The Student Who Memorised Everything

Imagine studying for an exam and memorising every line in your textbook.

You feel ready.

Then you open the exam paper and realise the questions aren't written the way you expected.

Suddenly, everything you memorised feels useless.

This is one of the differences between memorising information and understanding it.

Memorisation certainly has its place.
We need to remember formulas, definitions, dates and important facts.
But education becomes more useful when we understand what information means and how to apply it.

For example, 
knowing a formula is one thing.
 Knowing when and how to use it is another.

When we understand an idea, we can often recognise it even when it appears in an unfamiliar situation. That gives us something memorisation alone may not provide: flexibility.

This doesn't mean students should stop memorising altogether. It means memorisation should support understanding rather than replace it.

Instead of only asking:

Try asking:

That small change can completely change the way we learn.