The learning process is a very complex phenomenon , and more so in human beings.

Regardless of a person’s age, and whether they are being educated at school or only through other means, learning means mobilizing a great deal of resources both in our bodies and in the way we interact with the environment and with others.

Therefore, to try to better understand how we manage to adapt to the environment, learning is often subdivided into several types of learning, each of which has its own characteristics. In this article we will see what rote learning is, what are the characteristics that define it, and several examples.

What is rote learning?

Although all forms of learning are related and tend to overlap, what characterizes rote learning is that it is based on retaining information as accurately and literally as possible , without trying to create an interpretation of it that is easier to link with the knowledge we already have and therefore easier to “save” in memory.

Therefore, rote learning gives priority to accuracy over flexibility in interpreting new information to be integrated into our memory.

Thus, rote learning usually requires a conscious effort to remember something, and good attention management so that other stimuli or memories are not mixed up with the experience of being memorized.

Furthermore, it should be noted that rote learning is practically the opposite of meaningful learning , and therefore there are many differences between the two.

While rote learning is based on the integration of memories that are as faithful as possible to the information we came into contact with when we first set out to memorize it, in meaningful learning the most important thing is to develop our own network of concepts and memories that best explain what we are to learn, without being so concerned with fidelity to the original.

Characteristics of this storage process

Among the characteristics of this type of learning are the following.

1. Requires voluntary effort

In this way of learning, it is necessary to r ealize an effort to memorize elements and at the same time concentrate on this task, so that attention

2. It uses several types of memory

Several types of memory are involved in rote learning, and they work at different rates, allowing information to be consolidated in the brain.

For example, on the one hand there is the working memory, which serves to mentally manipulate ideas and concepts seconds after coming into contact with these new elements; then this information passes to the short-term memory, which lasts several hours, and finally, if it is memorized well, this passes to the long-term memory, which works for months or years .

3. Create mental representations that are as faithful as possible

In rote learning, all those behaviours that are oriented to maintaining a mental representation faithful to the original concept to be memorised are reinforced. Anything that has to do with distorting this representation is discouraged.

4. Create Imperfect Memories

This characteristic is typical of all types of learning, and has to do with the fact that all memories become distorted as time passes , unless it is a question of certain contents of semantic memory (the one that contains vocabulary such as the word “Russia”).

Therefore, the fidelity that is sought with rote learning is relative; it is not intended to keep that exact information forever.

Techniques for learning this way

These are some of the most commonly used rote learning techniques:

Repetition

It consists of repeating over and over again the reading or pronunciation of the contents to be memorized , first very frequently and progressively less frequently.

Phonetic approximations

This technique is based on looking for an association between the words to be memorized and others that are already known, whose words have a similar pronunciation and that we can relate to the new concepts in some way.

Story Method

This consists of tracing a narrative created by us that allows to unite in a single narrative thread all the words to be remembered .

Mental tests

In this case, we review by asking ourselves questions that we must answer from what we have studied. In this way, we discover things that we did not know or had forgotten, when we go over them again to do better next time.

Advantages and disadvantages

It is common to find criticism of the idea of learning by rote, but we must keep in mind that rote learning is very important in many aspects of life . For example, it is impossible to learn a new language without using techniques adapted to rote learning, and the same goes for many aspects of general culture.

So the key is to know the advantages and disadvantages of rote learning so as to know when to encourage it and when to favour other methods.

For example, the main drawbacks of rote learning is that it requires somewhat monotonous and mechanical methods based on repetition and review of content already seen. This can be boring , since each new repetition contributes little more than the consolidation of the memory, something that in itself does not have to be very stimulating.

The advantages of rote learning, on the other hand, are that it allows a great variety of elements to be learned from very similar methods that are easy to master once the habit has been generated, on the one hand, and that its fruits are noticed in the short term as long as the corresponding time and constancy are invested in it.

Bibliographic references:

  • Cowan, N. (1995). Attention and Memory: An Integrated Frame Network. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Eysenck, M.W. (2012). Fundamentals of cognition. New York: Psychology Press.