The Fading Role of Rote

Fear of forgetting, common among learners, curbs the ability to gain knowledge. Although memory is a priceless aspect of one’s faculty its nature is seldom understood. With evolution of mind and technology the understanding of memory is getting more and more penetrative as a deliberate attempt to force registry of facts is minimized. It is important to make a note of the change in demographics among students as there is an increasing number of learners who are creative and detest lengthy lectures and the pain of having to take notes in class. Earlier it was all the more important to memorize facts and numbers because computers had not become all pervasive as they have today. With access to electronic means there is more demand for innovation.

With an increase in demand for innovation the learner gets more involved in the nature of the subject as the mind is tuned to delving deeper into the principles to be learned. The word lesson got replaced by instruction and the word ‘instruction’ is beginning to get replaced by ‘design’. The key difference is the attitude towards learners. Compulsion is replaced by spontaneity with evolution. Over time the laborious nature of the building blocks of knowledge is giving way to visionary learning. ‘Visionary Learning’ also needs guidance and this is why the instructions cannot be given; but rather the construction has to be designed. This is what entitles its proponents to the label of constructivists.

In the scenario where laborious work is taken over by computers the tutors are left with the creative aspect of making learning a response rather than an enforced necessity. This methodology naturally evokes ‘visionary learning’ in the listener who wishes to participate in the construction of the building blocks of knowledge. It combines artistic skills with analytical alertness and thus engages different parts of the brain thereby bringing about homogeneity in the way the learner processes information. These are not merely linguistic constructs but phenomena that shape hitherto our generation of learners and innovators. With these developments over time there is a restricted need to memorize facts and principles. Although till date it has not been avoided altogether its role has certainly been reduced. Online education is an outcome of the needs of today’s learners. It has been argued that memory is fading among young people but this is not true as the same memory is being used for other functions that compliment learning as a whole.