CONCEPT MAPPING

Definition:
Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. They
include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships
between concepts indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts. Thus Concept
mapping is a technique that allows students to understand the relationships between
ideas by creating a visual map of the connections. Concept maps allow the student to

(1) see the connections between ideas they already have,

(2) connect new ideas to knowledge that they already have, and
(3) organize ideas in a logical but not rigid structure that allows future information or
viewpoints to be included.

Description:
A concept map consists of nodes or cells (often a circle) that contain a concept, item
or question and links (lines). The links are labeled and denote direction with an arrow
symbol. The labeled links indicate the relationship between the nodes. Words are
used to label the links in order to more explicitly depict relationships. A concept
mapping process involves six steps that can take place in a single day or can be
spread out over weeks or months depending on the situation.

Purpose Of Concept Mapping

Representing knowledge in the visual format of a concept map allows one to gain an
overview of a domain of knowledge. Because the nodes contain only a keyword or a
short sentence, more interpretation is required of the reader, but this may be
positive. Concept mapping can be used for several purposes:
--To generate ideas (brainstorming);
--To design complex structures (long texts, hypermedia, large web sites);
--To communicate complex ideas;
--To aid learning by explicitly integrating new and old knowledge; and
--To assess understanding or diagnose misunderstanding.

Advantages Of Concept Mapping

Visual representation has several advantages:
--Visual symbols are quickly and easily recognized;
--Minimum use of text makes it easy to scan for a word, phrase, or the general idea;
and
--Visual representation allows for development of a holistic understanding that words
alone cannot convey.

Example of Designing a concept mapping activity in a classroom

To effectively use concept maps in your classroom, teachers should follow below
steps:
Step 1—Select key terms. Teachers should scan the curriculum unit and select
the most important and critical terms related to the key concepts being taught. Using
the terms that we have selected, see if we can construct propositions that reflect
what students should know and be able to express at the end of the unit. Keep the
concept map manageable by selecting a short list of about 8 to 12 terms.
Step 2—Determine where in the unit or curriculum the maps will be
embedded. Concept maps fit best when alternated with the hands-on science
activities in a unit. Most often, concept maps are based on the terms that make up
the content of a series of investigations. As such, consider inserting a concept
mapping activity at key junctures in the unit. Some criteria to keep in mind in
identifying these natural joints are: (1) a sub-goal of the unit is achieved and there is
a body of knowledge that can be assessed, (2) a critical point in instruction is
reached and it is important to know about students’ understanding before
proceeding, and (3) a critical shift in student understanding is expected after a
particular series of investigations and feedback to students is crucial to help them
improve their understanding and to help inform your instruction.
Step 3—Create the activity. For maximum insight into student understanding,
design the activity to follow the open-ended construct-a-map style, where students
are only provided with the key terms (Yin et al. 2005). For students’ convenience, you
can have them write the science terms on small sticky notes (see Figure 2). This al-
lows students to move and organize their thoughts while creating their rough draft.