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Concept Mapping |
Concept Map Examples
Defining Concept Maps
Components of a Concept Map
Why Use Concept Maps?
How to Develop a Concept Map
Principles about Linking
Assessment Criteria
Sage: OK, Jose, so you're going to bore us with this concept map stuff.
Jose: No, Sage, I'm going to teach you about concept maps. I think you all could benefit from them. And besides, maybe if someone else starts using them, you'll stop teasing me for being so “nerdy.”
Brian: I'm curious about the maps. You've been mentioning them since we started meeting as a group. But I'll still tease you – nerd.
Deena: Can we move along please? Not to be rude, but I can't stay very long today.
Heather: Yeah, I've got a lot of work to do this afternoon.
Jose: Sure. Sure. OK, first, let me explain to you what a concept map is. Everyone ready to take notes? Good.
Concept mapping is a technique for representing what you know about a given topic. It is a process of creating a “visual map” or “web” of your knowledge. Creating a concept map is a good way for you to identify key concepts in lectures and readings. It also allows you to show how different pieces of information relate to one another.
The two images above are examples of concept maps. One represents computer-based training and one represents water. You may want to refer to them as you review the definition, components, advantages of using, and techniques for developing concept maps.
Sage: Wait a second, Jose, I see that you find this useful, and I'm sure it is, but where did you find these things.
Jose: I ran across concept maps while doing some research for a class, and I realized how useful they would be in all my other endeavors.
OK, so like I said, concept maps are visual representations of what we know about a topic and consist of nodes and labeled links.
Brian: Nodes and labeled links? Links like on a Web page?
Jose: Hold on Brian, I'll explain everything. Concepts are sets of specific objects, symbols, or events that share common characteristics. Nodes correspond to the concepts or important terms related to your study/ research topic.
The meaning of a concept is determined by a list of its properties, which are, in turn, other concepts. Actually, most concepts do not exist in isolation but rather as part of a set of related concepts. For example, the concept “water” can be defined by other concepts, such as liquid, solid, and gas. The meaning of each concept is determined by its relation to other concepts.
Nodes correspond to the concepts or important terms related to your studies of a topic. For example, the concept “water” can be defined by other concepts, such as liquid, solid, and gas. The relationship of each concept to other concepts determines its meaning. As you can see, a concept map is a set of relationships among other concepts.
Labeled links identify the type of relationship. Therefore, the line between a pair of concepts denotes a relationship, and the label on the line tells how the two concepts are related.
Deena: So a concept is a set of relationships between and among other concepts.
Jose: Yes, and they're linked by lines that are labeled to identify the type of relationship between the concepts. Therefore, the line between a pair of concepts stands for a relationship, and you use the label on the line to tell how the two concepts are related.
For example, in a concept map of seasons, the relationship between the amount of sunlight and temperature variations is labeled as “cause” – in other words it is an action relationship between antecedent and consequent. In a concept map of dairy policies, the relationship between "dairy policy" and "federal milk marketing order" is labeled as “includes” because it represents an inclusion relationship between superset and subset.
Activity 1:
Check to see what you have learned so far; complete Activity 1 (ANGEL Quiz).
Brian: OK, so you've explained what concept maps are, but I still don't see why you use them all the time.
Sage: Yeah, Jose, you run off to your room every weekend to create concept maps of our sessions. Why?
Jose: Well, they help me to identify what I already know about a topic. They guide my study and research about that topic and can enhance meaningful learning. Not to mention that they aid me in achieving deeper learning.
Sage: Did you copy that directly from a book?
Jose: Yep. Now, to construct a concept map, you need to determine important concepts and the relationships between these concepts. By doing that, you explore your understanding of the topic. In other words, you examine and reflect on what you know about the topic.
Deena: I think these might be useful. By determining important concepts and the relationships between them, you explore your understanding of the topic. Then you can examine and reflect on what you know about the topic.
Jose: I'm glad you see things my way, Deena. This way you'll be able to see the most important areas of the topic. Then you can focus on relevant information and stay organized while you study or research more information about a topic.
And concept maps are adaptable. As you learn, you can adjust your map to include new concepts and ideas.
