Today's class discussion really made some interesting points about students after tests. After taking a test, do you really remember the information that you were being tested on? Or did you just learn it for the test and then ditch it? I feel like a majority of the tests and as well of us students can agree that they have done this for several tests in their life. So what is it that determines whether we want to keep it in our mind for later or just forget about it? I believe that for me I am more likely to want to remember things that I am more interested in and want to know more about. For instances, when I take a class that I do not want to take and there is a test coming. When I study for these tests I am just studying the information to remember in order to get a good grade on the test and pass the class. The chance that I will want to learn more after these test on my own and research is very low.
This article from the Washington Post explains about what testing really is doing and how important it is in the nation. This article gave many great points on how testing and all the time students take learning for a test just to receive a letter grade and some forget everything that they studied. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/alfie-kohn/do-test-really-help-students-l.html
I think it is crazy how students just memorize the material to regurgitate it in order to pass. Like you said, we are more likely to remember stuff we actually care about rather than stuff that is, in our eyes, absolutely useless.
ReplyDeleteI've discovered that class I enjoy and want to be a part of I don't "memorize" information I really learn it. But classes that I don't care about and wish I didn't have to take, I cram and memorize just so I can pass the exam and go back to what I want to be doing. If we are doing the same thing, then clearly something is not working. Memorizing is not the same thing as learning.
ReplyDelete