What is Meaningful Learning - Meaningful Learning vs Rote learning

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Feb 01, 2022 01:08 PM IST

What is Meaningful learning?

There are different styles of learning that we engage in, such as rote learning, associative learning, active learning, etc. Exactly which type of learning you employ can depend greatly on the subject matter, the type of learner you are, and how the material is presented. Of all the different learning styles, the one that reflects deep learning and is the most intimate form is meaningful learning.

Meaningful learning refers to a complete understanding of the learned knowledge, including how the different parts relate to each other to form a whole. However, there is a lot of confusion surrounding this form of learning and how it can be implemented in the classroom or during self-study. In this article, we take a look at the benefits of meaningful learning, a few meaningful learning examples, and better understand what is meaningful learning on the whole.

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Meaningful learning vs Rote learning

Before we begin, it is important to mark the difference between meaningful learning and rote learning - the form of learning that is traditionally employed in the Indian education system. Where rote learning is basically learning through repetition, meaningful learning involves learning by making meaningful associations between old and new information.

Depending on the content and your learning style, you may have to incorporate both types of learning. For instance, if you’re learning musical scales, you may have to rely on rote learning to drill the notes in your memory first, even if you don’t understand the ‘why’ at first. On the other hand, meaningful learning - which comes later - helps you forge and find connections between new information and what you already know. In short, you relate to the learning and can see how the different parts relate to one another. This allows you to internalize the content deeply and understand it through and through.

Where rote learning is all about memorizing things as they are, such as the periodic table, meaningful learning ensures that information learned is meaningful to the learner and can be retrieved from any starting point. Learned information can thus be applied to novel contexts, and represent what is meaningful learning on the whole.

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What are some meaningful learning examples?

It is crucial to know what is meaningful learning in education and how it can be applied to what students already know. Let’s break down the idea of meaningful learning and see, with examples, the types of learning involved in the whole process.

Meaningful learning examples - Representation learning

Representation learning is a type of meaningful learning, in that, it focuses on what a thing ‘represents’. It is the basis of all meaningful learning upon which other forms of learning depend. For instance, knowing the meaning of words is important to know what a sentence or a text is trying to say. Similarly, understanding what the different signs and symbols mean is important to work out a mathematical problem.

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Meaningful learning examples - Concept learning

Concept learning comes about as the vocabulary of students expands and they come to acquire new ideas and concepts. Concept learning can take place through the instructions given by the teacher or through their own discovery. For example, the concept of prime numbers could be first illustrated by your maths teacher, or if you’re precocious enough, discovered by you on your own. Whatever the source may be, the idea is to learn the concepts so they can be further applied to advanced forms of learning.

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Meaningful learning examples - Proposition learning

Proposition learning is an advanced form of meaningful learning that brings together prior learning and builds upon it. It involves higher forms of abstraction and symbolizations that rely on representational and conceptual learning. For instance, the idea of ‘counterpoint’ in music is a higher form of musical abstraction that relies on understanding the functional basis of music and rhythm. It is an advanced form of learning that takes place only when the basics are internalized meaningfully.

Through these three meaningful learning examples, you can learn to identify what is your meaningful learning procedure and how you can go about forming associations between what you are learning and what you already know.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Meaningful learning

Though knowing what is meaningful learning in education is advantageous to students, there are a few drawbacks to it as well, which is why you won’t always find it taking priority in the traditional education system. So, let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of meaningful learning.

Advantages

Information is stored in long-term memory.
Students can successfully connect new information with prior knowledge.
Learning is meaningful to the students’ lives.
Acquiring new information becomes easy.

Disadvantages

Meaningful learning takes a longer time to achieve.
Has to be tailored to different learning styles of students.

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Promoting Meaningful learning

It is important that teachers and students pay attention to the different forms of learning and realize when meaningful learning has taken place in a student. Meaningful learning is said to have occurred in students when they can use the new information to solve problems and can transfer their knowledge to novel situations and learning experiences.

Meaningful learning takes place best when the learner is fully engaged and can relate to the information presented. This could require collaborative discussions in class, group learning, explaining concepts to each other, as well as using different visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning aids. The use of technology can further help in promoting meaningful learning, especially when it comes to developing an interest in students about the subject.

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Knowing what is meaningful learning in education is important in order to bring about substantive change in the classroom as well as in one’s own learning. Because we all learn differently, understanding what is your meaningful learning technique can fast-track your learning and make your study sessions more efficient.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How do you describe meaningful learning?

Meaningful learning refers to a complete understanding of the learned knowledge, including how the different parts relate to each other to form a whole.

2. What is an example of meaningful learning?

An example of meaningful learning is to understand how multiple mathematical formulae can be derived from a single formula, rather than memorizing all of them by rote.

3. What is the importance of meaningful learning?

Meaningful learning teaches students how to apply their cognitive skills to relate to the content, acquire new information, and apply the learned knowledge to new problems.

4. What are the characteristics of meaningful learning?

Meaningful learning is collaborative, relatable, participative, and goal-directed.