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presented on
Saturday
8 October 2005
about
Bringing Closure
to Problems
by
Hal White
with
who uses
Concept Mapping
from the
Dept. of Chemistry
and Biochemistry
What does it mean when a student says,
I understand?....
Does understanding mean the same thing to
that student that it does to another student
or to you, the professor?..…
How can students demonstrate their
understanding to others?
Good Assignments
Provide Accountability
Students can demonstrate what
they understand.
Instructors can assess how well
students understand.
Considerations
for PBL Assignments
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Individual or group response?
Course/problem content objectives?
General education and PBL goals?
Graded or not?
Difficulty? (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Interest level for students?
Form of the response?
PBL Problem Assignments
Visual Assignment
Prepare a concept map incorporating
the major issues related to this problem.
What is a Concept Map
“a general method with which one can
clarify and describe people’s ideas about
some topic in a graphical form”
Katsumoto 1997
a pictorial representation that shows the
relationships between and among a
connected set of concepts and ideas
Purposes for Concept Mapping
•
•
•
•
Generate ideas (brainstorming)
Design complex structures (long texts, web-sites)
Communicate complex ideas
Aid learning by explicitly integrating new and old
knowledge
• Assess understanding or diagnose
misunderstanding
Short Assignment
Arrange the following three terms
and connect them with arrows and
linking phrases
Bacteria
Pneumonia
Antibiotics
Variations on a Theme
Pneumonia
Caused by
Antibiotics
Bacteria
Bacteria
Antibiotics
Can cause
Pneumonia
Can cause
Bacteria
By reversing the arrows,
changing the linking words,
and adding color, the focus
and emphasis changes.
Pneumonia
Antibiotics
History of Concept Mapping
• Developed by Joseph D. Novak at
Cornell University in the 1960’s
• Based on the ideas of David Ausubel
who stressed the importance of prior
knowledge for constructing new
understanding
Concept Map Showing Key Concepts in Concept Mapping
CONCEPT MAPS
WORDS
Can
be
LINKING
WORDS
CONCEPT
LABELS
SYMBOLS
for
CONTEXT
DEPENDENT
To form
CONCEPTS
from
PROPOSITIONS
Are stored in
form
PERCEIVED
REGULARITIES
is
HIERARCHY
RELATIONSHIPS
MOST
GENERAL
COGNITIVE
STRUCTURE
are
MOST
IMPORTANT
to
are
in
EVENTS
e.g.
RAINING
EXPLOSION
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
in
OBJECTS
KNOWLEDGE
CLAIMS
Achieved by
are
LEARNING
e.g.
DOG
LEAF
WOMAN
MOST
SPECIFIC
Can be
ROTE
are
MEANFUL
Perception is
Adapted from: Joseph Novak (1991) Clarify with Concept Maps, The Science Teacher 58(7), 45-49.
LEAST
IMPORTANT
CONCEPT MAP OF CONCEPT MAPPING
Ideas
Propositions
related
Study & Revision Aid
Linear Text
may
develop
by
Concepts
Classroom
Teachers
Metacognition
Concept Maps
suitable for
Research &
Assessment Tool
awareness
of
consists of
Learning
Processes
of
to assess
may
increase
Learning
Learning
Effectiveness
reveals
Misconceptions
Feelings &
Values
Enjoyment
Affective
Objectives
such as
improving
increasing
Motivation
Interest
Adapted from K. S. Taber (1994) Physics Education 29(5) 276-281
A Concept Map Based on the Proposition:
Without the industrial chemical reduction of atmospheric
nitrogen, starvation would be rampant in third world countries.
Starvation
and Famine
FOOD
Deprivation leads to
Can be
limited by
Predicted by
Malthus 1819
Eastern
Europe
Population Growth
Leading to
Contains
Climate
Such as in
Requiring more
Required
for
Protein
Politics
Human Health
and Survival
Includes
Essential Amino Acids
Economics
India
and
Made
by
Distribution
Animals
Grains
Legumes
Africa
Agricultural Practices
Such as
Eaten
by
Such as
Possess
Plants
Pesticides
Genetics &
Breeding
Herbicides
Fertilizer
Made from
J. Chem. Educ. 82:1570 (2005)
NH3
In the
Irrigation
Which significantly
supplements naturally
Required for
growth of
Haber-Bosch Process
Symbiotic Bacteria
“Fixed” Nitrogen
By
reducing
That produce
Atmospheric N2
Academic Metabolism
in the Sciences
H.S. Graduate
$
B.S.
