Do you agree or disagree that learning through concepts is better than learning through facts

I neither concur nor refute that learning concepts and idea is better than learning facts. In my perception both concepts and facts are necessary to better understand the subject. So we can’t emphasize on only one part; rather we can determine the sequence of learning idea and facts.

In my view it’s important to learn concepts first and then facts. The reason behind my opinion is that if idea is clear to the student then only he can apply that knowledge to judge the facts. For example in mathematics or physics it is important to understand theorems and laws initially and then the accuracy of the concept can be judged by facts. It may be that student can challenge the facts if he is very well expert in understanding the concepts. In this way student will actively learn the subject rather than passively accepting the facts.

The process of not learning facts earlier than understanding concepts will encourage critical thinking in the students. If pupils will only learn facts first, it would be difficult for them to understand how those facts and figure were derived. So concepts are the base of understanding facts. If a student passively accepts the facts from educators it will discourage their curiosity and nature of asking ‘why?’ This will hinder their thinking process.

On the other hand if students learn only the perceptions and don’t check it with facts, then also their learning is incomplete. For example according to Newton’s third law each reaction has got equal and opposite reaction. This is a concept and when we check with the fact that if I hit a ball it will bounce back to me with the same speed and force; the understanding of the theory becomes very easy.

In conclusion perception and evidences are complementary to each other. Asking which one is better is not a good practice. Definitely we can decide on the sequence of teaching of either. In my view learning concepts and checking the authenticity of the same with facts creates active and critical thinking which helps on the better understanding of the subject.