1 st year Mrs NEMIR EDDOUAOUDA

Understanding & Memorising

A. difference between understanding and memorizing:

Memorizing
A B
Limits learning of ideas and concepts to
word for word recall.
Limits ability to generate insight or creative Creates a basis for generating insights and
ideas.
Limits learning to actual words recalled.
Inability to deduce or induce.
Difficult to explain ideas to someone else
other than word for word.
Difficult to see how ideas apply in real-life
situations.
Does not see differences, similarities, and
implications of ideas.
Interprets ideas literally.
Strives for rote learning and has trouble
solving problems when numbers or
components are changed.
Understanding
A B
(labyrinth)
Converts ideas and concepts into own
words.
creative syntheses.
Advances the depth of learning.
Develops insights that come from deduction
or induction.
Able to use own words to explain something
clearly to someone else.
Can apply ideas to real life situations.
Can identify differences, similarities
between ideas and implications of these
ideas.
Realizes that there can be figurative as well
as literal interpretations of ideas.
Strives for understand and can solve
problems even when numbers or
components are changed.

B. Why is memorization important?

❑ Memory is like a muscle - the more it is used, the better it gets!

❑ Learning effective memorizing strategies can help improve your efficiency with a variety
of tasks, including:

❑ Studying for a Test

❑ Memorizing Lines

❑ Memorizing a Speech

❑ Remembering names, phone numbers, recipes, passwords….

C. memorizing techniques

❑ Make sure to understand the content you seek to memorize.

1
 ❑ Mnemonics1 (fan boys) and acronyms2 (ROYGBIV), SCUBA (Self Contained
Underwater Breathing Apparatus) are methods for remembering information that is
difficult or long to recall.

❑ Effective memorization begins with using as many of the best functions of the human
brain as possible to code information. This includes: Images, color, structure, sounds,
smells, tastes, touch, spatial awareness. Make your brain process

❑ Create associations: cause effect relationships, relate picture to content (charlock

Holmes), linking information to familiar ideas.

❑ Repetition helps the brain to form a stronger connection related to that piece of
information.

❑ Write your own summaries or mind maps.

❑ Rhythm, melody, and rhyme can all aid memory. (alphabet for instance)

❑ Use your time wisely.

❑ Students teaching others. Have you ever heard of the saying, “To teach is to learn
twice”? To help your struggling students improve their working memory, try having them
learn a concept in order to teach it to a classmate.

Conclusion

➢ When you understand concepts you are able to connect it with other concepts, compare it
with other concepts and generate creative ideas and apply the concept to real life
situations. Whereas memorizing won’t help you achieve any of this.
➢ Memorizing is helpful in passing an exam.
➢ Memorizing is helpful if you want to recall information at a specific given time.
Memorizing helps you remember concepts. Whereas if you understand a concept you will
not only be able to remember it for long, but also put it in your own words whenever you
want and also explain it to others. Memorizing limits the memorized content to ‘recall’,
whereas understanding the concept helps in generating creative ideas.
_____________________________________________

1a short phrase that you use to help remember something. Eg. Fan boys an abbreviation phrase
about coordinating conjunctions ( for and nor but or yet so)

2 a word formed from the first letters of other words. Eg. ROYGBIV an abbreviation word about
the rainbow colours ( Red Orangd Yellopw Green Blue Indigo Violet)