4. INTRODUCTION
Concept mapping is the general method that can be used to help any
individual or group to describe their ideas about some topic in a
pictorial form. There are several different types of method that all
currently go by names like “concept Mapping “ , “Mental Mapping” or
“ Concept webbing”. All of them are similar in that they result in a
picture of someone’s ideas .But the kind of concept mapping I want to
describe here is different in a number of important ways. First it is
primarily a group process and so it is especially well-suited for
situations where terms or groups stakeholders have to work together.
The other methods work primarily with individuals. Second, it uses a
very structured facilitated approach. There are specific steps that are
followed by a trained facilitator in helping a group to articulate its ideas
and understand them more clearly. Third, the core of concept mapping
consist of several –state- of the art multivariate statistical methods
that analyze the input from all of the individuals and yields an
aggregate group product .And fourth,the method requires the use of
specialized computer programs that can handle the data from this type
of process and accomplish the correct analysis and mapping
procedures.
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5. CONCEPT MAPPING
Concept mapping is a technique for visually representing the structure
of information-how concepts within a domain are interrelated .It
isbased on theories of meaningful learning which is stress that
learning new knowledge is dependent on what is already known.
Definition of concept mapping
A concept map is a type of graphic organizer used to help
students organize and represent knowledge of a subject. Concept
maps begin with a main idea or concept and then branch out to
show how that main idea can be broken down into specific
topics.
Benefits of concept mapping
Concept mapping serves several purposes for learners
1. Helping students brain storm and generate new ideas.
2.Encouraging students to discover new concepts and the propositions
that connect them.
3. Allowing students to more clearly communicate ideas, thoughts and
information
4. helping students integrate new concepts with older concepts
5. Enabling students to gain enhanced knowledge of any topic and
evaluate the information
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6. Concept mapping as an assessment tool
Concept mapping is a powerful tool for linking knowledge and could be
a key to developing strong performance assessments that ought to be
designed to generate both an assessment of how students are applying
concept and to assess the deep understanding that students are
gaining.
According to Plonick (1997), researches began to
study the concept-mapping technique in the 1960s based on the
theories of Ausubel (1968) ,whose stressed the important role of prior
knowledge in learning about new concepts since then, concept
mapping has been gaining inroads as a tool to enhance problem solving
in education.
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7. CONCLUSION
Concept maps where developed to enhance meaningful learning . A
well –made concept map grows within a context frame defined by an
explicit “ focus question”, while a mind map often has only branches
radiating out from a central picture . Some researches evidence
suggests that the brain stores knowledge as productions that act on
declarative memory content. Because concept maps are constructed
to reflect organization of the declarative memory system, they
facilitate sense- making and meaningful learning on the part of
individuals who makes concept maps and those who use them.
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8. REFERENCE
1. Joseph D Novak and Alberto J. Canas (2006).
The theory underline concept maps and how to
construct and use them” , institute for human and machine
cognition.
2. Ausubel,D.(1968) – educational psychology
3.www. google com
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