What Good Is Learning if You Don't Remember It?

Teachers should emphasize the educational importance of understanding, but not at the expense of overlooking the importance of memorization skills. Currently, mainstream educational theory embraces such attributes as insight, creativity, inquiry learning, and self expression. But such emphases lead...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of effective teaching 2007, Vol.7 (1), p.61
Main Author: Klemm, William R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Association (Psychology)
Attention
Cognitive Processes
Emotional Response
Memorization
Memory
Organization
Recall (Psychology)
Sleep
Test Anxiety
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Summary:Teachers should emphasize the educational importance of understanding, but not at the expense of overlooking the importance of memorization skills. Currently, mainstream educational theory embraces such attributes as insight, creativity, inquiry learning, and self expression. But such emphases lead to a bias and under-appreciation of the role of memory in learning. Students cannot apply what they understand if they don't remember it. Moreover, a good memory expands the repertoire of cognitive capabilities upon which new understandings can be developed and expedited. Effective thinking does not occur in a vacuum. I advocate adding another "R" to the "three Rs": Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic, and "Remembering." This paper attempts to show teachers how they can help students become better learners--and better thinkers--by improving their memorization skills.
ISSN:1935-7869