eToolbox: Mapping Technologies to Learning - Concept mapping for production

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What is concept mapping?

A concept map is a diagram that depicts suggested relationships between concepts.  A concept map is a way of representing relationships between ideas, images, or words in the same way that a sentence diagram represents the grammar of a sentence, a road map represents the locations of highways and towns, and a circuit diagram represents the workings of an electrical appliance. Concept maps demonstrate how people visualise relationships between various concepts.

Please review this paper from Ebbler (2006) for further information on concept maps and their relationship with other mapping techniques.

Concept maps can be used to:

• Summarise key concepts, their relationships and hierarchy from documents and source materials. 
• Facilitate the creation of shared vision and shared understanding within a team.
• Provide an initial conceptual framework for subsequent information and learning.  
• Examine the symmetry of complex ideas and arguments and associated terminology.
• Assess learner understanding of learning objectives, concepts, and the relationship among those concepts.
• Generate, store, visualise, structure, classify, access, and represent meaningful knowledge.

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What will I learn from this page?

This page provides guidance to practitioners who wish to learn how to use concept maps to facilitate and support learning through production, as per Diana Laurillard’s model. By actively engaging with the content on this page, you will be able to:

1. Define a concept map and it application in education and learning. 
2. Outline and discuss the various uses of concept maps in education. 
3. Formulate a step-by-step process for developing a concept map. 
4. Practise some online tools that can help in the development of a concept map.
5. Evaluate the potential uses of concept maps in your current teaching practice.  

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Why should I consider concept mapping for production?

Activity 1: Watch this short video from a Dr. Karen Rohrbauck Stout, an associate professor at Western Washington University on how she uses concept mapping to assess student learning and create linkages between topics on a course curriculum.

Activity 2: Watch this short video from Appalachian State University on how to use concept mapping as a research planning tool.

Activity 3: Read this paper from Hay (2008) on The Role on Concept Mapping in Higher Education. The paper outlines 4 important uses of concept maps:

• Identification of prior knowledge (and prior-knowledge structure) among students.
• Presentation of new material in ways that facilitate meaningful learning.
• Sharing of ‘expert’ knowledge and understanding among teachers and learners.
• Documentation of knowledge change to show integration of student prior knowledge and teaching.

Task: Having reviewed all the material above, post a message to our discussion forum in response to the following question:

• How would you use concept maps in your learning or educational programmes?
• What benefits would it deliver to both the students and yourself?

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How can I use concept mapping for production?

Activity 1: Watch this short video on how to create a concept map from Penn State University. 

Activity 2: Review this webpage from the University of Delaware on how to construct a concept map. The page also provides a very good example of a completed concept map.

Activity 3: Review this webpage from Pennstate University on a step-by-step process for developing a concept map?

Task: Having reviewed all the material above, post a message to our discussion forum in response to the following question:

• What are the main steps involved in developing a concept map and what are the key considerations?

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What products can I use for concept mapping for production?

Activity 1: Watch this video on using Freemind for developing concept maps:

Activity 2: Watch this video on using Vue for developing concept maps.

Activity 3: Watch this video on using Pearltree as a tool for concept mapping and collaboration.

Task: Having reviewed the three products outlined above, develop a concept map using one of these tools. Once this has been completed, please answer the following questions on the discussion forum

• Which product did you choose? 
• How user friendly did you find the product?
• What functions of the product did you like? 
• What functions of the product did you dislike? 

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Give me an example of using concept mapping for production!

Activity 1: Review and evaluate this study from Chiou (2008) on the effects of concept mapping on students learning achievements and interests.

The study revealed two important results:

• Firstly, adopting a concept mapping strategy can significantly improve students’learning achievement compared to using a traditional expository teaching method.
• Secondly, most of the students were satisfied with using concept mapping in an advanced accounting course.

Task: Having reviewed the research paper, post a message to our discussion forum in response to the following questions:

• What key messages did you take from the study? 
• How relevant is the research to your teaching practice? 
• What impact has the study had on your impressions of concept maps?  

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Tell us about your experience of using concept mapping for production.

Please use the comment box below to tell us about your experience of using concept mapping for production. If you have created a resource elsewhere, please provide a link.