The Lowest Forms of Learning: Memorization and Understanding
For frustrated students and self-educators.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a 6-tiered hierarchy of the forms of learning.
This hierarchy can be used to determine how effective our learning methods are.
If you are frustrated in school or with learning something on your own, this is a valuable tool that helps reframe your learning behaviors to more effective trajectories.
If you are frustrated with learning something, it may be that you’re trying too hard to memorize or understand. Let’s fix that.
Memorization
Memorization is the absolute lowest form of learning because, its low-leveraged, non-applicative, and it is plain useless in most scenarios.
You can think of memorizing as trying to connect a puzzle piece of information from another puzzle into your current puzzle.
Understanding
Understanding is a step up from memorizing. Interestingly, you can understand something without remembering it.
If you don’t remember something you understand, its useless.
Application: A Framework of Learning
The 3rd tier is “application”.
Application is the use of knowledge to do something. Its that simple.
When you apply knowledge, memorization and understanding follows. This is called “Higher Order Learning”.
Application learning is like building an “experiential framework” that makes knowledge more relevant, long-lasting, and useful.
A problem acts as a “point of reference” that creates the beginnings of a new learning experience. Whether or not you solve the problem, you learn something.
There’s value in knowing what not to do.
An immersive learning experience is memorable, knowledge compounding, and relevant.
Final Thoughts: The Problem with Schools
Schools have failed to bring full, experienced-based learning to classrooms. This is because your learning experience is reduced to worksheets, tests, and grades.
Instead, create for yourself a rich learning experience by solving real problems.
Experience learning better by owning your experience. Don’t let schools own it for you.