Rote learning?

Question

Why does our school systems support rote learning? I believe the spirit of learning and creative thought is lost in strict rote learning. Even Albert Einstein disagreed with it! So why do we still continue such a system in which we memorize others way of discovering or viewing things while having us (readers) just read, memorize, and apply the "correct" answer on the exam. Therefore I believe we should be able to discover and create our own thoughts instead of turning into robots and forced to believe that whats in todays books should be applied to an exam as the final and correct answer.

Thank you!

Answer 1

Because it's public school...it has to be cheap.  People are (unfortunately) unwilling to pay for a decent education with tax dollars.  It's sad...but that's America for ya...

Answer 2

The constructivism vs direct instruction debate.

The self-discovery process can work well, as long as you do not mind the extra time and errors that would happen.  Works best with learners with relevant prior knowledge.

Direct instruction is too teacher centered, but excellent for conveying structured info in a short period of time.  Your rote learning.  Works best when learners have little experience with the topic.

I prefer a blended approach where direct instruction is used to prepare/structure constructivism.  The best of both worlds.

Give learners the fundamentals and then let them explore.

Personally I feel that any instruction using either constructivism or direct instruction (but not both) is wrong.  But thats just me.

Don't worry.  Ausubel says that the stuff you learn by rote learning is easily forgotten.

Hope this helps you...