Rote Learning is not Learning

Why do you like reading a subject? The reason is simple. You understand it easily. Reading is absolutely for understanding and learning. But it becomes a different experience, when you follow rote learning. Let’s know what it is. It is a way of learning, when you need to memorize something really fast. There are things like formula, arithmetical tables, sections of law, and periodic tables in Chemistry that need faster memorization. Rote learning would act there as an effective tool. Over the years, this has gained popularity among the students, scientists, and scholars, who are experimenting in their fields and need faster memorization for making various tests.

Rote gives mastery over introductory knowledge

Rote methods for faster memorization are effective tools, when you need grasp over introductory knowledge within a short span of time. However, it has a limited use in learning as for advanced study, memorization of things is ineffective for learning. When you go for advanced studies in subjects, you need sharper comprehension ability as simply remembering the tables, formulas, and sections from the chapters would not serve the purpose entirely. Rote gives just the fundamental ideas that could later serve fodder for critical thinking. Teachers in the primary schools could teach the students how rote as a learning method could become effective in gaining foundations in learning. There goes no doubt that rote methods play a role in the process of true learning but in fact, those would not take the form of true learning. Let’s know about some of the reasons for which excess use of rote learning is not desirable for effective laerning.

Rote learning is mechanistic

Once you find memorizing easy, you make it a habit. Following rote learning gradually brings the order of mechanistic learning. You forget the thin line existing between rote learning and critical thinking. You apply the same steps of learning, when you step into areas of advanced learning. You tend to mug up chapter after chapter and while there come tricky questions, you simply fail to understand the question and produce the wrong answer. Memorizing helps in building the foundations in a subject but when the matter from the subject goes for higher experimentation, it requires in-depth understanding and analysis. Here, as a student, you commit the blunder of applying the same formulas of rote method and that would make the answers either completely faulty or devoid of depth.

Understanding comes from following an order

Take for instance of a problem in Algebra, where invariably you make use of formula. When you memorize the formula completely, the solution derived through this would also need a step-by-step order while working on the solution. For instance, the algebraic formula that you would make use to derive the values of x and y. When you have followed the rote method, you might make forget to derive the answer only by following the structured steps with the help of formula and straight go to the answer missing the steps in solution. This would make the entire answer lose its worth, which the examiner would not give even half of the marks allotted for the question.

Rote won’t help in developing new discoveries and inventions

Now-a-days, new theories and discoveries are almost breaking grounds every day. When as a student you go for a career in Science and technology, you need to keep your aim high that in future, you would bring new concepts, theories, discoveries, and inventions by making use of precepts from Science and technology. Learning through rote methods would absolutely defeat this purpose. It is because when you pick up a subject -matter for deeper study and experimentation, you end up mugging up the entire matter. Your mind would not allow you to think freely breaking away from conventional things in the subject. For making new concepts, you would have to draw inferences and build up new theories or findings based on them. Literally, rote methods make the brain handicapped in making the mind take to new dimensions in thinking. It has the only utility that helps you in memorizing the basic things in subject but this also comes without slightest comprehension.

Rote methods- no stimulant for creative and critical thinking  

Just take instance of the Hindi movies, which the producers invariably made based on some formula. When you step inside the theater and the movie begins, your mind begins telling in your ears about the last scene in the movie. This is because you have already watched hundreds of such movies and you are simply not in a place to distinguish between them. When you go through something, which is mechanistic and repetitive by nature, your mind gets negative satisfaction from it. Take the other instance of the television programs, which go through repetitions. Research says, such television programs and movies make human brain shrink as those brain cells do not get the opportunity to exercise and the result is dullness of brain. When human-brain stays in this condition for a prolonged period, it loses its worth and becomes useless in the long run.

Rote method wouldn’t make you aware about the rationale

Learning has at its backdrop a solid rationale. When you began your tables in Mathematics, the logic was you would make its multi-purpose applications of this for various subjects. Learning would certainly have future applications and for that understanding the rationale behind learning is essential. Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, considered as three some royal subjects have gone through innumerable experimentations in the past only to come up with gems in fresh discoveries. The researchers have shed light on fresh discoveries that later became solid scientific laws. “Every action has its equal and opposite reaction” –the famous third law by Newton spelled new norms on Scientific grounds, which literally became light for future research. Newton deeply researched and ultimately discovered the law that was until now undiscovered. Science, literature, Economics have various schools of thoughts brought by savant masters of time. New thoughts have always new grounds based on rationalism. Following rote methods bring only the stereo-typed ideas without any scope for development.

Rote could harm learning skills for life

A news report in U.K. in the year 2014 clearly said that rote learning causes the school children lag behind in Mathematics even earlier to beginning of their school career. The report found that one in four children could not reach the satisfactory performance, even though they were more than 5 years old. It voiced the concern that such a short-coming in the learning faculty of a child even could last throughout their lives without any scope for improvement.