Engaging Students with Concept mapping

1. Concept mapping is a unique way of organizing information in a visual way that children and adults alike can more easily understand. While searching on the site provided I found quite a few examples of how these concept maps are being used in classrooms. One example, was a map of Eleanor Roosevelt's life. This idea stuck out to me because it was not just a complicated science concept like many others were. It was her life and achievements mapped out in an easy to follow manner. It was an easy way to see her life on one page, with highlights as to the important parts. This was a fun way to describe the life of an important person and could be used in an elementary classroom when the students are studying famous people in history. It would be easy to adapt this model to any number of different famous people. It would be a great study tool to give to students prior to an exam. This way they would have the most important information in an organized chart.

Another example of how concept mapping could be used in a class lesson is on the US Government. It would be a great topic to break down because of the different branches within the government and what they are all in charge of. There are so many different features to each of the branches that having a visual representation for students to look at and study from would be helpful in seeing how the three branches related to one another and also what they can do on their own as well.

Another example of how concept mapping software could be used in a classroom setting is to use it to outline a book. The students could read a book for the class and the concept mapping could be used to help organize the different characters, the plot, the resolution, the conflict and the setting. The entire main parts of a book could be mapped out and used in order to generate discussions on the book in class, with character names and conflicts easily accessible to the students, so they would not rely only on remembering small details. This would allow for students who may not remember a character with a small parts name to still contribute to the discussion. The map could also be constructed with the students help or input on what the most important ideas from the book are and how it should be mapped out.

2. Honestly, for me I think it would take a days worth of work to fully explore and learn all the different tools and functions associated with this type of project. I feel like it would be a small investment of time, to be able to produce such visual charts. However, I also feel like these types of charts could easily be created using Powerpoint using the slides. This particular software may have more to offer, but I plan on teaching second grade, and will most likely not have the opportunity to use computers everyday for lessons. I hope to use more hands on and engaging activities, rather than create flowcharts for students to look at. The idea of the organization of concepts in graphical representations, however, is a fun idea that could easily be integrated using the programs associated with Office.

Here is an example of the Concept Map I created in my T&L 445 class: