Books. Photo: Margareta Ohné.

The seminar was opened by Björn Birgersson, Director of Studies at BIG. He briefly explained how working memory and long-term memory work and then reflected on the advantages and disadvantages of rote knowledge.

Björn then suggested some discussion questions focusing on the subject of biology. Is rote knowledge important in biology and, if so, in which areas? And what is the "core" of the biology subject that everyone must learn? In the subject of chemistry, reaction formulas and models of atoms and molecules are a foundation for understanding what chemistry is - what is the corresponding foundation for understanding what biology entails?

The subsequent discussion was largely about the special nature of the biology subject and the difference between "being able" and "understanding". Here are some scattered views from the discussion.

Many levels

The biology subject is a little special in that it is based to such a large extent on other subjects, above all chemistry, but also physics and mathematics. In addition, biology itself includes different levels that build on each other (molecules, cells, tissues, etc.).

In school, it seems to be above all material from the lower levels that ends up in the long-term memory as rote knowledge. Some examples mentioned were DNA (and other molecules) as well as photosynthesis and cellular respiration. But there is also material from higher levels such as the body's organs and species knowledge.

Know and understand

Memorised knowledge is good to have and it can be quickly retrieved from long-term memory when needed. They are also a prerequisite – but not a guarantee – of understanding; just because you have learned things by heart does not mean that you understand them. There can be problems in a subject like biology, which is so clearly structured in levels that build on each other. Anyone who has not understood the basic levels will find it difficult to build on them.

Studying biology also means learning many concepts by heart. But if you don't understand the definition of a concept, you can't use it correctly.

How to get students to both understand and store their knowledge in long-term memory is not a simple question, and it was not answered during the seminar either. But the discussion touched a little on things like study techniques, learning styles and teaching methods.

Next meeting

Time passed quickly and the question of what is the core of the subject was not dealt with, nor was the well-witnessed crowding och subject content. We have to live with it, both at school and at university, and how to prioritise in the large amount of material can be difficult to agree on.

The next seminar will be Thursday, December 7 at 4:30 pm at BIG. Suggestions for discussion topics are very welcome!