Concept maps as versatile tools to integrate complex ideas: From Kindergarten to higher and professional education

Abstract

Knowledge is getting increasingly more complex. Learners, from Kindergarten to higher education, require powerful tools to connect complex ideas. This paper explores the range of studies that investigated concept maps as learning, metacognitive, collaborative, and assessment tools to support integrating complex ideas. Research suggests that concept maps can be successfully implemented in a wide variety of settings, from K12 to higher and professional education. However, the effectiveness of concept maps depends on different factors, such as concept map training and choosing a suitable form of concept map to match the task and learner. Developing proficiency in concept mapping takes time and practice and should not be first introduced in higher education. Concept map training could start as early as Kindergarten and include concept map generation, interpretation, and revision. This paper concludes that, if implemented thoughtfully, concept maps can be versatile tools to support knowledge integration processes towards a deeper understanding of the relations and structures of complex ideas and facilitate life-long learning.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Higher education STEM lifelong learning Learning tool Concept map Assessment tool Collaborative tool K12 education Metacognitive tool

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

School of Computer and Communication Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

Funding & Acknowledgements

Grant: DRL-0334199

References 10 References

1 Acton, William H., Structural Knowledge Assessment: Comparison of Referent Structures, Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 2, pp. 303-311, (1994)

2 Adamczyk, Peter, Using concept maps with trainee physics teachers, Physics Education, 31, 6, pp. 374-381, (1996)

3 Ainsworth, Shaaron Elizabeth, The functions of multiple representations, Computers and Education, 33, 2-3, pp. 131-152, (1999)

4 Ainsworth, Shaaron Elizabeth, DeFT: A conceptual framework for considering learning with multiple representations, Learning and Instruction, 16, 3, pp. 183-198, (2006)

5 Anderson, David, Development of knowledge about electricity and magnetism during a visit to a science museum and related post-visit activities, Science Education, 84, 5, pp. 658-679, (2000)

6 Anderson, Richard C., Some Reflections on the Acquisition of Knowledge, Educational Researcher, 13, 9, pp. 5-10, (1984)

7 Atay, Selma, Care plans using concept maps and their effects on the critical thinking dispositions of nursing students, International Journal of Nursing Practice, 18, 3, pp. 233-239, (2012)

8 Journal of College Science Teaching, (1985)

9 Aydın-Günbatar, Sevgi, The contribution of constructivist instruction accompanied by concept mapping in enhancing pre-service chemistry teachers' conceptual understanding of chemistry in the laboratory course, Journal of Science Education and Technology, 18, 6, pp. 518-534, (2009)

10 Banet Hernández, Enrique, Teaching of biological inheritance and evolution of living beings in secondary school, International Journal of Science Education, 25, 3, pp. 373-407, (2003)

Concept maps as versatile tools to integrate complex ideas: From Kindergarten to higher and professional education

How to Cite