Why Rote Memory Doesn’t Help You Learn

Learning - the act of acquiring knowledge - is the primary avenue through which a child absorbs and understands their environment as they grow into adults. Most children attend school where they are taught general concepts such as reading, writing, mathematics, and science. While there are several different ways to promote learning in children, one preferred method is to teach major ideas and lessons through rote memory, or memorization methods. While retaining information is imperative in the learning process, rote memory may not be the ideal method to process and understand new material. When you simply memorize information, you may be able to recall important details, but you lack the understanding to apply this in a knowledgeable manner through which you can solve problems.  

What Is Rote Memory?

Rote memory is a technique for learning in which one repeats facts or figures repeatedly to instill them in their memory banks. Some examples of rote learning include writing spelling words over and over again, repeating state capitals in a litany, or doing constant spelling or mathematics drills.  is continually used in schools to promote learning and emphasizes the memorization of a subject without understanding the actual material.

How Rote Memory and Rote Learning Works

When you engage in rote learning, you are repeating information again and again to memorize it, which means you are committing it into your short-term memory banks. To retain this information for longer than a few hours, you will have to commit the memory to long-term memory banks. Rote memory can be used to commit to long-term memory, but this does not mean that you will remember it forever.

The problem with rote memory is that it must continually be repeated or used to maintain the memory for any length of time. You may use rote memory to cram for a test and remember the information for the few days it takes to take the test, but you will not be likely to remember that information a week or a month later.

The only way to keep information in your long-term memory that has been learned by rote is to use the information consistently. You may find that you need it in several months or a year as you build on previous concepts, but by that time you will not be able to remember it.

This is one reason why teachers spend the first few weeks of each school year doing a review of the previous year's material. Since the new year's material builds on the previous year, it is important to review that material before moving forward.

Rote Memory And Rote Learning Use In Education

Rote memory and rote learning are often used in primary and secondary education, especially to achieve quick results and improve test scores. Unfortunately, the focus on memorization as opposed to comprehension, does not allow a student to learn complex concepts. In primary and secondary education, you are learning building blocks, small pieces of facts and figures that you will expand upon when you go on to higher education. Rote memory will work to temporarily store these facts and figures, but once you move on to higher education, you will be unable to learn complex concepts in this fashion.

Disadvantages Of Rote Learning

There are many disadvantages to trying to use rote memory to learn. One of the primary disadvantages to rote memory is that it does not allow for a deeper understanding of the subject. Only the bare facts of a subject such as a vocabulary or multiplication tables are memorized or understood. Rote learning also does not allow for complex connections between previous and new knowledge. It can also be very difficult to understand a concept by only using rote memory.

Researchers now agree that the value of rote memory and rote learning is not what it was once believed to be. While there is an appropriate use for rote memory, researchers have discovered that it is not an effective way to learn information and complex concepts in a way that will allow for long-term retention. 

Unfortunately, this critique of rote memory by psychologists and scientists has not yet reached the public education system.

Rote Learning Does Not Prepare You For Higher Education

One of the biggest problems with the use of rote memory in primary and secondary education is that it does not prepare you for higher learning or on-the-job memory applications. One study found that the most common learning disability among undergraduates is incomplete comprehension. This is a direct result of using rote memory to memorize base facts without being able to understand or learn the complexities of the subject matter.

Rote memory allows for the memorization of base information, but it doesn't put that information into any sort of context. The lack of context for complex subjects means that the student has not learned anything about what they are studying. When using rote memory alone, a student may be able to pass a high school trigonometry class by memorizing how to operate tangents but fail a university trigonometry class because they have no comprehension of how the operation functions.

Likewise, young adults are finding it difficult to function in the working world because they are relying so much on rote memory. An employee might be able to memorize a list of features of a product but be unable to sell it effectively because they are not putting those features into a context that can be easily explained translated into benefits for the consumer.

Rote Learning Does Not Build Knowledge

Rote memory does not give you knowledge, the awareness or familiarity gained by the experience or fact of a situation. Rote memory will give you base facts and figures that you may remember for a short time but are likely to forget with disuse. To truly learn something, you must be able to make connections to your past experiences and the world around you. Without that context, the facts that you are memorizing are just facts, dates, vocabulary, or numbers. They do not represent true knowledge.

Rote Memory And Test Cramming

It is true that rote memory can be used in cramming sessions to pass a test successfully. However, this is often less true in university courses than it is in primary and secondary education. In primary and secondary education, the emphasis is placed on basic concepts that can easily be memorized for a brief time through the use of rote memory so the student can successfully pass the test.

However, in university courses, examinations often delve much deeper into a subject than simple facts and figures. Advanced level college education requires that students understand complex theories and comprehension of subject matter in-depth, beyond memorizing facts. Therefore, students who succeed in high school by using rote memory may find that they are unable to be successful in university courses.

