Rote Learning vs. Meaningful Learning | Conquer Your Exam

Rote learning is heavily focused on routinized memorization of material, rather than any form of engagement. Meaningful learning is the complete ... Skiptocontent RoteLearningvs.MeaningfulLearning Postby: ProfessorConquer Lastupdatedon:August13,2021 Thispostmaycontainaffiliatelinks,meaningwegetacommissionifyoumakeapurchasethroughourlinks,atnocosttoyou. Spreadthelove Shareonfacebook Facebook Shareontwitter Twitter Shareonreddit Reddit Shareonpinterest Pinterest Howyoulearnmaterialcanvarybysubjectandbypurpose!Inthisarticle,wegoovereverythingneededtounderstandrotelearningvs.meaningfullearning. Therearemanydifferentapproachestolearning,suchasrotelearningandmeaningfullearning,thatcanresultindifferentoutcomes.Oneoftheseapproachescanprovidemorein-depthlearningthantheother. Notsurehowtotellthedifference? You’vecometotherightplace!Thisarticlewilldiscusstheeffectsofrotelearningandtheeffectsofmeaningfullearning.Wewillprovideyouwithanintroductionofmeaningfullearningtechniques,alongwithadiscussiononrotelearningexamplestobeabletodiscernrotelearningadvantagesanddisadvantages. WhatWeReview hide 1. WhatisRoteLearning? 2. WhatisMeaningfulLearning? 3. What’stheDifferenceBetweenRoteLearningvs.MeaningfulLearning? 3.1. Time 3.2. Engagement 3.3. DistinctOutcomes 3.4. Longtermvs.shorttermmemory 3.5. Durationofuse 3.6. Differentsubjects 3.7. Differenttypesofexams 4. WhatareAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofRoteLearning? 4.1. AdvantagesofRoteLearning 4.2. DisadvantagesofRoteLearning 5. WhatareAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofMeaningfulLearning? 5.1. AdvantagesofMeaningfulLearning 5.2. DisadvantagesofMeaningfulLearning 6. WhatTypeofLearnerisEachStyleBetterFor? 6.1. WhatTypeofLearnerMayLikeMeaningfulLearning? 6.2. WhatTypeofLearnerMayLikeRoteLearning? 7. WrappingThingsUp:RoteLearningvs.MeaningfulLearning WhatisRoteLearning? Now,thismightbethefirsttimeyoueverheartheterm,rotelearning. Whatdoesitmean? Rotelearningisactuallyaformoflearningthatinvolvesmemorizationofmaterialthroughrepetitiveactions.Youmemorizematerialwithoutactuallylearningfactsabouttherulesorrelationshipsrelatedtothecontent. Ifyou’reacollegestudent,youarelikelymorefamiliarwiththeterm,cramming,whereyoureviewallyourcontentrightbeforetheexam.Rotelearningisthatverysametechnique,whereyoutrytomemorizeasmuchmaterialaspossiblewithinaquicktimespan.Itgenerallyservesthepurposetoremembersomethingbasicveryquickly. Whiletheassociationofrotelearningtocrammingmaynotsoundasappealing,we’regoingtodiscusswhenrotelearningstrategieswouldbemostappropriateandhelp.Wecanapplyrotelearninginavarietyofessentialsubjects,suchasmathematics,vocabulary,countingnumbers,andevenrecitingthealphabet.Usually,yourpurposeindoingthisistobeabletorecallbasicfactsataquickpace. Forinstance,ateachermighthavestudentsmemorizethealphabetsothattheycanbuildbasicskillsinrecognizingletterstoeventuallyputtogethercoherentwordsorsentences.So,rotelearningcanserveanessentialpurposetobuildbasicfoundationalskillsinrecognition. Herearesomeotherrotelearningexamplestogetamoreconcreteideaonwhatrotelearningentailsandwhenitmightbeuseful. Learningbasiccolors Learningthealphabet Learningyourmultiplicationtable Countingnumbers LearningaboutHistory LearningtopicsinGeology MemorizingelementsinChemistry WhatisMeaningfulLearning? Anothertypeoflearningthatcanbeusedfordifferenttopicsandpurposeismeaningfullearning. Whatexactlyismeaningfullearning? Youcanconsidermeaningfullearningasthecompleteoppositeofrotelearning. Meaningfullearningisaformofin-depthlearning,whereknowledgeisgainedbyunderstandingvariousaspectsoftheconceptasawhole.Thatis,you’retryingtounderstandthevariouscomponentsthatmakeupthisideatounderstandhowitallfitstogether. Inusingmeaningfullearning,youbuildonearlierconcepts(e.g.,priorknowledge)tolearnaboutnewideas.Someteachersalsoreferthistorelationallearningbecauseyou’reassociatingnewideaswithsomethingyoueitheralreadyknoworunderstand. Herearesomeconcreteexamplesofusingmeaningfullearningstyles