From the primary school we are forced to remember a lot of things which we do not atucally understand but only have a consciousness that they are the important knowledge for us to learn. I basically agree witht the contention of the speaker that students should memorized the facts only after they have studied the idea, concept and trends that help explain those facts and for the student who have learned only facts have learned very little.
Actually we should not deny these kind of education mode,but many times we overlook the continuousness of education from the primary school to the higher education. Remember education has became the important mode in the Chinese shool. From the time a student enter the primary shool he have to rememberd a lot of facts which for them has no meaning at all, they are only the thing can win the plaud of parents and high grade in the test. We have to commite the necessaty for such things.For a 6 to 10 years old children, realization for them is possible, at that time their brain has not totally development, but their memory degree is at the best state in their whole life. Base on that the Chinese educaiton is more tend to use this point let children remember the facts which will enact a vital role in their future study like the mutiplication table. That is also the reason why Chinese student have a amazing calculation ability, not stem from their intelligent but actually from the memory in early time. As a result the learned only facts is a necessary way for the early education. Those basic facts establish the firm foundation for the future study.
On the contrary, the higher education should combine with the primary eudcation starting to teach the concept, idea and trend that hide behind those facts. Those things are the essence of the facts. As the actual application, facts can be varity however the inner concept, idear and trend is stable. For a student, the basic task is to gasp those abstruse thing and develope them to invent the new facts. Those internet explores are able to make the website due to their knowledge of the internet agreement. A people will incapability to make any websits if he only imitate other's finished product. The facts on the other hand may only embody the one side of a concept, trend and idea unable to reflect the whole situation. In that case the only memory of the facts may lead the limition of realization for people. However we should also see the point that if the student only staied in the study level of realization he or she may also unable to apply the trend, idea and concept in the reality which more or less violeat the principle for learning those thing. In china many students study is halt in this level they only can solve the problem that simillar with the exmeple despite they have already learned the abstract thing. If the study is not step into the comprehension level this kind of study is like facts memory study learned a little. 
In my opionion, the right learning methos is not the study of trend, idea and concept fitst or the facts memory learing. It is actually should associate those things together. The abstract thing is abstruse and difficult to learn, but the facts on the other hand is easy to study due to its details and closing to the real life. Thus, the study should start from the facts and then extract the abstract concept, idear and  trend which can strengthen the realization in a big degree. Finally use the realization on the various facts reinforce the comprehension. This kine of learning step is not differential the facts and abstract things study seperaly but combine them together which not only avoid the sigularity of the facts but also deepen the realziation of the concep, trend and ideas.
As the final conclusion, we cannot not deny the value of them in the study. The focus on any of it will lead the decrease of effectiveness. In that case peopl should syithesization those two different learning mode in a whole.