Rote Learning: Definition, Techniques, Benefits, and Drawbacks
Rote memorization, a technique employing repetition to remember facts, is a learning method utilized by students and adults alike. While it can be a helpful tool in certain situations, it's important to understand its strengths and limitations.
Understanding Rote Memorization
Rote memory, or memorization, relies on repetition to remember facts, such as dates, times tables, and lists. It's a technique to memorize facts often independent of associated meaning, emotions, or context. The core principle is to repeat information over and over until it gets committed to short-term and potentially long-term memory.
The 1850 edition of Noah Webster's Dictionary defines "rote" as: "To fix in memory by means of frequent repetition."
Applications of Rote Memorization
Students often use rote memorization to learn facts, data, and other information to help with their schoolwork. Some common examples include:
- Memorizing times tables
- Learning dates of important historical events
- Memorizing spelling words
- Learning new vocabulary
- Learning the alphabet, numbers
Adults can also benefit from rote memory. For instance, when preparing for a presentation, one might memorize key figures or facts. Repetition of key facts can also help to avoid frequent referencing of manuals during work. Homeschoolers can use rote memorization to have their children memorize passages from Scripture, Psalms, poems, even parts in Shakespeare plays. When a child memorizes beautiful language and well-constructed lines, that knowledge will stay with him for the rest of his life.
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Rote learning is widely used in the mastery of foundational knowledge. Examples of school topics where rote learning is frequently used include phonics in reading, the periodic table in chemistry, multiplication tables in mathematics, anatomy in medicine, cases or statutes in law, basic formulae in any science, etc.
Techniques for Rote Memorization
Several techniques can enhance rote memorization:
- Mnemonic devices: Chunking information or creating words out of the first letter of each list item.
- Memorizing through music: Using songs or jingles.
- Flashcards: Recalling facts when presented with a small piece of information.
- Repetition: Verbally repeating a list to oneself.
- The five senses: Engaging more than one sense when memorizing, such as sight and hearing.
Benefits of Rote Memorization
Rote memorization has its place in school and beyond. For students, it can help them learn foundational facts that teachers can help them build on in later lessons. It also allows for rapid knowledge retention, which can then help them pass tests or complete work more easily.
- Automaticity: The true purpose of rote memorization in education is to create automaticity, so that, for example, when a child sees a letter or group of letters he or she automatically says the sounds. The child does not have to think about it.
- Essential for Basic Skills: There is no substitute for rote memorization in learning the arithmetic facts. That knowledge is essential to being able to perform in one's head or on paper the four functions of arithmetic: adding, subtracting, multiplying and division. Rote learning is also important in learning to read, for the most important task in learning to read an alphabetic writing system is to develop a phonetic reflex, which is easy to do by drilling the learner in the letter-sound combinations.
Rote memorization may also play a helpful role in aging. According to a study from 2009, older adults who actively engaged in rote memorization of passages, such as prose and poetry, improved their verbal/episodic memory even past the end of the study period. They also found that it helps to promote brain health in older individuals.
Drawbacks of Rote Memorization
While potentially helpful in many situations, rote memorization may not be entirely beneficial.
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- Lack of Critical Thinking: One potential issue is that rote memorization focuses on memorizing facts and not thinking critically about them. For example, a student may memorize key historical dates but not understand the greater context of what each event means or its significance to history.
- Stress and Anxiety: Some students, particularly those who struggle with memorizing, may find rote memorization stressful or anxiety-inducing.
- Short-Term Memory Focus: Some evidence also suggests that rote memorization may only contribute to short-term memory gains. According to the findings of a small 2018 comparative study, rote memorization only activates short-term memory. This means that once a student completes a test using the memorized facts, they quickly forget them. The facts also serve little purpose for the students in the future. Additional larger studies are needed to fully explore and verify this study’s findings.
- Doesn't Allow for Deeper Understanding: The drawbacks of rote learning are that it can be repetitive, it’s easy to lose focus and it doesn’t allow for a deeper understanding of a topic.
Rote learning is sometimes disparaged with the derogative terms parrot fashion, regurgitation, cramming, or mugging because one who engages in rote learning may give the wrong impression of having understood what they have written or said. It is strongly discouraged by many new curriculum standards. For example, science and mathematics standards in the United States specifically emphasize the importance of deep understanding over the mere recall of facts, which is seen to be less important.
Alternatives to Rote Memorization: Meaningful Learning
Rote memorization is one of several different learning techniques a student or others may find helpful. Some other techniques include:
- Mind mapping: A visual organization method that shows the connection between different ideas and concepts.
- Spaced practice: Memorizing and learning over the course of several weeks or sessions instead of all at once.
- Interleaved practice: Involves learning and practicing one skill set, diverting attention to another skill, and then returning to the first skill set to reinforce learning.
- Retrieval practice: Challenging your mind to recall information from a study session at a random time and not when actively trying to learn the information.
- Self-explaining: Involves explaining to yourself the topic you are learning about in an attempt to better understand or form an argument using learned information.
- Practice testing: Involves taking a mock test or exam to test your knowledge and review information to improve your results during an actual test.
While rote learning and meaningful learning are both ways of learning, they are very different. Meaningful learning involves understanding how all the pieces of an entire concept fit together. The knowledge gained through meaningful learning applies to new learning situations. Two important goals of all types of learning include retention and transfer. “Retention” is the ability to remember the material at a later time. “Transfer” is the ability to use prior knowledge to solve new problems. Some students may face challenges with meaningful learning, as it requires building off previous knowledge. Experts emphasize the importance of deep understanding over the recalling of facts. Meaningful learning teaches students important cognitive skills they will use throughout their life. Cognitive skills are what students use to evaluate, analyze, remember and make comparisons.
Rote Learning in Machine Learning
Rote learning is also used to describe a simple learning pattern used in machine learning, although it does not involve repetition, unlike the usual meaning of rote learning. The machine is programmed to keep a history of calculations and compare new input against its history of inputs and outputs, retrieving the stored output if present.
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