Advancedcoursesinsocialsciences,poetry,orliterature Complexideasandtheoriesinmathematicsorchemistry Compareandcontrastsofevents,facts,orothertypeofmaterial Developingcoherentargumentstosupportmainideas Writingcriticalessays Meaningfullearninghasthreeessentialqualitiesthatleadtolong-termlearning: 1.constructiveassessmentofconcepts 2.long-lastingmemory 3.activeengagementwiththelearningprocess Meaningfullearningcanteachyoucognitiveskillsthatareessentialforyourongoingdevelopmentasalearner.Studentswhoapplythislearningapproachtypicallytendtobecriticalthinkerswithstrongproblem-solvingskills.Wewillgointomoredetailonthisinthesection,memo What’stheDifferenceBetweenRoteLearningvs.MeaningfulLearning? Now, we’vegivenyouanoverviewonwhatrotelearningandmeaningfullearningentailwithexamples.Thetwolearningstylesarebothusefulandappropriatelearningtools,butthe“whenandwhy”youshouldapplythemwillvaryanddependonthematerial,whyyouwanttolearnit,andwhatyouexpecttogetoutoflearningit. Thisleadsustoournextquestion—whatisthedifferencebetweenrotelearningandmeaningfullearning? Thereareverydistinctdifferencesbetweenrotelearningvs.meaningfullearning.However,eachoneservesitspurposewithintherightcircumstances. Whatarethemaindifferences? Time Rotelearningismuchquickertorecallcontenteasier;meaningfullearningtakesmuchmoretimebecauseyou’reengagingwiththematerialandfullylearningabouttheconcept.So,ifyou’restudyingforamathexamonmultiplication,itmightbemorehelpfultomemorizeformulas(e.g.,rotelearning),ratherthanlearnabouttheoriginoftheformulaandanyotherdetailsabouthowtheformulawascreated(e.g.,meaningfullearning). Engagement Enjoyingthisarticle?Getour137-pageguidetodoingwellinhighschoolhere. Rotelearningisheavilyfocusedonroutinizedmemorizationofmaterial,ratherthananyformofengagement.Meaningfullearningisthecompleteopposite,applyingactivelearningtechniquesthathavestudentsreflectonthematerial,connectconceptstotheirpersonalexperiences,andbuildonpriorknowledge.So,thesetwostrategiesvarybyextentofengagementwiththematerialyou’relearning. DistinctOutcomes Theoutcomesforeachlearningapproacharealsoverydifferent.Whenapplyingrotelearning,youshouldexpecttohavememorizedconceptswithoutgaininganyin-depthunderstandingoftheconcept. However,theoppositeistrueformeaningfullearning.Whenapplyingmeaningfullearning,youshouldexpecttoknowmoreaspectsaboutthetopicbecauseyouhavedecidedtoengagewiththelearningprocessandlearnmoreaboutseveralcomponentsthatencirclethetopic. Longtermvs.shorttermmemory Whatyoulearnfromusingrotelearningdoesnotlastverylonginyourmemory;you’lllikelyrememberthisforonlyaslongasyouuseit.Meaningfullearning,ontheotherhand,isalonger-termlearningprocessthatyouwilllikelyapplytobuildonmorecomplexideasbyreferringtoyourpriorknowledge.Thereisevidencetosupportthatmeaningfullearningwillstayinyourmemorylongerduetotheactivelearningputinplace. Durationofuse Theeffectsofrotelearningarenotconsideredverysustainableinlong-termuse.So,itcanonlybeusedundercertaincircumstancesforverybasicfacts.Meaningfullearning,however,canbeappliedwithavarietyofideasandconceptsacrosslevelsofdifficulty(basictocomplex).Thisrelatesbacktoyourexpectations—whetheryou’reinterestedinlearningmeaningfultoadvanceyourcognitionorinterestedinjustmemorizingsomethingforthesakeofanexamorbuildbasicskills. Differentsubjects Differentsubjectscallforadifferenttypeoflearning.Forinstance,rotelearningisexcellentformathematics,chemistryandcoursesingeology.However,forhigherlevelcourseworkthatrequirescriticalassessmentsorwriting,you’llcertainlywanttoapplymeaningfullearningstrategiestograspthematerialfullyforacohesivediscussion. Differenttypesofexams