[Martee]

Jim, long before I heard of Yoda, two other GSED told me I needed to memorize a list similar to what Yoda has published.

My first reaction was what the heck for? It is an open book test, I have it available if I need to reference it, etc.

Well I took a pre-test, not open book and to my surprise I struggled. It really wasn't that hard, it was only 66 or 67 questions and it only asked for a handful of references. So it was back to the book. When I took the open book test, I discovered that knowing where to go made a big difference and if you do take the test, if the rules are the same, don't paraphrase. Since you have the book, write it out as it is written.

Back to memorize or not? In life there are subjects that are taught that require you to memorize if you are going to be able to do your job. In school, grade school, you memorize the times tables, you memorize a lot of information. If you had taken Latin, you would discover that you need to memorize a number of verbs and their tenses, they don't track like normal verbs, so you memorize.

Does it make you a better teacher? Only if you do something with that information and that you understand it. At least that is my opinion. Being able to quote the book chapter, paragraph and verse and not being able to explain it or apply it will not make you a better instructor.

I think that memorizing it will help you along the way in becoming a better instructor, but not memorizing it doesn't by default make you a poor instructor, at least that is my opinion. Where the rubber hits the road is having the knowledge and understanding and then be able to communicate it and Experience helps...