What is difference between rote memorization and meaningful learning? Describe scope of meaningful learning in science education.

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 ROTE LEARNING VS. MEANINGFUL LEARNING

Experts emphasize the importance of deep understanding over the recalling of facts. Students who learn with meaningful learning are able to problem solve better than those who learn by rote.

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. In the long run, meaningful learning is the most effective way for students to engage in learning

Rote Learning Vs Meaningful Learning

Rote learning can be defined as a memorization technique based on repeating the material again and again until you get through with it and begin to memorize. The idea behind the rote learning is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more one repeats it. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful learning, associative learning, and active learning. Rote learning is generally based on only repeating the topics and not the clear understanding of the topics. Rote learning methods are generally used when quick memorization is required, such as learning one's lines in a play or memorizing a telephone number, also some students opt for rote learning instead of meaningful learning method with the clear understanding of the subject. Rote learning is widely used in the mastery of foundational knowledge.

Meaningful learning, on the other hand, refers to the concept of learning the subject or topic with the clear understanding of all the related facts. When learned by meaningfully, the learned knowledge is fully understood by the individual and he also knows well how that specific fact relates to other stored facts in his brain. For understanding this concept, it is good to contrast meaningful learning with the much less desirable, rote learning. Rote learning is the method where you memorize something without full understanding and you don't know how the new information relates to your other stored knowledge.

What is Rote Learning?

Rote learning as discussed earlier involves verbatim memorization. Remembering a particular phone number, dates and names are examples of rote learning. Repeating material, again and again, helps a learner recall it exactly as it was presented. Stuff that doesn't relate to anything else is learned by rote learning method. Meaningful learning, on the other hand, is tied and related and integrated to previous learning. Needless to say, meaningful learning is generally more powerful and interesting. Rote learning does not give you any meaningful learning experience and you are not sure of utilizing that information for some practical use. Rote learning is like singing along with a song playing on your I-pod or radio and after a couple of times, you start to pick up interesting lines and slowly you realize that you have learned the whole song. Some other examples of rote learning may include:

• School topics where rote learning is frequently used include phonics in reading and especially cramming at the time of the test.
• The periodic table in chemistry, you cannot have a reason for every element placement in the table, hence most of the time students end up cramming the position of elements in the periodic table.
• Multiplication tables in mathematics, that most of the students learn by rote methodology.
• Anatomy in medicine, there is no reason for the general human anatomy and you cannot find any other memorization technique for the anatomy. Hence only technique left is by the rote method.
• Cases or statutes in law,

You cannot find a reason for every small formula that you have to use in a subject. For example, a simple formula for momentum is p=mv which has a long two-page derivation. If a student goes on learning all these derivations he would not be in a state to learn anything else for his examination.

Rote learning eschews comprehension, so by itself, it is an ineffective tool in mastering any complex subject at an advanced level. Though, it may be a good tool for just memorizing something or the other, but not if you need to utilize that information for some practical purpose. For instance, one illustration of Rote learning can be observed in preparing quickly for exams, a technique which may be colloquially referred to as "cramming". Cramming may sometimes help you score decent grades sometimes but not every time. Also, it is a fact that cramming won’t help you out in long run. Every topic that is being taught has its bigger significance somewhere in the future, and at that time you end up with no information left in your brain.

Talking about studies, rote learning finds some usefulness by students in math and science. Rote methods are often used, for example, to memorize formulas or tables. There is greater understanding if students commit a formula to memory through exercises that use the formula rather than through rote repetition of the formula. But most of the students find it quite useful to just cram the periodic table position, formula or tables in mathematics as an understanding of these topics may involve a lot of explanation and derivation work, that may become really complex and cumbersome for a student. Standards always recommend that students derive formulas themselves to achieve the best understanding and utilization. Nothing can faster than rote learning if a formula is to be learned quickly for an important test and rote methods can be helpful for committing an understood fact to memory.

However, it is often observed that students who learn with understanding are really clear with all the facts and are conveniently able to transfer their knowledge to tasks requiring problem-solving with greater success than those who learn only by rote.

What is Meaningful Learning?

Meaningful learning is very important to form the student point of view. Meaningful learning in today's competitive world holds the key to success. These days it is not just your grades that matter to be successful; it is something more than that. These days in the interview you are tested on your practical skills and practical knowledge before looking at your result cards. Once you clear your interview level based on knowledge and facts, then only you are asked about your grades and qualifications. Hence proper knowledge is a must for anyone to be successful these days. Developing a capability of 'learning to learn' and higher-level thinking skills is a life-long practice and must be honed on a continual basis.

Meaningful learning helps us a lot, in fact, our brain is designed for meaningful learning only. Our brain works in an associative way and our memory serves us in a chained structure. Existing knowledge acts as a mental block for new learning to occur. Once we learned something by the meaningful method with full clarity, we are able to relate that knowledge with every relevant piece of information about that topic in our brain and possess a confidence of utilizing that information properly in our profession also. People displaying memory deftness often contend that by establishing a visual relationship between seemingly disconnected or unrelated objects or numerals, their retention is enhanced. Hence it would not be wrong to say that we do learn a lot by the process of watching something happen in practical rather than just cramming it theoretically. Some suggestions on how to ensure meaningful learning:

• Make sure what you learn is in your proximal zone.
• Emphasise more on the application rather than just learning.
• Make sure you have a proper reason for everything that you are learning. If there is any doubt, ask your teacher how some new knowledge is related to other course material.
• Have a study partner ask you questions that require the recall of related material.
• Try to make some effective memorisation points to remember the things that you have learned.
• Strictly avoid cramming as far as possible, even for some basic formulas that you may find easy to just cram.
• Make a figure that illustrates what you should know about a specific topic and its related material.
• Do not mix up the things by picking up multiple topics at the same time. You may be good at multitasking but that won’t work in the case of learning.

Differences Between Rote Learning and Meaningful Learning

Educational theorists suggest a distinction between meaningful learning and rote learning. Rote learning is most commonly emphasized in primary and secondary educational settings, and consists of simple memorization of information or the topics, without concern for relationships among concepts, and the basic idea is just to get decent grades in the exams. However, in contrast, meaningful learning results from linking new information to relevant, pre-existing concepts that were learned either in previous lecture, class or year. The most important factor for learning is what the learners already know, and how effectively he can relate the new information with the pre-existing information about the same topic.

Rote learning involves learning by repetition and meaningful learning involves a review of the facts with clarification. Both repetition and review are important to the teaching and learning process. But it is the duty of the teacher to make sure to use the method that is most appropriate for particular material otherwise they will be fooling themselves and their students. It is a fact that something’s does need in cramming but there should be a proper limit. Do not go on cramming all the topics, otherwise, this may lead to a lot of confusion and students may sometimes end up blank at the time of examination.

WHAT IS MEANINGFUL LEARNING?

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. This type of learning stays with students for life.

Meaningful learning is active, constructive, and long-lasting, but most importantly, it allows students to be fully engaged in the learning process.

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. Students achieve meaningful learning when both of these goals are fulfilled.

ADVANTAGES OF MEANINGFUL LEARNING

Meaningful learning helps students achieve success in the classroom by:

• Encouraging understanding, not memorization
• Encouraging active learning techniques
• Focusing on the outcome of the learning process 
• Relating new information to prior knowledge

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