Heather: So, in order to do this, you have to analyze the patterns and structures of the topics. That will help you to recall the information as well as help in applying the knowledge.
Jose: See, there are benefits to this stuff guys.
Sage: Thank you, Jose. I promise to give it a try next time I do a research project.
Brian: Me too. I can use it to refine my research skills.
Explanation
Meaningful learning requires you to relate new knowledge to the existing concepts and ideas. When you learn a new concept, you add it to the appropriate place in the concept map. By interrelating concepts in networks of concepts and labeling relationships between the concepts, the concept map helps you integrate different concepts together. In order to do that, you have to analyze the patterns and structures of your topic. This promotes better memorization and recall as well as the ability to apply knowledge in new situations.
Do you understand what concept maps are and how they may be useful to your study/research?
Activity 2:
Check to see if you understand the benefits of using Concept Maps by completing Activity 2 (ANGEL Quiz).
Remember, a concept map is a visual representation of what you know about a topic. It helps you to organize, analyze, and communicate your studies and research.
Now that you know what a concept map is and all the components, let's see how you would create one for yourself.
Steps in Developing a Concept Map
The process of concept mapping involves three major steps:
- Determine key concepts related to the topic
- Build up concepts to elaborate key concepts
- Identify links between concepts
Step 1: Determine key concepts related to the topic
List all the concepts related to the topic which you consider essential to understanding the topic. For example, for the topic "cooperative learning" Jose determined the key concepts to be:
- Team Responsibilities
- Individual Responsibilities
- Characteristics
- Roles
- Basic Elements
- Expected Behaviors
Step 2: Build up concepts to elaborate key concepts
After defining the key concepts, you then expand on those concepts. Ask yourself the question:
What are the important concepts, facts, ideas, terms, etc. which explain the key concept?
Step 3: Identify links between concepts.
It is important to show how or why certain concepts relate to one another. This is called linking – basically explaining the connection between two separate parts of your concept map.
Indicate the exact nature of the relationship:
It is important that your link labels fully describe the relationship between the two concepts. This means making the labels more than simply “relates to” or “is connected to.” Labels should indicate the exact nature of the relationship.
Interlink existing concepts as much as possible.
Links may connect to, or be related to, more than one concept – be sure to link all related concepts together.
Why is linking important?
By establishing links between concepts you are able to see the “big picture” and gain a deeper understanding of a topic. In fact, your goal is to attempt to link every concept in your concept map to every other. Trying to establish links helps you focus on which concepts are most important in order to understand a topic and identify areas within a map that you might need to work on a little more. For example, you may need to expand a map by establishing sub-concepts, or you may even need to eliminate concepts that turn out to be unimportant for a particular topic.
Here are the most common words used in link labels:
Inclusion Links Subset: is included in, is contained in, is example of, is part of
Superset: include, contain, consist of, has example, has part of
Characteristic Links has characteristic/is characteristic of
has attribute/is attribute of
has type/is type of
Action Links Function: cause/is caused by
function as/is used for
Operation: act on/is acted on by
generate/is generated by
regulate/is regulated by
determine/is determined by
increase/is increased by
Process Links has process/is process in
has input/is input to
has output/is output of
Temporal Links precede
follow
has step/is step in
Similarity Links is similar to
is like
is opposite to
Activity 3:
Now that you have a basic understanding of what a concept map is, develop a concept map on "A Dog" with pencil and paper. The following link is an example:
One way to begin is to list sub-topics and then classify them by ranking them from general to specific in a kind of top-down approach.
For example, the topic of cats (see the "concept map example on cats" above) might trigger some thoughts about mammals, different kinds of cats, or pets. These general sub-topics will most likely elicit thoughts about even more specific topics such as four legs, tails, spine, hair type, and friends of mankind.
Another way to begin is to simply start brainstorming or "free associating" by jotting down every idea that comes to mind. After brainstorming, you can classify the items. Make use of the tools that are available to you and that make sense for you. Consider using colors, numbers, codes, arrows, paper clips, or different sizes or colors of "sticky" or "post-it" notes.
