Concept Mapping

Research Findings:
Over 150 studies on concept mapping have been reported since the late 1970s. A careful meta-analysis conducted by Horton et al. (1993) of 19 studies that qualified out of 133 reported by 1990 indicates positive effects on student achievement and attitudes. (The analysis included only studies that occurred in actual classrooms using control groups and in which sufficient quantitative data were reported.) One hundred references related to concept mapping were reported by Al-Kunifed and Wander see (1990). More recently, the usefulness of concept maps as an assessment technique for evaluating changes in student understanding of science concepts and the connections among them has been reported.

In the Classroom:
A concept map is a schematic diagram or semantic network that includes concepts arranged in a hierarchical order linked by words that form propositions. Concept maps can be made by teachers or students either individually or in a group. They are used in a variety of situations, such as in an overview at the beginning of a unit, during instruction to assess conceptual understanding, and at the end of a unit to review for a test or to evaluate learning.

Concept mapping in the science classroom, particularly for biology instruction, improves science achievement and attitudes. The use of concept maps appears to be more beneficial at the end of a unit than at the beginning. Although there appears to be no difference in student achievement whether the maps are constructed by the teacher or by the students, there are greater gains in achievement when students supply the key terms to construct the maps.

If concept maps are used as an assessment tool to measure students' conceptual understanding, several different approaches can be used. Care must be taken to ensure accuracy and consistency as recommended by Ruiz-Primo and Shavelson (1996).

In addition to their direct use in classroom instruction, concept maps also have other educational benefits for students. They can help teachers become more effective by assessing students' conceptual understanding before instruction, and can be used as a heuristic in curriculum development.