Teaching vs. Learning

Rote memorization was a major strategy for success in my STEM curriculum. I did it, and I graduated UT-K with honors, once I figured out the gig. Yes, there were critical thinking skills to be had, but memorization was huge.

When I became a medical school professor, I introduced problem-based learning in the course I directed to encourage critical thinking. What do I need to know to help this patient? When do I know enough? That kind of teaching is hard, but most student appreciate when you respect their intelligence.

The problem is that faculty are assessed based on how much teaching they do, not how much learning happens. Measuring teaching is easy. Measuring learning is hard.

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