Chapter one was very interesting, the section that really caught my attention was the part on learning with understanding. I agree with this type of learning. Through my middle school years majority of my teachers would base their test and style of teaching on memorization and I really felt as if I was not gaining and absorbing the information taught. They did not challenge me to dig deeper for more understanding of the subject matter. I would have rather learned and understood what was being taught then just merely memorizing.
When I became a special education teacher at John F. Kennedy High School, I did use the memorization way of teaching but only for facts that needed to be memorized such as mathematical formulations or historical dates. I believe that students what to know why they are learning the information be taught. My students were interested on what made the facts so interesting or important.
By using the learning to understand technique students will obtain and understand more information when asked a question. In addition students will feel more confident when answering questions on subject matter. And information taught to them will be stored in long term memory rather then short term memory.