Regardless of how you decide to approach this map, always keep in mind the central word, concept, question, or problem for which you are building the map. Then, think about the concepts, words, descriptions, subjects, items, or issues that are connected to or associated with your central word or idea.
Heather: OK. I think I understand why concept maps are useful and what the symbols represent, but how do I know if I'm doing it right when I make my own?
Jose: Well, Heather, your map has to contain all of the important concepts for the topic, and it has to make sense to you. You could ask a friend who is working on the same topic to look at it to see if you missed anything, or you could ask your instructor to look at your map. You could also use a checklist to assess your map yourself.
Jonassen (1996) provides examples of how concept maps can be used to assess learning. Use the following information to assess your concept maps, however, keep in mind that there is no “right” concept map. Each student, or group of students, will likely build a different map, based upon their personal experiences. It is also important to understand that assessment of a concept map must be consistent with the needs of the content domain. For example, cause and effect relationships may be the focus in a physics course, while a biology course may emphasize hierarchical relationships between concepts (Jonassen, et al., 1997).
- Assess the change in your map at various stages of a course.
Concept maps can be a dramatic way to view how your knowledge changes as a result of instruction. Concept maps that you create at the beginning and end of the course provide evidence of your growth in knowledge.- Compare your concept map to the concept map of an expert.
Your concept map can also be compared to the concept map of an expert, most likely the course instructor. Before selecting this model, however, it is important to understand that one of the major advantages of concept maps is that they allow learners to represent knowledge through their personal experiences. This model, therefore, somewhat compromises an important advantage of concept maps.- Compare your map to the goals of the course.
A third model is to compare your concept map to the course goals. Reviewing individual concept maps will provide evidence of how much the individual learner progressed toward these goals.Criteria for assessing concepts, also referred to as nodes, include:
- Accuracy of concepts. Is the learner’s perception of the content domain accurate? Are the concepts correctly labeled?
- Breadth of concepts. Does the concept map reflect the breadth of the content domain? A concept map with a greater number of nodes reflects greater breadth.
- Depth of concepts. Does the concept map reflect the depth of the content domain? The depth of the map is measured by the number of levels of concepts.
- Relative importance of concepts. Are major and minor concepts represented as such? Is greater weight given to more important concepts?
Criteria for assessing relations, also referred to as links, include:
- Validity of links. Are the relationships established between concepts or nodes valid? If the map is hierarchical, are hierarchical links established? Likewise, are causal links established if the map is causal?
- Preciseness of link labels. Are the labels used to describe the exact nature of the relationship?
- Economical use of links. Are links established in the most economical way possible, without becoming too general in nature?
An additional tool you may want to use to evaluate your concept maps is a check list. Click the link below to download the file to your computer or view the checklist as a Web (HTML) page. The file is available in four different file formats to accomodate different computer configurations. Please choose the file format most likely to work with your computer system.
(Files will open in a new window. To return to this page, close the new window.)
Word File PDF File RTF File HTML File
Activity 4:
Compare your concept map about dogs with the concept map example provided below. Does the example map include nodes and concepts that you did not include? Did you include concepts, nodes, or linkages that may not be appropriate? Would you have used different key words or phrases to describe concepts?
Based on your findings from this activity, critique your own concept map and reconstruct it. Refer to the check list mentioned above.
Further activity suggestion: Exchange your concept map with a friend, classmate, or small group and ask them to interpret your map. Ask them to describe what is contained in the map. In essence, they will be telling a story based on what you have represented through your concept map.
By listening to (or reading) these interpretations you will learn how other people understand what you have constructed. It will help you understand how someone else makes sense of your map. Is their interpretation what you intended? How have they translated your visual symbols into verbal or written language? Were the items they highlighted or considered important the same as, or different from, what you considered important? How did they interpret the relationship among ideas?
Brian: I think I've got it! Concept maps are visual representations of how concepts on a particular topic relate to each other. Links and nodes are the symbols used to create a concept map. I can ask a friend or an instructor to look at my concept map to see if there's anything I've forgotten, or I can evaluate my map myself using a checklist.
Jose: Good Brian, it sounds like you understand!
Heather: I'm going to try this tonight while I am studying Biology. I think it might help me understand better how the different concepts relate to each other.
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