by Althea Need Kaminske
Is there a difference between memorizing material and understanding material? And if so, shouldn’t educators focus on the presumably better, more wholistic of the two, understanding rather than rote memorization? The answers to these, as always, is somewhat complicated. I sat down to write a blog post analyzing the differences between what people mean by memory vs understanding then realized that we have several posts that do just that! This week’s digest focuses on the discussion around rote memorization and understanding/experience.
(For those who want to cut to the chase, my answers to those questions would be summarized as: First, yes, there certainly are differences in how people learn, integrate, and use information and experiences. Second, no, it doesn’t make sense to focus solely on understanding rather than memory. Separating memory from understanding is something of a false dichotomy. Learning is better when both “rote” memory and understanding/experience are emphasized.)
