Recall of facts is a value of education which is to be de-emphasized in reform of science according to new American national curriculum standards. Recall facts is often associated with
rote learning
Rote learning is a memorization technique based on repetition. The method rests on the premise that the recall of repeated material becomes faster the more one repeats it. Some of the alternatives to rote learning include meaningful learning, as ...
.
Science in the United States
According to "The Influence of the
National Science Education Standards on the Science Curriculum" by James D. Ellis of the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
:
"Teaching for depth of understanding of important science concepts is preferred, rather than recall of science facts. Teaching less content in depth is better than covering too much content superficially."
Mathematics in the United States
In North America, the 1989
NCTM math Standards called for decreased emphasis (but not elimination) of memorization of facts. The revised 2000
Standards and the 2006
Focal Points made it clear that students should still memorize basic addition and multiplication facts. Newer editions of textbooks such as
Everyday Mathematics
''Everyday Mathematics'' is a pre-K and elementary school mathematics curriculum, developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (not to be confused with the University of Chicago School of Mathematics). The program, now pub ...
stress that
Helping children learn the basic facts is an important goal in the Everyday Mathematics Curriculum. Most children should have developed an automatic recall of the basic addition and subtraction facts by the end of the second grade. They should also know most of their 1, 2, 5, and 10 multiplication facts by this time. By the end of the fourth grade most students should have an automatic recall of all the basic multiplication facts and be familiar with the basic division facts. Multiplication and division facts are reinforced at the beginning of fifth grade.
How does Everyday Mathematics address basic facts?
Notes
Learning methods
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