Education should be based on conceptual learning

Before writing the book " Comprehensive physical science", I have visited many educational institutions ( College, school and coaching centre) where I have observed that teaching strategy of the faculties and learning method of students are based on rote memorisation of concept.

But we must now that learning subject does not mean scoring good marks by rote memorisation of concept while we should understand the concept logically and scientifically.

First of all we need to understand what is rote learning or conceptual learning?

According to Educationist Sudhanshu Sinhal, Rote learning is simply the storage of data in the brain. It does not require any understanding of the data being stored. Rote learning is a memorisation technique based on repetition. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the matter the more one repeats it.

Where is rote learning useful?

Rote learning or memorisation is widely used for mastering the foundational knowledge. Its purpose is to create automaticity, so that the student will know something without having to think about it. Having multiplication tables, basic math facts, phonics, spelling and grammatical structures really well established will allow a student to speed up later on.

The question is why conceptual learning?

But if one doesn't understand the concepts of multiplication, simple memorisation of multiplication tables is not going to get one very far in real life. Mastery of concepts is a more complex thought process that uses the facts to illustrate how something actually works. Many students know the facts but they don't understand the concepts they illustrate, and this is the danger in over-reliance on rote memorisation.

We use math every day, but day-to-day life presents us with living math word problems, not worksheets with multiplication problems on them for us to solve. Understanding when multiplication is necessary is part of mastering the concepts of multiplication - something one won't get from simply memorising the times tables.

What is conceptual learning?

Students must have the ability to apply their knowledge in today's competitive environment. This is why conceptual learning is the key to successful education. At its core, conceptual learning enables students to use what is familiar or what they have already experienced to better understand new subject matter.

When students and learners have a firm understanding of the concepts, how they are related to one another, and a few exemplars of each concept, they begin to develop their own framework that will help them draw conclusions about any situations throughout their career.

Both are useful tools, but ultimately Conceptual Learning triumphs

Thus, to sum up, rote learning can be a useful tool, but real, meaningful learning comes from the mastery of key concepts. As an educator, instructing students on the things they need to know must include explanations of the how's and why's, and not just the explicit facts, or else meaningful learning simply cannot take place.

I always appreciated the faculty those who are taking keen interest to teach the concept logically and scientifically. I hope that the educational institutions will apply the hundred percent Conceptual Learning methods. Conceptual Learning method not only improves the skills of students while that will make the mind of students very sharp because it is the way to enhance student's knowledge and expand skills to have clear view over the world.

-Engineer Affan Nomani

(The author is a Research Scholar of SERF, Hyderabad and author of Comprehensive physical science)