Math: Educators Debate the Importance of Memorization in Learning Math

The instructional value of memorization in math was a topic of debate for educators in October. While some educators advocate for moving away from memorization, others argue that memorization is a core value in learning math.

  • “We often think of math as a series of tricks to memorize rather than concepts that connect to each other. When kids learn math as a few big ideas, the language of math becomes more accessible.” —Educator in New York
  • “I think one thing that gets in the way is when learning is disconnected from real life. When as teachers we just teach based on the textbook and expect SS to memorize information that is not applied to real world problem solving.” —Social Studies Teacher, N/A
  • “Every time I see people advocating for rote copying or memorizing math facts I think about how I wasn’t really fluent in math facts until adulthood…after I had taken classes on teaching math where I learned visual and conceptual underpinnings.The rote stuff did nothing for me.” —Early Childhood Educator in Florida
  • “Can we please stop vilifying memorization? Memorizing allows a firm foundation for learning more complex aspects of content. Imagine trying to work complex math problems without having a firm foundation of multiplication, division, etc. 
    • “Memorization is knowledge without understanding. What we should desire for our students is automaticity.  Automaticity is doing something so many times that your brain does it automatically. The understanding and flexibility are there to then apply it to more complex concepts.” —Elementary Math Coach in Virginia 
    • “Because some kids will never memorize Math facts.” —Math Teacher in Indiana
      • “They may never memorize all of them, but even memorizing some is a very helpful stepping stone. From there they can build strategies.” —Educator, N/A
  • “The strong foundation that memorization provides is essential for further learning.  I hand out math fact tables to my students at every opportunity. And I am always searching for better ways to help the students learn/memorize them, so send me your successful strategies.” —Educator in North Carolina
  • “In my district, the focus at elementary is explicitly stated to not memorize math facts at grades three and four. There is no mention of improving or expecting fluency beyond these grades. This has led to a problem in higher grades, with most students under performing.” —Science Educator, N/A
  • “Our awesome 5th grade math teacher and I have been talking daily about when the shift away from fact memorization happened and why. What is your opinion?” —Educator, N/A
    • “It’s possible to memorize math facts without understanding what they represent, so those who work with children frequently feel as if they must choose between having them memorize them and having them understand them. But it’s not an either/or situation; if both sides in this perennial battle would take a step back, they would see that memorization and understanding aren’t mutually exclusive in the slightest, and further, are both essential.” —Science Educator, N/A
    • “I am not aware of anyone who advocates for teaching math facts without explaining what they mean. But I am quite familiar with the straw man argument that those of us who want kids to memorize math facts don’t want kids to understand math. We don’t need to obsess over conceptual understanding though as @BarryGarelick would say: At some point you just need to know it and you don’t want to be thinking it through every time. That bogs you down.” —Post-Secondary Math Educator, Alberta