

Memorizers are the lowest achievers and other Common Core math surprises - tokenadult
http://hechingerreport.org/memorizers-are-the-lowest-achievers-and-other-common-core-math-surprises/

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paulhauggis
"The U.S. has more memorizers than most other countries in the world."

I'm wondering where they get this stat, because I just don't believe it. I
lived in China for a few years and the education system there is pretty much
all rote-memorization. I've heard that it's similar in other parts of Asia.

But the idea of the article is true: When you just memorize, it makes it
difficult to apply the principals that you are learning to other
situations/problems.

~~~
tokenadult
_I lived in China for a few years and the education system there is pretty
much all rote-memorization._

你好. I used to live in Taiwan, and I have a big bunch of mathematics textbooks
from China, as well as some recent math students in my local mathematics
classes who grew up in China. Mathematics instruction in China is not at all
about memorization, in the sense used in this article. A good book on the
topic of mathematics instruction in the United States and China is _Knowing
and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers ' Understanding of Fundamental
Mathematics in China and the United States_ by Liping Ma.[1] Her field study,
with sponsorship by the United States federal government, made clear that
elementary mathematics instruction in China is much richer and deeper and more
conceptual than in the United States.

 _But the idea of the article is true: When you just memorize, it makes it
difficult to apply the principals that you are learning to other situations
/problems._

Yes. To memorize without underlying understanding is no more useful than not
memorizing at all. Developing deep understanding of a topic usually brings
along with it sufficient memorization of fundamental facts that the problem-
solver will be able to solve some problems on the spot, and know when to look
things up if needed.

[1] [http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Teaching-Elementary-
Mathematic...](http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Teaching-Elementary-Mathematics-
Understanding/dp/0415873843)

[http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/amed1.pdf](http://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/amed1.pdf)

[http://www.ams.org/notices/199908/rev-
howe.pdf](http://www.ams.org/notices/199908/rev-howe.pdf)

~~~
paulhauggis
"I used to live in Taiwan"

I lived in Taiwan for a year as well. It was more of the same.

"made clear that elementary mathematics instruction in China is much richer
and deeper and more conceptual than in the United States."

I didn't see any of this while in China or Taiwan. What I did see (also from
my friends that had kids) was stress being put on memorization.

I had a few friends that taught at language schools (teaching English) and
many students couldn't effectively use grammar because they were so used to
just memorization.

I understand that you have links to a book that claims the contrary, but I
just didn't see this in reality. But I will agree that the school systems in
the US are equally as bad when it comes to not teaching memorization.

