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Knowledge is not cramming a whole lot of info into your short term memory

The thing is, rote memorization exams only test one’s ability to regurgitate facts and figures. That’s the most primitive level of knowledge there is. The things one needs to *know* are things that need to be understood and that one needs to know how to use. I had a physics teacher who gave students a huge sheet full of formulas to use during tests, formulas that were not called out by name on the tests. The students didn’t need to remember the details of the formulas—in real life, you can always look them up—but they had to know which formula was needed for any particular question and how to use it. Many of the formulas on the sheet weren’t even used in a single test the whole term. Memorization is not learning.

Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

A good open book exam doesn't let.you look.up everything - there just.isnt time. The open book part just means you can look up the thing that slipped your mind - just.like you would in the real world

I agree there is pedagogical value in rote memorization. The discipline and mental elasticity it takes is inherently valuable, even if the info itself won't be maintained. I love how open minded, forward thinking, "liberal" these young generations are. But their lack of really basic knowledge frightens the s**t out of me. Really basic. Like not understanding continental US vs Hawaii and Alaska. And using words like "ris" but having no clue how to spell charisma.

Because Goddammit, knowing exactly what day Columbus landed in the Bahamas is IMPORTANT!!!

Bryn

Bryn

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no. the point is to be able to apply it and use what you learned - not just mass memorize things you'll forget as soon as the test is over.

And yet we can’t remember our best friends phone number because we have ‘smart’ phones that remember for us

yes, but I dint need to know the date and partivipanst of the second battle of the revolutionary war. they do not test on things that magger

People are still going to know the stuff, no matter which way they. So you're very wrong about that.

True

It helps with mental math, especially at younger ages. Not knowing how to multiply numbers and relying on a calculator sets you back too much to learn at the level that a high school student would learn when they get there. It also helps to understand theory, especially in a time when you can't write SYNTAX ERROR on a NASA proposal

And all those spelling tests where they wouldn't let us use dictionary, even though there's always one on line.

Because school isn't about contributing answers to the world. It's about developing skills. Using a calculator all the time will mean that a student doesn't fully engage the rudiments of the practice.

As a teacher, I can say that your teachers could and should have found a way of scheduling your tests away from your medication intakes.

It does mean, though, that I wouldn't want you doing the job of a first responder, among many others. That's just not a position in which I want someone who is chronically forgetful, for any reason.

That's a valid point but not applicable all of the time just as the inverse isn't. Sometimes memorization is more important, sometimes being able to apply abstract logic behind something is more important. There are subjects and instructors where they know you know the material and the test is just a requirement/formality. Others times there's no way you're going to memorize 75 individual formulas or formulations. And yet others where you're it's about the logic behind what you're doing so they don't want/need you to worry about things you'll always be able to look up anyway. It all depends on the circumstance.

A topic close to my heart (and I'm an endocrinologist, not a thoracic surgeon). What is most important is to know the concepts. Medical training these days is trending away from knowing "stuff" and concepts and toward following algorithms contained in the sacred Guidelines. All too many docs can be replaced by an app! If you evaluate a patient with the goal of understanding what's going on, you'll know what to do. Otherwise, it's just trying to figure out which chute to drop the marble in. Local hospital killed a GYN who came in with chest pain, with thrombolytic therapy when he presented with an aortic dissectino/rupture. They followed the wrong algorithm.

My (UK) postgraduate Chartered Accountancy exams were open book. Given that the two main statutory guideline books were 1200 pages each, and the exam was three hours (and to complete all the questions, you would be writing for at least 2h30), you needed to know HOW to use the statutes to check them. That shows a deeper learning than just memorising facts, and closer relates to how resources are used in real world situations.

Because this is not how real life works (in most careers). I mentioned in another comment I study programming. You will be laughed out of the room if you suggest rote memorization as a tactic. The exams in my computer science degree allow us to use a calculator. I dare you to try working with gigantic numbers, tiny numbers, or *imaginary numbers* without a calculator.

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