e-Learning Ecologies MOOC’s Updates

Concept Mapping

Concept mapping is a learning-teaching strategy that bridges the gap between how people learn and meaningful learning topics. A Concept_map is a two-dimensional diagram that shows the relationships between concepts under a broader concept title.

An example of a concept map

First of all, a previously prepared concept map is presented to the students, and they are allowed to examine it. This map is desirable to explore the connections between the central concept and its surrounding concepts, and attention is drawn to the expressions of the relationship between ideas.

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The benefits of this method can be listed as follows.

Students learn new concepts with concept maps and associate them with the concepts they have, thus acquiring the relationships between concepts necessary for realizing understanding.

Concept maps improve students' thinking, analysis, problem-solving, and creativity abilities.

Concept maps improve students' conceptual perception levels and increase their success.

Concept maps, by recognizing the student's cognitive level,

It enables them to identify the subjects that they do not know and do not understand.

Concept maps help students learn without memorizing and enable them to establish a connection between them.

Concept maps provide a concrete and visual organization of information in mind. Visual symbols are easier to remember and learn meaningfully.

However, there are some difficulties encountered in the use of the method.

Complex concept maps can cause confusion in students' minds as they contain many relations and lines.

The age group to which the concept map will be applied is essential. Misconceptions may occur, especially in younger age groups.

The teacher may not well define concept maps. Students may turn to other subjects rather than the desired learning.

Concept maps may not be successfully applied to every subject. Therefore, if teachers use different strategies in different subjects, there is no doubt that success rates will increase.

As a result, studies have proven that concept maps are highly effective in supporting and facilitating learning, and it has been demonstrated that concept maps are valid and useful in teaching.

 

Novak, J.D. (2009) [1998]. Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Novak, J. D. & Gowin, D. B. (1998). Learning how to learn. USA: Cambridge University Press