Meaningful learning

Meaningful learning is learning that involves higher order thinking and intellectual engagement through pattern recognition and concept association, including critical and creative thinking, inquiry, problem solving and metacognitive skills. The theory holds that information must be understood well enough to be linked with what the learner already knows, so that it sits in a network of connections and can be recalled from many starting points depending on context. It is contrasted with rote learning, which memorises material without understanding or relation to other situations. Ausubel described it as a clearly articulated and precisely differentiated conscious experience that emerges when potentially meaningful signs, symbols, concepts or propositions are related to and incorporated within a learners cognitive structure. It takes longer than rote memorisation but is typically retained for longer, and techniques such as concept maps, collaboration and hands-on tasks support it.