Or that could be how they learn. It reminds me of professors that let you create a exam "cheat sheet" (a single page in which you were allowed to include any facts or equations you thought might help you on the exam). So we spent hours scouring the textbook and assignments for good stuff to put on the cheat sheet. When it came time for the test, we often found out we rarely had to consult our sheet -- the act of creating it made us absorb the material.
