What are Concept Maps?

Benefits of Concept Maps

A concept map is created when an individual or group brainstorm ideas, using keywords related to the topic they want to investigate. This results in a graphical representation of their thoughts and can be the beginning of further investigation (Cicognani, 2000). Concept maps allow a student to define their educational goals more easily through a visual representation of their data and ideas. According to Cicognani (2000), concept mapping can be used to achieve all stages of the Bloom’s Taxonomy framework, by using the keywords from the concept map as the kick-start to the learning journey.

The six stages of Bloom’s Taxonomy include:
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation

Through concept mapping, it is possible to incorporate all six of these stages into the learning journey of a class. Knowledge can be remembered, memorised and recalled from a concept map. Comprehension involves describing something in one’s own words, which is ideally what a concept map allows a learner to do. Application includes problem solving, which can start from the ideas brainstormed in the concept map. Analysis involves digging deeper into the information and understanding how it was put together, therefore developing on the ideas placed in the concept map and determining why they were put together. Synthesis allows the learner to form a new ensemble using ideas from the analysis stage, therefore just showing how everything is linked to the original concept map. Evaluation develops opinions and judges decisions made through the learning process, which therefore links back to the start of the learning journey, which was concept mapping.

I also found this below list, taken straight from Cicognani (2000), to be very informative about what concept mapping can do for learning.
White and Gunstone (1992) list six uses of concept maps:
· to explore understanding of a limited aspect of a topic;
· to check whether learners understand the purpose of instruction;
· to see whether learners can make links between concepts;
· to identify changes that learners make in relationships between concepts;
· to find out which concepts are regarded as key ones; and
· to promote learner discussion.

It is obvious that a simple tool such as concept mapping, can be an ideal way to engage students in a new topic and begin the learning journey with a bit of fun. Adding ICTs to concept mapping and allowing students to use a program such as Bubbl.us, makes the process even more engaging as students, especially middle phase learners, are technologically savvy and have grown up using technology. This therefore, relates more to their own real world experiences. An example of a concept map is given below courtesy of Bubbl.us.

References:

Cicognani, A. (2000). Concept mapping as a collaborative tool for enhanced online learning. Educational technology and society, 3(3), 1-9.