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Sometimes students know more about a science subject than they actually realize. By listing the concepts and ideas they know and questions they still have about the subject, students may develop a conceptual framework on which to add more scientific information. The Concept Map is a visual representation of how concepts and terms are related. |
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Have students bring in a newspaper article about science. List the topics of the articles on the board as the students give a 30 second summary of their article. From the topic list generated on the board, choose 5 or 6 topics for 5 or 6 groups to work on. The teacher may divide the students into groups according to their choice of topic they would like to talk about, or randomly. In groups, students should make a T-chart on a large piece of chart paper. A T-chart is a large T drawn on the paper...with the topic written at the top of the T. On one side of the T bar students will write "what have you heard about the topic?" On the other side they will write "what questions do you have about the topic?" After generation of the T-charts, the students should take a different color marker and underline the key words or concepts on their T-chart- both sides. They should also underline the title of their topic. Then they should cut out all the underlined words. These concept words will become a visual representation of their scope of the topic--in other words, a concept map. A concept map is a visual way of connecting concepts. Concept words are placed in ovals. The relationship between concept ovals is explained by the linking words written on the line connecting the concept ovals. Usually there is a hierarchal placement of concepts on the page. The broader, more encompassing concepts are at the top and the more specific concepts or examples are near the bottom. But the concept map is different from an organizational chart because in a concept map there are crosslinks. Crosslinks are connections made between concept ovals across the page. Science is a very interrelated field, and many concepts can be related to more than one concept. Concept mapping allows for this rich connectivity to emerge. A well drawn concept map will read like a sentence in any direction you read. The linking words written on the connecting lines specify the relationship and make sense when you read them. |
The teacher may need to practice concept mapping with the class by doing a topic together on the board, perhaps a topic such as fast food. See an example of a concept map Each group will arrange the concept words for their topic on the table or floor. The topic title should be on top, and then the larger, more umbrella type concepts next, with the specific examples under them. The teacher should assist the groups in making connections between the words and adding linking words. (ex: such as, as in, causes, involves, includes, is made of, etc) When the group has the concept words in an arrangement they agree upon, they should copy the map to a piece of paper and write in the linking words so that a sentence is created between concept words. Crosslinks should be made from concept words across the map to show that many concepts in the map have some relationship other than the initial placement. For Extra Credit: Students may receive extra credit by adding concept words to their map over the time the subject material is covered in class, or as they conduct their own research out of class. For Variation: The teacher may choose newspaper articles relating to the next science content unit. All students would have to create a T-chart and concept map based on their initial ideas and concepts from the article. As the students progress through the unit, they may add to their concept maps. Concept maps may also be constructed individually. There are many ways in which a concept map may improve student comprehension. Concept maps may initially be used to explore prior knowledge. Then they may be added to and adjusted according to new information the student receives.Finally, concept maps may be used as a review and even assessment tool. Student's comprehension of the topic content may be assessed by creating the right connections between concepts in a map. |
*Assessing Prior Knowledge. *Visual Conceptualization *Decision making skills *Group Cooperation *Cognitive skills: memory, association, research *Knowledge Framework *Inquiry Building |