Inregardtoexams,rotelearningmightbemorepracticalforobjectiveexaminations;whereas,meaningfullearningwouldbemoreusefulandrelevantforcriticalessays,reportwriting,orcriticalargumentsofideasonstandardizedexaminations,suchasAdvancedPlacementorInternationalBaccalaureateexams. Notably,someeducatorsseerotelearningandmeaningfullearningonacontinuum,viewingthetwoapproachesasthesameonlyatdifferentlevelsoflearning.So,rotelearningmaybethepre-requisitestageoflearning;whereas,meaningfullearningwouldbefartheralongonthespectrum. Hereisagreatexampleofhowthetwoconnect—imagineyourselfwritingapaper(e.g.,meaningfullearning)withouteverusingrotelearningtomemorizethealphabet.Whilebothlearningstrategiesaredistinct,theyarealsoverymuchconnected. WhatareAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofRoteLearning? Whilerotelearningisn’tnecessarilythebestapproachtolearningnewmaterial,therearecertainadvantagestoitsuse. Let’sgointomoredetailonrotelearningadvantagesanddisadvantagesbelow. AdvantagesofRoteLearning Rotelearningallowsyoutolearnmaterialfast; Withrotelearning,you’llbeabletorecallanddevelopfoundationalideasandconceptseasily(i.e.,multiplicationtable,alphabet).Thisisparticularlyimportantforverybasicdetailsthatareneededtobuildonmorecomplexconcepts. Ifyouarelookingforimmediatelearninggoals,thenrotelearningisdefinitelythebestapproach.Withrotelearning,you’llgraspbasicfactslongenoughforanexam,butdon’texpecttorememberitinthelong-run! DisadvantagesofRoteLearning Rotelearningisveryrepetitive,soitcanbechallengingtostayfocusedonthematerial. Whenapplyingrotelearning,youaren’tbuildingorconnectingnewerconceptstoearlierconcepts;itjustbecomesanothermemorizationprocesstobeabletoapplythemorecomplexcontent. Becauserotelearningisonlyfocusedonmemorizingmaterial,youcanactuallymemorizesomethingincorrectlywithoutactuallyrealizingit.Youmightalsojustunderstandsomethingfortheentirelywrongreasonsbecauseyou’renotgoingin-depthabouttheconcepts. Rotelearningistypicallynotveryinspiring,soyoudon’tnecessarilycultivateyourcomprehensionofthesubjectitself,butsimplythebasicfacts. Now,whilerotelearningmaynotnecessarilyhavethebestimpactonyourunderstandingofconcepts,itservesabasicfunctionthataccumulatesyourbasicknowledge.This,inturn,iswhathelpsimproveyourunderstandingformoremeaningfullearningbecauseyouneedtorefertoyourpriorknowledgetoapplytonewknowledge. WhatareAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofMeaningfulLearning? Now,whattheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofmeaningfullearning? Let’screateasimilarlistasthepriorsection. AdvantagesofMeaningfulLearning Meaningfullearningappliesactivelearningtechniques,whichallowsthestudenttoengagewiththeirmaterial Meaningfullearningbuildsonpriorknowledge,allowingforconnectionstootherideasthatfacilitatethelearningprocess Meaningfullearningfostersone’sunderstandingontheoverallconceptratherthanasingleaspectaboutit. Meaningfullearningisalsodesignedfortheactuallearningprocess;so,inusingthisapproach,youaredefinitelygoingtoseechangesinhowmuchyou’velearnedaboutaparticulartopic. Withmeaningfullearning,youcanalsoexpecttofreeupsomecognitiveresources. Meaningfullearningprovidesaprocessthatcancultivatestudents’interestsinaparticulartopic—thegreatertheinterest,themorewillingyouaretoactivelyengagewiththematerial. Meaningfullearningbuildsonstudents’criticalthinkingskills,providingyouwithaspacetoexpressideas,arguments,oropinionsinamannerthatisconstructiveratherthanargumentative. Inapplyingmeaningfullearningmorefrequently,youareessentiallyteachingyourselfhowtolearn.Thiscanguideyourcognitionsothatyouarepreparedtointegratenewknowledgeormorecomplexideas. DisadvantagesofMeaningfulLearning