A common problem

Almost without exception, when students are working hard and having trouble in an art history course, it's because they are thinking of all the facts presented as if each one were a separate, unique entity, which they must memorize. This can't and won't work, because the volume is too great.

Imagine Final Exam day if you were told that you may bring notes to to use during the exam BUT the notes must be written on ping pong balls: one fact per ball, and you had to bring these notes / ping pong balls to class in a basket. Imagine what the room would look like ten minutes into the exam. Folks would be rumaging in their baskets for the facts they needed, the baskets would spill, and ping pong balls would be bouncing all over the room! For those who like vintage TV shows, a good image is Captain Kangaroo all too often being caught in a shower of ping pong balls.