Application of literature-enhanced concept mapping to curriculum design:
A case study in the domain of Scholarly Communication
Cassidy R. Sugimoto and Phillip M. Edwards University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
For more information, please contact:
csugimoto@unc.edu
Research Questions phillip.m.edwards@unc.edu
How are educators and students able to visualize the field
as a whole, understanding the depth and nuance of
particular themes and the relationships between these [22]
themes? [2]
In the context of a single course, how can a coherent and [1]
cumulative sequence of class sessions and assignments [3,4]
[6,27] [26]
be derived to satisfy particular student learning [9-13,15,16]
outcomes? [19]
[14]
[2,3] [5,18]
In the context of broader curriculum, how can educators [7,8]
[29]
and students recognize and assemble a meaningful set of [25]
topics and experiences that might weave throughout [24]
multiple courses?
[17,20,21]
Concept Mapping Techniques
[28]
Concept mapping was developed as a tool to “represent Potential Applications
meaningful relationships between concepts in the form of
Numbers in brackets
propositions” (Novak & Gowin, 1984, p. 15). In the represent individual Literature-enhanced concept mapping can provide
simplest manifestation, a concept map could contain as references taken from support for:
few as two concepts connected by the term or action that the class syllabus. Refer
• One or more instructors to design a particular
to the handout for a
provides a valid proposition between the two. However, course
complete listing of these
concept mapping can also be used to represent very references.
complicated issues, by providing a visual representation • Multiple instructors to discuss the design of a
of the most salient concepts within a domain and broader curriculum
identifying the key connections between those concepts. • Assessment of student learning outcomes in a
particular course or across a broader
curriculum
Data Collection and Mapping
Concept gathering Card Sorting Concept Mapping Syllabus Creation Map Enhancement
• DIALOG search • Similar topics • Propositions from articles • Guided by concept map • Adding literature to map
(co-occurrence) • Limited terms
• Index search
Reference: Novak, J. D., & Gowin, D. B. (1984). Learning how to learn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.