M.S. *
Career Change
Frustration
Law, Medicine,
Computer Science,
Organic Farming
Ph.D.
Disillusionment
Higher
Administration
Golden
Handshake
Degraded
Grad. Students
#
‡
Poverty
Publications
Asst. Prof.
Grants
No Tenure
Publications
DuPont Hercules
Assoc. Prof.
Job Offers
Chairperson
Industry
Publications
Postdoc
Walk-on-H2O
Letters
Grad. Students
Govt Lab
Director
$
Thesis
Shunt
Publications, Awards
Full Prof.
Enemies
Friends
# Microscopic Reversibility
Questioned
* Nonobligatory Intermediate
‡ Unstable intermediate
often with sequential states
Stages in the Construction
of a Concept Map
Brainstorming Stage
Organizing Stage
Layout Stage
Linking Stage
Revising Stage
Finalizing Stage
Brainstorming Stage
• List any and all terms and concepts associated
with the topic of interest.
• Write them on Post It Notes, one word or
phrase per note.
• Don't worry about redundancy, relative
importance, or relationships at this point.
• The objective is to generate the largest possible
list.
Organizing Stage
• Spread concepts on a table or blackboard so that all can be
read easily.
• Create groups and sub-groups of related items. Try to
group items to emphasize hierarchies.
• Identify terms that represent higher categories and add
them.
• Feel free to rearrange items and introduce new items
omitted initially.
• Some concepts will fall into multiple groupings. This will
become important in the linking stage.
Layout Stage
• Arrange terms so that they represent your collective
understanding of the interrelationships and connections
among groupings.
• Use a consistent hierarchy in which the most important
concepts are in the center or at the top.
• Within sub-grouping, place closely related items near to
each other.
• Think in terms of connecting the items in a simple
sentence that shows the relationship between them.
• Feel free to rearrange things at any time during this
phase.
• Do not expect your layout to be like that of other groups.
Linking Stage
• Use arrows to connect and show the
relationship between connected items.
• Write a word or short phrase by each
arrow to specify the relationship.
• Many arrows can originate or terminate on
particularly important concepts.
Revising Stage
• Carefully examine the draft concept map.
• Rearrange sections to emphasize
organization and appearance.
• Remove or combine items to simplify.
• Consider adding color or different fonts.
• Discuss any aspects where opinions differ
Finalizing the Concept Map
• After your group has agreed on an
arrangement of items that coveys your
understanding, convert the concept map
into a permanent form that others can
view and discuss.
• Be creative in a constructive way through
the use of colors, fonts, shapes.
Peer Evaluation of Concept Maps
Compare the concept maps and rank order them with
respect to the following criteria:
 Accuracy and Thoroughness. Are the concepts and relationships
correct? Are important concepts missing? Are misconceptions
apparent?
 Organization. Is the concept map laid out in a way that higher
order relationships are apparent and easy to follow? Does it have a
title?
 Appearance. Is the assignment done with care showing attention
to details such as spelling and penmanship? Is it neat and orderly
or is it chaotic and messy?
 Creativity. Are there unusual elements that aid communication or
stimulate interest without being distracting?
Where does Concept Mapping Fit Into PBL?
depends on
Individual
Accountability
Problem-Based
Learning
working on
reflected in
expected by
has
tied to
Grades
Faculty
Students
Society
Learning Goals
Content
Objectives
based on
Examinations
reflected in
Peer Evaluation
that address
and minimize
Academic
Dishonesty
Revision
informed by
Cooperative
Learning Groups
uses
Writing
Assignments
Group
Accountability
that are
including
Process
Skills
achieved with
Group
Assignments
should limit
Divide and Conquer
Strategies
Problems
such
as
Concept
Mapping
Real World
Open-ended
Complex
to promote
Individual
Learning
such as
Term Papers
PBL Problems
Case Studies
Peer Feedback
Scholarly Synthesis
Organization
Disciplinary Rhetoric
Student Voice
Library & Internet Resources
Leadership
Communication
Conflict Management
Sharing Information
Accepting Information
Peer Evaluation