Memorization, the mind, and making connections

The outboard brain, memory, transfer and learning » Moving at the Speed of Creativity

I won’t pretend to know what really defines a “genius.” I do perceive that people who can synthesize ideas from different areas or disciplines, see new connections, and make new discoveries DO have a remarkable DEPTH of knowledge which is tied to specific facts and ideas. Those people aren’t simply generalists, they ARE experts on various subjects. The need to be able to have so much information MEMORIZED and stored directly in your brain for ready access appears to be FAR LESS important than it was in the 1st century A.D., however.

Is there no place for memorization in school anymore?

It depends.

What is the purpose of the memorization? Is it famous quotes or poetry that will enrich their lives and their writing? Is it unrelated names, facts, and dates that will be memorized long enough to regurgitate it back onto a test and never be used again? Is it a list of spelling words for the test on Friday (I’m guilty of this too), or is it connected to to their writing because they frequently misspell it? Does the learning stop after the multiplication facts are memorized, or does the learning apply those facts to higher level math situations?

Sometimes the information needs to be memorized so it is instantly available when needed and can allow for quick connections to subtle patterns that otherwise might be missed.

For example, a series of numbers might have a recognizable pattern if you knew your multiplation facts and perfect squares. Then they can continue the pattern in order to solve the problem.

Unfortunately, much of the memorization in School 1.0 is simply for the test and is then forgotten. If you don’t use it, you lose it.

That’s why school School 2.0 needs to be about making connections: between people, between ideas, between cultures. The brain works by making connections. The more connections made with a bit of information when it is stored, the more likely it is to be remembered. That is why higher level learning help retain so much better what is learned. Each level of Blooms Taxonomy is another layer of complexity. Each layer of complexity multiplies the number of connections the content. So, the more complex the learning environment and the variables within it, the better the students learn the content.

Yes, there is a place of memorization in education. Yes, you can look up basic facts. However, that is just the beginning of the learning, not the end. Sometime we just have to slow down, observe the learning environment around the content, and reflect on what you have learned. Connection - “Stop and smell the roses.”

Geniuses know where to find the information they need because they did their research to become an expert on that topic. They also made lots of connections to memorize a lot of facts, too. Why did they memorize it? Was it just for the test?

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