Meaningfullearningtakesmoretimeandcommitmentbecauselearningaboutmultipleaspectsofaconceptobviouslytakeslongerthanasingleaspect. Sometimes,thefoundationalconceptsthatsomeideasbuildonaren’tnecessarilythesameacrossstudents;someaningfullearningfailstoconsidercontextanddifferencesthatstudentsmaybringfromtheirindividualizedexperiences. Buildingonthepriorbullet,meaningfullearningneedstobepresentedinawaythatthestudentcanrelateto(e.g.,language,readinglevel,andpriorknowledge);otherwise,itdoesn’tproducethesamelearningoutcomes. Meaningfullearningisbidirectional,influencedbyboththeactionsofthestudentandteacher.Thedownsidetothisisthatyoucannotforceastudenttoengageinmeaninglearningprocesses,ithastobeinitiatedontheirownaccord. WhatTypeofLearnerisEachStyleBetterFor? Insteadofviewingthisquestionatanindividuallevel,weencourageyoutothinkaboutthematerialyou’reinterestedinlearningandyourultimategoalsinlearningthem.Thesearemainlythefactorsthatwilldeterminewhichtypeoflearningisbetterforyou. WhatTypeofLearnerMayLikeMeaningfulLearning? Intermsofindividualstylesandpersonalcharacteristics,theselearningstylesmaynotworkforeveryone. Meaningfullearningisdesignedforastudentwhoisdedicatedtotheirlearning.Ittakesalotof“selflearning”becauseyou’retheoneputtinginthetime,effortandcommitmenttoengagewithyourlearningmaterialsmeaningfully. Somepersonalcharacteristicsthatmightmakethemeaningfullearningprocesseasierwouldlikelyincludewell-organization,emotionallycommittedtotheideaoflearning,abilitytoapplynewconceptstowhathasalreadybeenlearned.So,ifyouaresomeonewhoisinflexibleonideasandaren’twillingtochangewhatyouknownowbasedonwhatyoulearnaboutlater,thenthisisdefinitelynotthebesttypeoflearningstyleforyou. WhatTypeofLearnerMayLikeRoteLearning? Rotelearning,ontheotherhand,mightworkbetterforsomeonewhocanworkunderpressureanddoesn’tnecessarilyhavetoreferbacktopriorknowledgeforanyconceptsorideas.Thereareplentyofpeoplewhodon’tengageinanymeaningfullearninglateronintheiradultlife,butthesecanpresentdangersinacceptingbeliefswithoutcriticalassessmentoftheconsequences. WrappingThingsUp:RoteLearningvs.MeaningfulLearning Therearemanydifferentwaysoflearningwitheachlearningstyleservingauniquepurpose.Atthispoint,youhavelearnedhowtodistinguishbetweenrotelearningandmeaningfullearning.Youshouldhaveafirmunderstandingonanintroductiontomeaningfullearning,rotelearningadvantagesanddisadvantages,andeffectsofrotelearning. Themostimportantthingtorememberisthatindepthlearningservesyoumoreadvantagesinthelongrun,especiallyifyou’reinterestedinlearningaconcepttoitsfullestextent.However,thetwoarenotexclusiveofoneanotherandbothhelpyoulearnmoreaboutnewideas. Didyoufindthisposthelpful?ThenyoumayalsolikeourpostonRoteLearningvs.ConceptualLearninghere. ProfessorConquer ProfessorConquerstartedConquerYourExamin2018tohelpstudentsfeelmoreconfidentandbetterpreparedfortheirtoughtests.Profexcelledinhighschool,graduatingtopofhisclassandreceivingadmissionsintoseveralIvyLeagueandtop15schools.HehashelpedmanystudentsthroughtheyearstutoringandmentoringK-12,consultingseniorsthroughthecollegeadmissionsprocess,andwritingextensivehow-toguidesforschool. Ifyoufoundthishelpful,helpusoutbysharingthispost! Shareonfacebook Facebook Shareontwitter Twitter Shareonreddit Reddit Shareonpinterest Pinterest Readersofthispostalsoread... Academicburnoutisatermthatgetstossedaroundalotduringcollege.Manystudentswillequateitwiththefeelingtheygetrightbeforeabreakorneartheendofasemester,but...ReadMore Noteveryonecanaffordthetuitionandthetimetositaroundinacollegeclassroomtogetintotheirdesiredfield–wegetit.Youwanttoknowhowyoucangaintheknowledgeand...ReadMore AreyouaVirginiastudentwonderingwhetheryoucanskipagrade?Areyouaparentthinkingabouthowyoucanscalethroughtheprocessofskippingagradeforyourchild?Ifyouanswered...ReadMore *AP®,AdvancedPlacement®,andSAT®areregisteredtrademarksoftheCollegeBoard,whichwasnotinvolvedintheproductionof,anddoesnotendorse,thissite.ACT®isaregisteredtrademarkofACT,Inc.,whichwasnotinvolvedintheproductionof,anddoesnotendorse,thissite.Testnamesandothertrademarksarethepropertyoftheirrespectivetrademarkholders.Noneofthetrademarkholdersareinvolvedintheproductionof,anddoesnotendorse,thissite. 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