On 12 Jul 2007 05:50:27 -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >I have traditionally agreed with this viewpoint as well. There is simply >too much information to be able to memorize it all accurately. The ability >to research, find information, draw conclusions, etc is much more important >in the long run than being able to memorize. Testing situations >automatically make me feel this way since there is usually nothing more >riding on it than proving I've read the material. Not understand it mind >you, since I feel like there are very few good written tests out there that >answer that question.
I was a physics major and I noticed two types of students: 1. Those who memorized the formulae. 2. Those who could quickly figure how the formulae (that they learned) must be. I was #2 - I am poor at memorizing, but have always been a good test taker. I also am very good at trivia questions, but very bad at remembering names. Names don't have meaning that match faces and personalities. In general, memorization is quicker - but it is less flexible and more likely to be mistaken. =========== I am also a big fan of the skills learned by people who learned to use slide rules. Too bad there's no way people will be willing to learn this anymore: 1. Proportion is all of the math that most people will use after school. 2. Understanding significant digits is still very important. Lots of people think that the circle that's about a yard in diameter is 3.141592653589793... yards in circumference (depending on your calculator). We even make political decisions on misunderstandings of significance. 3. Using a slide rule, you need to stop and think what answer makes sense. We need to know where to put the decimal point. Having some idea whether the answer should be 5 or 50 is a good idea in any calculation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
