Concept maps have always held a certain measure of appeal to me. I remember as a child being taught to construct essays by firstly creating “a map” of my ideas. This has stuck with me; so much so, that I often employ this concept as an aid in helping my students become more efficient writers.
Concept maps are indeed very intricate tools. They are visual representations of connections among concepts. Concept maps can be used as a valuable learning strategy to aid in the enrichment of thinking and learning skills in our students. Apart from the obvious use, that is, using Concept maps to present ideas, the article; The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to Construct and Use Them by Joseph D. Novak & Alberto J. Cañas Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has shed a measure of new light on Concept maps to me. It made for a very interesting and insightful read.
Concept mapping permits a conversion in the ways in which learners as well as teachers can map out the information that they that they have come across. The idea of Concept mapping is not solely limited to that of an activity used merely to brainstorm but it may assist students in navigating through complex domains of knowledge. Concept mapping tools can be engaged as a “hands-on” approach in the classroom to enhance the learning process. Teachers’ may also use concept maps as a resource for providing information about students’ understanding.
The implementation of new approaches to teaching or learning has often been met with some measure of resilience. This at times result in the use of “sticking to what we know” that is, traditional forms. We as educators must not be afraid to try out new ideas, new approaches and see what works best for our students.
I like the idea that concept maps can be used throughout a lesson or the learning process. Its greatest appeal is the graphic manner in which it represents the thoughts of an individual student or group. The webinspriation software allows for more creativity and a more in-depth presentation of the concept.The use of the hyperlinks and addtional notes can give some clarity to the person looking at the map.
ReplyDeleteConcept mapping is indeed a learning strategy that is motivational and very interactive, as we have already discovered ln our webspiration activity. Its hierarchical nature allows students to combine major and minor concepts for greater comprehension and the discovery of prior knowledge. In this way students become involved in meaningful learning that assists them in drawing relationships from text.
ReplyDeleteI really like the concept mapping software, Inspiration, that Aisha introduced us to. The Rapid Fire feature that can be used to create concept maps immediately as ideas are being generated is very 'cool'. Afterwards, students can look for the relationships in the information presented and make appropriate adjustments.
ReplyDeleteI have always believed in using graphic organizers in my teaching, so much so that I bought a book on graphic organizers. They help students to flesh out their ideas as well as provide a means of constructing meaning from information in a non-linear manner that economises on words.