Concept Mapping

The Activity

For this activity, I used www.mindmeister.com to create a concept map on the topic of Energy. The site does require an account, but you can create one easily using an existing Google or Facebook account.

The mapping tool is pretty straightforward and easy to use, but has a lot of different customization tools for the more experienced user. A basic map is easy to make, a more advanced map can include collaborators and assignment of tasks as well as file uploads and links to other websites.

Creating this concept map was a good activity to help me create a physical representation of how I think about the concepts of energy and work. This coming school year, I am overhauling my physics 1 curriculum which will include some changes to this unit. Creating the map has helped me put on paper (digital paper) the way I think which will help me to adapt my course content.

What I Learned

Concept mapping is something that I've read about fairly frequently from course texts, but not something I've used very often. I'm not sure why I haven't used it more often as I always find the process rather cathartic and surprisingly helpful. This activity is a great way to summarize knowledge in a way that is more fluid and natural than its more linear counterparts.

Fisher & Frey (2008) tout the benefits of using graphic organizers such as concept maps for students with disabilities as "these visual tools reduce the cognitive demands on the learner" (p. 172). This aligns nicely with what I experienced creating this concept map. The more I put in the map, the less I had to think about. I also feel this effect helps to reduce anxiety in high stress situations such as studying for a test. However, Fisher & Frey also note that these benefits are not limited to students with disabilities: "using graphic organizers in the inclusive classroom can profit all learners, not just those struggling with reading and writing" (p. 172). I do not consider myself to be a person with unique learning needs and I found the activity to be very helpful. I have also found that making small changes to benefit students with special needs tend to benefit all students which is supported here by Fisher & Frey.

In doing this activity, I have been reminded of the usefulness of this simple tool to aid in summarizing knowledge and showing the way the mind really thinks - recursively.

Use in the Classroom

Concept mapping has many applications in the classroom. It can be used throughout a unit to show students how much they are learning or at the end of the unit to summarize knowledge, and can be done as individuals, pairs/groups, or a whole class. Mapping can be used in any subject and at any point throughout the year.

A simple activity would be to assign creation of a concept map (using MindMeister or paper) at the end of a unit. Students would then pair and share to look for missed connections in their own maps and try to identify areas where their understanding needs to be increased (AKA what do you need to study?).

A more complete integration of concept mapping might see students add to their unit maps at the end of each class day to help look for connections to previous content. At the end of each quarter/semester, students might combine their unit maps to look for relationships across units.

1. Access
   • Students decide what tool to use to create their concept map(s)
   • What are the benefits of doing it by hand?
   • What are the benefits of using MindMeister?
2. Analyze & Evaluate
   • Look at a sample concept map. What types of relationships are shown?
   • What visual tools are used to show differences between types of relationship? (e.g. color-coding, arrows vs. lines, text size)
   • What makes a good concept map?
   • What makes a concept map easy to understand?
3. Create
   • Students create a concept map individually about the current unit
   • OR students collaborate as a class to add to the unit concept map
4. Reflect
   • How is making a concept map helpful?
   • What makes a concept map useful after it's been made?
   • Is it equally useful to look at a map someone else has made as compared to a map you have made yourself?
5. Act
   • Pair and share with other students to understand their thinking
   • What gaps in your own knowledge can be discovered this way?
   • Add to the "course map" throughout the year by making connections across unit maps
     • This also creates an artifact that shows student learning throughout the year as opposed to throughout one unit
   • How could this technique be used outside of academia?

References

Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2008). Teaching Visual Literacy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Hobbs, R., The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action, Washington, D.C.: The Aspen Institute, November 2010.