Inert Knowledge

First defined in a cognitive sense by Alfed North Whitehead, inert knowledge is that information which the student can express but not use. "To say that knowledge is inert is to say that it is seldom put to use in those situations where it is potentially applicable,"(Bereiter and Scardamalia). Examples of this are seen often in students who study intently for exams, perhaps even receiveing an excellent grade, who promptly forget everything they learned in the class as soon as they put their pencils down-- the knowledge is not "forgotten" exactly, but it is inaccessible without the prodding questions they would have found on their exam.

The "knowledge-telling" strategy, that is, remarking on everything known about a topic rather than aiming for a specific question, is not impressive to Bereiter and Scardamalia, (76) because they believe that it avoids the connections between previously separated knowledge sites.
The list (77) which they cite as teaching strategies leading to inert knowledge, such as teaching concepts in a hierarchical and chronological order, is quite similar in many ways to the method used in the discussion conducted by the teacher of Group A.

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