Reply to Achievement gap continues to grow between high- and low-income schools

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Agreed memorization will only get you so far but in many disciplines (physics, biology, economics, history) it is an essential part of the learning process. You cannot do the higher-order thinking unless you can actively recall material. An engineering student cannot solve a complex problem unless she can recall important principles and formulae. A medical doctor cannot diagnose an illness unless she can recall what she learned in anatomy and biochem. Students who take the time to first understand and then commit material to memory are able to think more broadly and creatively especially in a high pressure situation (like an exam). So, to be successful you need to have good teachers, intelligence and a good work ethic.[/quote]

You're very correct that many STEM fields require the ability to absorb and recall large amounts of information. The first year of medical school is brutal based on the sheer amount of information and decision trees that must be absorbed.

The problem is that people who go into education have no exposure to this as a skill. They also probably were the ones who never went past memorization in math. They don't understand that its a combination of recall, fluency and understanding. There is too much bias from US educators that don't understand math toward Chinese and Korean approaches to math which frankly yield far better outcomes.

I think the teachers also miss that the Chinese and Koreans learn math facts in sets. Americans use random flash cards. For American who did this, it is was just memorizing facts. For the Chinese and Koreans learning the tables in sets it provides recognition of patterns and strengthens their ability to manage complex problems later on.

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As a college professor I agree with both the previous posters.  When I tell my students they have to first understand and then memorize facts and concepts/theories before they can apply this knowledge they are taken aback.  It is a learned skill and if they have not been doing this in middle and high school, it is really difficult to learn in college when you have so much on your plate.  [/quote]

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