Summary

In his December 2, 2025, blog post, “Teach Students to Memorize Sets of Knowns,” Dave Stuart Jr. argues that memorization of foundational facts remains essential to meaningful learning — even in an age when information is always a click away. 

Stuart borrows the term “sets of knowns” from Tammy Elser, a consultant and educator who emphasizes grounding instruction in knowledge learners can reliably access from memory. The term refers to core facts, dates, conventions, and other baseline knowledge that students should internalize — the “building blocks” of deeper understanding. Stuart contends that without that foundation, students are ill-equipped to think critically, make connections, or create original work. 

To illustrate, Stuart describes how in his world-history courses he asks students to memorize a small set of “must-know dates” for each unit — such as the year of the American Declaration of Independence (1776), the publication of The Communist Manifesto (1848), the Haitian Revolution (1804), and other pivotal global events. For his ninth-grade AP World History students, he assigns roughly 120 dates; for general world history, about 70.

His process is methodical: he begins with a brief warm-up writing prompt exploring students’ beliefs about their own capacity to memorize. Then:

• He projects a short list (often five facts) and has students copy it.

• Students cover the list and write from memory (List 2).

• They self-grade, then correct and perfect List 2.

• Then they cover and re-write from memory (List 3), correct and perfect it again, and finally produce List 4 from memory before final correction. 

This repetition — writing, self-correcting, rewriting — helps students embed facts firmly in long-term memory, supported by immediate feedback. Stuart notes that after a few rounds, nearly all students’ recall improves markedly; the effort fosters not only retention, but also a sense of competence, efficacy, and shared accomplishment. However, Stuart cautions that memorization alone is insufficient unless embedded in meaningful practice and frequent use. He argues that facts need to be “marinated” in genuine reading, writing, discussion, and application across instructional activities. Without such scaffolding, even a perfectly memorized list becomes inert — disconnected from a larger understanding. 

Stuart frames memorization not as rote drudgery, but as a feast of knowledge — a foundation upon which students build curiosity, analytical skill, and deeper insight. He further argues that framing memorization strategically cultivates five key beliefs in students: credibility (that the teacher knows what matters), value (that knowledge is worth acquiring), effort (that hard work produces growth), efficacy (that they can succeed), and belonging (that they are capable, valued learners). 

In an era when many educators prioritize project-based learning, student inquiry, and critical-thinking tasks — often discouraging explicit memorization — Stuart’s post serves as a timely reminder that content knowledge matters. He contends that efforts to cultivate 21st-century skills must be anchored in knowledge-rich curricula.

For teachers and educational leaders, the takeaway is clear: identify your key “sets of knowns” for each course, guide students through structured memorization routines, and ensure those facts are woven into ongoing learning through reading, discussion, writing, and more. Doing so strengthens not just recall, but readiness to think and grow — and anchors learning in a durable, meaningful foundation.

Original Article------------------------------

Source: Dave Stuart Jr., “Teach Students to Memorize Sets of Knowns,” December 2, 2025, https://davestuartjr.com/teach-students-to-memorize-sets-of-knowns/

Prepared with the assistance of AI software

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com