Acceptable Uses For Rote Memory Or Rote Learning

There are some cases when rote memory is appropriate. When you need to memorize something verbatim rather than understanding a concept, rote memory is the best method. There are many examples when rote memory can be used to memorize information successfully. However, keep in mind that if you do not use the information for a long period, you are likely to forget what you learned by rote eventually.

In Learning

Rote memory has been found to be extremely effective in teaching basic math concepts.  have shown that rote memory is perhaps the most effective way for primary students to learn counting, addition, subtraction, and multiplication tables. Rote memory is also effective for learning basic vocabulary and spelling.

Rote memory is a beneficial method for learning lists of information that do not require any context, such as the state capitals or the states themselves. Rote memory is also vital for memorizing anything verbatim, such as being able to remember a poem for reciting in a class or memorizing lines for a play.

In Daily Life

In daily life, rote memory also has its place. You can memorize phone numbers by using rote memory, as well as other numbers such as your credit card number, social security number, or driver’s license number. You could also use rote memory to memorize your grocery list before going to the store or memorizing addresses of people you need to send mail to.

Alternative Methods To Rote Learning

Despite its prevalence in primary and secondary education, there are alternatives to rote learning students can use. When you need to learn complex concepts and deeper subject matter, these methods are much preferred over rote memory. An example of an alternate method is known as meaningful learning – or the acquisition of knowledge by relating what you are currently learning in relation to what have already learned. These are the methods most often employed by tutors for primary and secondary students, and in university courses for higher education students. Rote memory may be good for memorizing lists of facts and figures, but when it comes to deeper concepts, alternative methods are more effective and enriching. Consider the following:

Connecting Information To Experience

The best way to learn a concept is to connect the material to personal experience or knowledge of the world around you. When you connect information with things that you already know, it provides a context for the information. This context and connection with previous knowledge makes it easier for the information to be stored in the long-term memory banks, which offers more advantages than rote learning.

Meaningful Learning

Meaningful learning is a learning strategy that gives deeper meaning to concepts and subject matter. Studies have found that the more meaning that is given to information, the more likely it is that you will remember that information long term. Information that is learned through meaningful learning is often remembered for years rather than only months, such as with rote memory.

Meaningful learning also promotes understanding over memorization, which helps with overall comprehension. It relates new information to prior knowledge and encourages active learning techniques. All of these points are proven to help one remember the information for years to come, which contrasts with the disadvantages of rote learning.

Getting Help With Memory

If you are trying to remember things using rote memory and are unable to do so, it may be that you need to try a different approach. However, if you have other problems with memory as well, it might be a sign of an underlying problem with cognition. If you are unable to remember a phone number for more than a few minutes, it may be that you are having an issue with your short-term memory.

Studies have shown that people dealing with short-term memory issues can increase their cognitive functioning through online therapy. In a study published in the Journal of American Medical Directors Association, researchers examined  for those experiencing memory impairment. They found several benefits for participants’ short-term memory, as well as an overall increase in cognitive functioning post-treatment. These findings can be added to a large amount of research proving that online platforms are valuable ways of providing cognitive therapy for those experiencing a wide range of mental health issues.

As mentioned above, online therapy can help when you are having trouble with memory loss or other mental health issues. With BetterHelp, you will be able to participate in counseling from the comfort of your home (or wherever you have an internet connection), without having to deal with traffic, sit in a waiting room, or skip lunch. You will also be able to message with your therapist outside of sessions. When you have a concern, need to ask a question, or just want to chat, just sent them a message, and they will get back to you as soon as they can. The mental health professionals at BetterHelp can help guide you on your journey to better cognitive functioning. Read below for counselor reviews, form those who have sought help in the past. 

Counselor Reviews

“I worked with another counselor for over 6 months before working with Arielle Ballard. In one 30-minute session, I got more accomplished in terms of structuring goals, building coping mechanisms, and recognizing thought patterns, than I had in the 6 months working with the other counselor. I'm pleased with my progress and am very greatful to Arielle.”

“Hanon is great at digging deeper and bringing structure into conversations and thought patterns that can often be abstract for me. I really like the way she can tie in cognitive and scientific reasoning for why our brains work in certain ways and bring that knowledge into normal day-to-day happenings. And of course, she is very understanding, thoughtful, and non-judgemental.”

Hanon Rinke (More Reviews)

Takeaway

If you are concerned about your memory failing, you should contact a mental health professional right away. These therapists can give you a memory test to determine if you have a memory deficit, related to the aging process, or another problem. If there is a memory deficit, they can help you get additional testing and diagnosis. When it comes to memory disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's, early detection is extremely important. If you are having memory problems, contact a professional clinician to identify the problem.