Concept maps allow students to see a bit idea and then track how other ideas are related to it. Frequently, teachers present students with concept maps that they build together to accomplish initial understanding of a topic.

But what if students created concept maps as a culminating assignment? Students would exercise critical thinking as they conceptualize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. They would show their conceptualization in the main ideas that they use to anchor the map. They would analyze the relationships between concepts and supporting ideas. They would synthesize all the learning around the concept to articulate the information and relationships amongst pieces of information. They would evaluate the relative importance of information in determining what is relevant or irrelevant.

Students could work individually or collaborate in creating the maps, or, on the back end, they could work together to compare individual maps and refine ideas.