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For math, when I was in school I tried memorizing all the formulae, and well, my life was miserable. I hated it.

Recently just for fun (I have a job that (perhaps unfortunately) does not require any advanced math), I started taking math MOOCs from top universities. I discovered that, when I looked into how the formulae is derived (starting from elementary math), I find it substantially easier to keep in mind the formulae. Or even if I don't remember the formulae, I know how to derive them.

I now feel like I've understood certain concepts much better, even though if there's a timed test I might end up being worse off than others who memorized. But then again, I'm learning for fun and is not preparing for any test :)

What I'm trying to say is, for math atleast understanding the underlying concepts work better for me, even if at a given point it's beyond your grade.

(Thank goodness MOOCs exist. I should probably donate.)