Learn your ABCs, learn the periodic table, learn when to say no. What are the memorization exercises and which ones represent learning? And is there a difference in how knowledge is acquired as long as it gets into the gray matter between the ears?
Apparently it does matter, according to Ben Orlin, a high school teacher and tutor from Oakland: “Memorization is a secondary track: it runs parallel to the best parts of learning, it never crosses. It is a detour around all the action, a way of knowing. without learning, of responding without understanding “.
The meaning of “memorize” is often and obviously defined as “memorize.” The definition of “memory” has been characterized as the power or process of reproducing or remembering what has been learned and retained, especially through associative mechanisms.
Simply put, learning fosters understanding, which can then be stored in one’s memory banks as a guide for future learning. Capturing the underlying meaning, purpose, and idea behind an experience, concept, or philosophy allows a person to explain the essence of something in their own words.
Memorize presents ideas literally; learning provides educated interpretations. Memorizing does not create concepts; it just stores them for future use. Learning extends what is to what could be.
As long as the facts are being poured into our brains, why is it important? Facts are facts regardless of the entry process, right? Not quite. Let’s suppose for a minute that you have a fact, or a group of facts, that are important to the realization of a particular project, any project.
The facts you have in mind have led you to an unexplored crossroads in your work, and your progress forward depends on the next decision or set of decisions you make. Without a ‘factual’ roadmap to guide you, something you’ve memorized, on what basis do you make a decision if you haven’t ‘learned’ how to create, plan or function in the absence of such a roadmap? How do you access knowledge that has not been memorized?
Think of memorization as the cornerstone of thought and action. They provide raw material from which the “learned” concepts can be materialized. From these learned concepts, new theories, experiences and policies for the evolution of thought can be memorized. Call it the learning cycle; the process of understanding facts in order to expand their meaning.
“Memorizing information is valuable, but only if you are able to make sense of the information and put it in useful context. Isn’t it much better if we can attach something tangible to that information?” – Kenneth C. Davis, author of I Don’t Know Much About Geography: Everything You Need To Know About The World But You Never Learned.
Of course, like most things, the discussion between memorizing and learning can come down to a matter of perspective and use. For learners, memorizing facts in order to pass tests can be helpful, even if those facts are forgotten shortly after class.
For those in the real world, understanding the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of events is necessary to create new avenues of knowledge and progress. Learning, in all its forms, must start from a solid foundation. Without the awareness of the facts that memorization can provide, learning would have no structural cornerstones on which to build the future. And so the cycle continues.