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Run...don't walk
Posted:
Jun 14, 1999 3:33 PM
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CJ Masenas writes:
How is a fact recalled after being "memorized" any less valuable
than a fact recalled after a student plays "so much they cannot
help but knowing the answer."?
"Memorized" is like saying "6 times 7 is 42" over and over again until
you can repeat it accurately. This could be just a meaningless
sequence of syllables, or maybe just a fact disconnected from all
other facts.
If it's learned through practice, then perhaps it's connected to the
idea that 6*6 is 36, and then you add 6 more to find 6*7 is 42 (or
whatever procedure it is you used to find it each time).
I see this a lot with toddlers who can count -- for some, they
understand what a number is, and they are putting a collection of
objects in one-to-one correspondence with a set of number words, while
others just have it memorized as a sequence of syllables to recite
with no meaningful connection other than which syllables come after
which.
--Joshua Zucker
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