Rote Education and Rote learning is it affecting employment and creativity? Indi

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   pramodgokhaleposted 11 years ago

   Rote Education and Rote learning is it affecting employment and creativity? India has lost energy
   
   Recent survey in India showed that out of hundred graduates 30% only are employable. Corp orates found it very difficult to implement their advance technological  and innovative projects due to shortage of competent candidates.Retraining is impossible of failed candidates.
   Indian parents and educationists still insist on marks instead level of knowledge and abilities.We do not doubt individual abilities but how to make them employable, innovative?
   Corporate India is certainly implementing up-gradation exercise but the gap is too big to close.
   I think grass root people will suffer the most.

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   MasculistFeministposted 11 years ago

   I cannot speak of India, but rest assured things are similar in Australia. Our education systems do not stimulate critical thinking like they used to. We are taught what to think, not how to think. This is a big problem and it is now multi-generational. It does depend on the discipline though. I found in science that people we far more critical and thoughtful than in business where everyone seems to just blindly agree with established theory (which I have found to my frustration and amusement often has a fairly tentative empirical basis to it). The other thing many people miss, is that how we use technology is just as important as the capacity to create new technology. For instance, we learnt how to harness nuclear energy, but are we always using it correctly? The rate of technological progress is outstripping the capacity of human nature to evolve the more responsible and accountable mindset to properly utilise new technology. This is a huge problem and is contributing to many of the crises humanity now faces.

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   Rhonda_Mposted 11 years ago

   Rote learning affects critical thinking. Critical thinking, and problem solving are core transferrable skills that everyone needs  and that work places require.
   
   Rote learning in school was meant to produce a workforce for an industrial economy. As a teacher I can also tell you that students equate this with academic success (getting good marks...done through memorization) and will go to any lengths for the marks,some of which preclude learning. What I'm referring to is the extent to which students will cheat (yesterday someone contacted me on Liveperson to rewrite his friend's essay so he could hand it in to  same professor his friend had) to get the marks because that is what the system tells them they need. For them it is not about learning anymore  but on survival and the illusion that their education adequately prepares them for work.

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   NateB11posted 11 years ago

   Certainly memorization and imitation destroys creativity and initiative. Education should teach people how to be perceptive and ensure freedom to understand independently without fear. Education in the US is lacking in this regard too. Getting high marks is no indication of intelligence, neither is conformity.

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   MarieAlana1posted 11 years ago

   Rote learning is such an interesting thing. It takes the meaning out of learning and just gets students to learn the repetition of things. Then, when the learning is put into practice some don't know what to do because they had not learned to do anything with the knowledge. Therefore, this knowledge may seem meaningless. Sadly, this is the way a lot of educational systems are converting to. To me, it does not make sense. Critical thinking needs to be implemented. There needs to be more emphasis on how the brain really learns things and the best way to learn in order to put it into practice rather than having rote education and rote learning.
   
   It's like this a child may learn how to count by memorizing the numbers that come next. Then, the child may memorize more and more numbers. This is referred to as "rote counting." Then, when it is time for the child to take the extra step and count objects (one-to-one correspondance), the child may not know what to do. The child did not put true meaning into it before, but learned the rote part instead.
   
   Eric Jenson has been studying how to best go about triggering the brain to be able to learn more. His strategies are named the brain-based learning strategies. I have done a hub on this. If interested, please come and read it.

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   Larry Wallposted 11 years ago

   There is no simple answer. We all use rote learning to learn basic math facts, sight words and some other common points of knowledge that we just need to know so that we can apply them.
   
   So total elimination of rote learning is not the answer. The problem is that we are not teaching students how to learn and not encouraging them to take advantage of the resources that are available.
   
   I will give two examples. In the ninth grade, I had to memorize the periodic chart of the elements. That was not necessary. More time should have been spent explaining what the symbols on the chart meant. The test then would have consisted of picking four or five elements from the chart at random and having the student explain what the various information inside each square meant. That would be learning. Knowing the list of elements is memorization.
   
   A year earlier, I had to memorize all the bones in the body, and later all the internal organs and eventually how blood flowed. Some of it was learning, and some of it was memorization that I could look up in a science book, or elsewhere.
   
   In college, I had to memorize all the past governors of my home state, Louisiana, from the time prior to the Louisiana purchase up until the then-current  governor. I can name the governors in my life time and a few of the more notable people who served in office, but not all of them--I do not need to know them.
   
   In college, I think I had to write nine or 10 term papers. That was the best part of my college education. I was forced to learn, to find resources, to develop a theory or conclusion about something and then find evidence to back that up.
   
   That may not work for those who are more inclined to math and some of the sciences.
   
   Basically, I am saying while there are some things we learn by rote, we have to give more attention to teaching students how to learn. I did very poorly in algebra class, because no one ever showed me a practical use for it. Later in life, I used the little bit I remembered and expanded upon it as practical reasons for using it developed.
   
   I guess I am saying we need to get back to the basis and put more emphasis on reading for enjoyment and not because a teacher thinks a book is a classic and learning how to use all the knowledge resources that are available.

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      MarieAlana1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Put more meaning into it in order to really learn the material! You have some fantastic points.

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      pramodgokhaleposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sir,
      it inspires me.
      pramod gokhale

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      SidKempposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      One of my most innovative learning experiences was a high school physics class in an alternative school. In the first week, in the first lab, the task was: "Do you think light moves? Design an experiment to prove it." That provoked innovation!

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   cat on a soapboxposted 11 years ago

   I believe good education needs to emphasize critical thinking skills in today's world where the focus is on innovation and problem solving. Rote learning will always have a place ,as it should. Some things come down to simple memorization especially in math and science fields and linquistics. It is good for the brain to practice these skills. What value is there though if one can't think outside of the box?  A good teacher should put more focus on a student's thought process in arriving at an answer than the test score itself. This really is the only way to understand strenghts and weaknessess and to truly advance a student. Unfortunately, teachers in overcrowded classrooms don't have that luxury. Rote education works for the masses in preparing for higher test scores but doesn't stimulate young minds to really think. How sad!

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   SidKempposted 11 years ago

   We certainly have the same problem in the US, and it's been growing worse for as long as I've been tracking it, which is over 25 years.
   
   I think both rote learning and critical and creative thinking skills are essential for everyone, and every society. In truth, they enhance one another. But, too often, they are seen as being at odds with one another.
   
   Providing technical and management training all over the US for 20 years, I've seen that, state by state, the quality of primary education has a huge influence in the ability of adults to learn new skills.
   
   What I've seen is that what are most needed are: A love of learning, and a belief in one's own ability to improve and grow. People who can keep learning and growing can overcome any deficit and solve any problem - personal or corporate.

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   pramodgokhaleposted 11 years ago

   Thank you for reply to my question. Overwhelming response big Americans
   It is a good to interact. and exchange views.Thank you Sid Kemp
   waiting for more commitments
   pramodgokhale

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      SidKempposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      As always, Pramod, you are very welcome. Your passionate commitment to the healthy growth and success of India is an inspiration!

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