandimproveitsabilitytoretaininformationforlongerperiodsoftimeSomeeducatorsbelievememorizationlimitsstudents'optionsanddoesn'tpromotequestioningandthinking.Moredisadvantagesassociatedwithrotememorizationinclude:EasylossoffocusNouseofsocialskillsduringrotelearningPromotesshort-termmemoryinsteadoflong-termrecallIt'srepetitiveandtedious.StudentsmayloseinterestafteratimeItdoesn'tencouragestudentstogrow,explore,andthinkoutoftheboxCriticalthinkingskillsdonothavethechancetodevelopwithmemorizationEducatorsshouldincorporatesomerotelearningwithotherteachingmethodstohelptheirstudentsremembervaluableinformation. ThebenefitsofrotememorizationRotememorizationhasseveralkeybenefitsthatcouldhelpstudentsexpandtheirlearningcapabilities.Studentsoftenfeelasenseofaccomplishmentwhentheyremembereverythingtheymemorized,whetherit'spoetryormultiplicationtables.Considerthesebenefitsofrotelearning:Memorizeddatastayswithinthestudent'sshort-termmemory.However,thelongertheykeepthisinformationintheirmind,thegreaterthechanceitwillbecomepartoftheirlong-termmemory.Rotelearningisatypeof"mentaltraining"thathelpsstudentswithfuturelearningopportunitiesastheyprogressthroughsubsequentgrades.Thisleveloftraininghelpsboostmemory-retentioncapability.Studentswhodiscoverrotememorizationstudystrategiesmayfindthatthey'llbeabletoincreasethespeedatwhichthey'reabletorememberandholdinformation.Playingnewmemorygamessuchaspicturebingoorten-cardmemoryrecallmayalsohelpstudentsstrengthentheirrotememorizationskills.OlderstudentscanplaySudokuorMemorado—botharefreetotry.ThedisadvantagesofrotememorizationCramminglargeamountsofspecificdetailsandfactsmayquicklybecomealaborioustaskformanystudents.Thequestionremains—aretheyactuallylearningsomethingorsimplymemorizingittopassanexam?Rotememorizationtakesthefunoutoflearningsomethingnew.Studentsmustusememorygamesandtechniquestomaketherepetitionstayputintheirmind.There'snobridgebetweenoldandnewconcepts.Infact,knowledge-buildingisnon-existent.Somestudentsmayfindinformationretentiondifficulttomaster,whereasotherswillexcelinthisarea.Socialinteractionisunlikelytooccurbetweenstudentsbecausethey'llbefocusedonmemorizationinsteadofworkingtogether.Studentslosetheabilitytothinkforthemselvesbecausethey'reaccustomedtofollowinginstructions.Theycannotbuildleadershipskills.Rotememorizationdoesnotpromotecriticalthinking.Criticalthinkingskillscouldfallbythewaysideifrotelearningbecomesyourprimaryteachingmethod.Manyeducatorsagreethereisaplaceforrotememorizationintheschoolsystem.However,mostteachershaveoptedforothermethodsgearedtowardimprovingstudents'long-termmemoryandcreatingamoresignificantwaytolearnthecoursematerial.Whatismeaningfullearning?Meaningfullearningisdefinedasamethodofgainingfoundationalknowledgeandcriticalthinkingbybuildingontopofwhatwaspreviouslylearned.Studentsmakeconnectionsbetweenthenewinformationandolderlessons.Therearefivecharacteristicsthatmakemeaningfullearninganeffectiveteachingmethod:active,collaborative,constructive,authenticandgoal-directed.Activelearninginvolvesstudentsindependentlyusingtechnologyregularlyorself-directed.Collaborativelearningmeansstudentsteamupwhileusingconventionaldigitaltoolstocompleteassignments.Constructivelearningfocusesonusingtechnologytobuildnewinformationontopofknowledgereceivedinthepast.Authenticlearningentailsusingdigitaltoolstoconnectactivitiesoutsideoftheclassroomsetting.Goal-directedlearningincorporatesgoalsandactivitieswithmonitoredtaskstofinishhomeworkassignments.  Theprimarygoalofmeaningfullearningistobuildcognitiveskillsthatstudentswilluseforalifetime.Itisaneffectivemeansforstudentstoengageinconceptuallearningandbuildnewskillfoundations.ThebenefitsofmeaningfullearningFormeaningfullearningtobeeffective,it'snecessaryforteacherstotakeintoconsiderationstudents'previousknowledge.Thistypeoflearningbenefitsstudentstremendously:TeacherscanfocusonactuallearninginsteadofmemorizingcontentLearnersbuildadeeperconnectionbetweennewandoldknowledgeStudentshaveastrongerabilitytostoreknowledgeintheirlong-termmemoryKidshaveabettersenseofpurpose,motivationandachievementthroughmeaningfullearningActivelearninginvolvesgettingnewknowledge,problem-solvingskillsandcriticalthinkingTomakegooduseofthistechnique,teacherscanuseexamples,groupactivitiesanddebatestocreateanenvironmentconducivetolearning.ThedisadvantagesofmeaningfullearningWhilemeaningfullearninghassignificantbenefits,thereareseveraldisadvantagesforeducatorstothinkaboutbeforeselectingthisteachingstrategy.Thebiggestdownsideistherequirementtobuildonafoundationofpriorknowledge. Thereareotherdisadvantagesthatteachersshouldconsider:Thistechniquedoesnotworkforinformationthatneedstoberecalled,suchasphonenumbersorhistoricaldata.Sincethisprocessrequireseffort,somestudentswon'tbeinterestedinputtingforththetimeandenergyintomeaningfullearning.Ifstudentsdonotfindthenewandoldknowledgerelatable,theywon'tbeabletoconnectthetwotogether.Itmayleadtofrustrationandlossofinterest. Educatorsmaywanttocombinetheuseofrotememorization,meaningfullearning,andotherteachingmethodstoenhancestudents'abilitytounderstandthecoursematerial.HowtocreatemeaningfullearningintheclassroomTeacherscancreatemeaningfullearningsothatstudentsretainthelessonsdeliveredintheclassroom.Challengesincludemaintainingkids'interestandhelpingtheirknowledge'stick'.Wheneducatorsadoptastudent-centeredapproachtolearningtechniques,kidsdevelopaconnectiontodailylessons.Howcanyouconnectstudents’real-lifeexperiencestoyourlessonplan?Reflectonthecreativeartsandstorytellingthatyourstudentsfindrelatableandexciting.Itcanalsohelpthemrememberwhattheylearnedinclass.Sowhatareotherwaysthatteacherscanhelptheirstudentstorecallwhatthey'velearned?LinkingcontentAhelpfulwaytogetstudentstorememberinformationistoconnecttheirpersonalexperiencestonewconceptstaughtinclass.Usingstudents'relevantexperiencesandshowingthemhowtolinkthetwotogetherenablesthemtorememberdetailsaboutwhattheylearnedinclass.  AllowingstudentstofigureoutproblemsOfferstudentsfeedbackandpositiveencouragementwhentheymakeerrors.They'llimprovetheirabilitytolearnandhangontoknowledgegainedinschool.It'scriticaltotheirdevelopmenttounderstandwheretheymademistakesandhowtomakecorrections.Ifkidsseemistakespointedouttothemwithoutofferingsupportorencouragingproblem-solving,theymayperceivethistobenegativeinsteadofsomethingpositive.Givingstudentsachancetofigureoutproblemsontheirownbuildstheirconfidence,self-worthandindependence.It'salearningstrategyworthexploringforyourclass.Encouragingself-testingSupportyourstudentsbyencouragingthemtotesttheirownknowledge.They'llbuildconfidenceintheirownproblem-solvingabilitiesandreducetestanxiety.Providestudyguidesandquizzessostudentscanself-testtheirknowledgeandfeelassuredthey'reimprovingtheirlearningprocess.Itmaybeworthwhileforeducatorstoincorporatesurveystodeterminehowmuchknowledgetheirstudentsretained.FrequentassessmentsFormativeassessmentscanmonitorandshowevidenceofstudents'learning.Kidsbenefitfromimprovedlong-termmemoryanddevelopakeeninterestinwhethertheyunderstoodthecoursematerial.Thefrequencyoflow-stakesassessmentsmayease"examstress"andhelpstudentsachievemasteryofthecontenttheylearnedinclass.Whenkidsareexposedtoregulartesting,theybecomeaccustomedtoreceivingtestsandfeellessanxious.Educatorscantakeabird's-eyeviewofwhethertheirlessonsareeffectiveingettingstudentstounderstandeachlesson.Forexample,ifateacherinstructstheirstudentsincomplexalgebraicequationsandasubsequentquizrevealsalower-than-expectedaverage,theteachermaywanttoadjustandsimplifythecontent.Frequentassessmentshelpstudentsandteachersgaugeprogressandcorrectanymistakesthatoccurthroughouttheschoolyear.Ifastudentlagsintheirunderstandingofthematerial,teacherscanofferhelpbeforestudentcomprehensiondeclines.OngoingsupportwithProdigyWanttomovebeyondrotememorizationinyourclassroom?TryProdigyMathGame!ProdigyMathGametransformsmathpracticeintoanepicadventure,wherestudentsanswerquestionstoearnrewards,completequestsandchallengefriends.Prodigy’sadaptivealgorithmmakessurestudentsarealwayslearningatalevelthat’srightforthem,andencouragesthemtokeeppracticingrelevantskills!Freeteachertoolshelpyoueasilysenddifferentiatedassignments,alignin-gamequestionstoyourlessonplanandtrackstudentprogress.Createmyfreeteacheraccount