Are We Teaching Students to Learn or to Perform?

When I was in 12th grade, my physics teacher would hold an extra class for “weak” students and tell them which topics to cover to “pass” the physics exam. At the time, it made sense; those students had to pass their exams, so it became a sweet cheat code for teachers and candidates alike. As I grew older, the same cheat code made no sense.

In hindsight, those students who seemed “unteachable” and rote learning was the only path left to them. It felt like a mutual agreement between the teacher and the student. If memorising enough information genuinely solved the problem, why did the underlying difficulty with conceptual understanding persist? Interestingly, those were the same students who consistently struggled with or lacked interest in conceptual understanding. As they grew older, the core issue was never resolved.

The students passed, at least for the moment. Passing should have been a checkpoint along the way. Instead, it had quietly become the destination. The extra classes solved the immediate problem, such as: what to study, what to memorise, and what was likely to appear on the paper. But it failed to solve why those concepts remained difficult in the first place. And perhaps that is where the problem becomes bigger than one Physics classroom. We became so focused on getting students to the finish line that we stopped asking what they were supposed to learn along the way.

Teachers are often asked to accomplish two things at once: help students genuinely understand a concept while also preparing them to perform well in an examination. Time constraints, curriculum demands, large classes and pressure around results can make the immediate solution, such as teaching students what they need to pass, hard to resist. A student who can write a memorised answer may pass an examination. But learning asks for more than memorization. It asks whether a student can explain an idea in their own words, connect it to what they already know, and use it when the problem looks unfamiliar.

We often say that students need to “understand the basics.” But how often do we stop to ask what understanding actually means?

Let’s take a familiar example: “Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell.” A student can answer, “What is the powerhouse of the cell?” with “Mitochondria.” They have remembered the information, and that matters. Memory gives us the foundation on which learning can build. But is remembering the sentence the same as understanding it?

Now imagine asking the student to explain it in their own words. What do mitochondria actually do? Why are they called the “powerhouse” of the cell? If the student can explain the idea rather than simply repeat the sentence. They are beginning to understand.

Then, we can take the concept a little further. What happens when we give them a question they have never encountered before? Can they use what they know about mitochondria to work through it? If they can, they are applying their knowledge rather than simply recalling it.

But learning becomes even more interesting when ideas begin to connect. Can they relate the energy produced by mitochondria to something they have learned about the human body. Suddenly, one biology concept becomes part of a larger network of ideas.

And then comes perhaps the most important shift: questioning. Instead of waiting for the teacher to provide the next question, can the student create one? What happens when a cell cannot produce enough energy? Why would a particular cell need more energy than another? At this point, the student isn't simply receiving information anymore. They are interacting with it. Finally, imagine taking the student completely outside the examples they have encountered in class. Can they use what they know about cellular energy to make sense of an unfamiliar situation? That is transfer: the ability to carry knowledge into a new context.

Remembering → Understanding → Applying → Connecting → Questioning → Transferring

The point isn't that a student must master every stage before we can say they have learned something. Learning is rarely that neat. But the progression reminds us that knowing an answer is only one part of learning. What matters just as much is knowing what to do with that answer.

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