PrintKnowledge
I sometimes hear some of my younger colleagues or students contending that rote memorization is an outmoded learning approach in our modern technological era where we have knowledge at our fingertips via a Google search on our phone. I strongly disagree with this.
Consider a child learning to read. The first thing they must master is memorization of the alphabet. Children learn (memorize) their ABC’s through repetition and song (did you learn to sing your ABC’s?). Being able to recite the alphabet, however, does not mean you comprehend that the letters represent sounds and have meaning. Learning to count is the formation of knowledge about numbers, their quantity, and numbers in sequence.
A learner at this stage in their development can be observed demonstrating:
- observation and recall of information
- knowledge of dates, events, places
- knowledge of major ideas
- mastery of subject matter
Verbs that demonstrate knowledge:
list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where, etc.