Concept Map

Concept Map/QR Code

Concept maps are great tools that teachers can use to help benefit students learning in multiple different areas. There are so many different ways that I could use a concept map as a future teacher for lesson plans. If I were teaching science, I could use a concept map of an ecosystem in one of my lessons. After teaching about producers, consumers, decomposers, food chains, and food webs, I would have students create their own concept maps to connect these ideas. Students could work together or individually to brainstorm different roles that organisms play in an ecosystem. They could orgainze these ideas using Google Drawings, and with this they could also get creative and color code their ideals.This helps them lay out their knowledge ina different way, as well as helps them construct knowledge actively as they are observing how their organisms interact.Using a concept map in this way would support both constructivist learning and directed learning. For constructicve learning, students will build the map through collaboration and exploration. Through directed learning, I would provide specific vocabulary terms and a goal for the task. This also encourages critical thinking, as students must evaluate where each concept fits and justify their connections. At the end of the lesson students could then present their maps to the class and explain their findings about the ecosystem and how energy moves within it.This would serve as both a learning activity and an assessment tool. Concept mapping helps make abstract concepts more concrete as well as gives students a chance to organize information. It is also great for visual learners and promotes student engagement no matter what type of learner the student might be. Overall concept maps have so many benefits, and they would be a great resource in a lesson in the future.

As a future teacher, I could use QR codes in so many ways. With the way technology is rapidly progressing, and the use of it is becoming much more common, the classroom must advance to keep up as well. Most students are very familiar with technology, so they should easily know how to use and access a QR code. The student just needs to have a device, and then scan the code in order to pull up the lesson the code represents. This is a very fast and non-time consuming way to have students pull up their assignment and begin working on it. QR codes can be used for so many things, whether that is an image, a website, or a game. This code would be much faster for students to access rather than going through the pain of typing in a website name, and having to help students find the website. We live in a world where QR codes are very present. Many things fully rely on QR codes such as menu’s at restaurants, and even serve as how-to manuels for things. Teacher’s can use these QR codes however they would like. It open’s up so many opportunities in the classroom, and gives teachers a quick and easy way to switch things up. I would use this QR code specifically at the start of class. I would link it to an introduction whether that be a game, a picture that students need to observe, or even link it to a questionnaire. I think that the possibilities are endless. A bell-ringer would be a great way to incorporate this link as well. I could also see a teacher use it for students to fill out a questionnaire about their class and survey their feelings in general. Just as I am doing now, i think it could be a good experience for students to create their own QR code based on a picture or link, that way they can deepen their knowledge on technology as well. I could also use this QR code as an introduction to a classroom say before school even starts. Parents and students would just have to grab their phones, and scan the code which would pull up a syllabus and presentation based on the class. Overall, there are hundreds of different ways that teachers could use QR codes to their benefit. These were just a few thoughts that I think would be useful, and I am glad I have gotten to experiment with creating QR codes.