Concept mapping: a technique to aid meaningful learning in business and accounting education

Indian Journal of Economics and Business, June, 2007 by Thomas A. Shimerda

Abstract Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning was developed in 1968. Joseph O. Novak developed his theory of education from Ausubel's work. Novak developed the use of concept mapping as an aid in moving from rote to meaningful learning. This paper provides an introduction to the constructs of meaningful learning. It demonstrates how concept maps may be used to help students learn accounting concepts in a more meaningful way. Novak's ten-step approach in developing concept maps is used to develop a concept map for the basic accounting equation. The paper concludes with a summary of benefits of using of concept maps to enhance "meaningful learning". I. INTRODUCTION Joseph D. Novak (1998) describes the need for an importance of a theory of education. In his book, Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge, Novak states; "Education, in any setting, is an enormously complex human endeavor; there are more ways to make changes that will be harmful or of little value than ways to make constructive improvements in education. A comprehensive theory of education is needed to give vision and guidance for new practices and research leading to steady improvement of education" (Novak, 1998, p. 8). As part of this theory of education, Novak advocates a theory of learning that says, "learning by rote is ineffective for long-term retention and application of knowledge and why meaningful learning is effective and necessary for creative thinking" (Novak, 1998, p. 8). Novak developed his understanding of meaningful learning from Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning, which suggests that meaningful learning is a process in which new information is related to an existing relevant aspect of an individual's knowledge structure. Novak explains it as follows:
Although we do not know the biological mechanisms of memory, we do know that information is stored in regions of the brain and that many brain cells are involved in the storage of a knowledge unit. New learning results in further changes in brain cells, but some cells affected during meaningful learning are the same cells that already store information similar to the new information being acquired. With continued learning of new information relevant to information already stored, the nature and extent of neural associations also increase.... It is into our idiosyncratic knowledge frameworks that new knowledge must be assimilated. (pp. 51-52)

In the process of meaningful learning, new information is linked with existing concepts in the cognitive structure. Meaningful learning results when the learner chooses to relate new information to ideas the learner already knows (Novak, 1998, p.19). This is distinguished from rote learning that is not linked to any prior knowledge. Rote learning is memorization and does not necessarily lead to any long-term understanding of concepts or ideas. Novak states that there is a continuum of learning from rote to meaningful. Meaningful learning has three requirements: 1. Relevant prior knowledge: That is, the learner must know some information that relates to the new information to be learned in some nontrivial way. 2. Meaningful material: That is, the knowledge to be learned must be relevant to other knowledge and must contain significant concepts and propositions. 3. The learner must choose to learn meaningfully. That is, the learner must consciously and deliberately choose to relate new knowledge to knowledge the learner already knows in some nontrivial way (Novak, 1998, p.19).

The three requirements of meaningful learning can be better understood in the context where students learn the basic knowledge of what constitutes economic resources of a business. Once a student understands the concept of an asset (economic resource to be used by a business entity) the student (learner) can then seek to build on this knowledge structure that allows the learner to recognize differences in assets from current and long-term. This meaningful learning process continues to expand to allow the learner to further distinguish the various categories of longterm assets (investments; property, plant & equipment, intangibles, and other assets). It can be argued that most learning in business schools has tended to concentrate on rote learning rather than meaningful learning. This can be seen from Novak's continuum of learning where he describes the characteristics of rote learning as no affective commitment to relate new knowledge to prior learning; learning not related to experience with events or objects; no effort to integrate new knowledge with existing concepts in cognitive structure (Novak, 1998, p. 20). There are tools available to help business schools (teachers) begin to move from a rote learning environment to a meaningful learning environment. One such tool is the use of concept maps. This tool is described in the next section of this paper. The third section describes how to develop a concept map using an example. The final section summarizes the benefits concept maps as an aid to enhance "meaningful learning". II. CONCEPT MAPPING TECHNIQUE A concept map is a knowledge representation tool. Novak (1998, p.21) defines concepts as perceived regularities in events or objects, or records of events or objects, designated by a label. For example, there are various shapes and kinds of things we calla chair, but once a child acquires the concept chair, that child will label correctly almost anything with a seat, back, and legs as a chair (Macnamara, 1982). The role of concept maps is to promote and enhance learning in an interactive manner. A concept map thus facilitates movement of relevant information through the perceptual barriers and provides a base for linkage between newly perceived information and previously acquired knowledge. Application of the concept maps in accounting and business education has been demonstrated (Leauby and Brazina, 1998). Leauby and Brazina incorporated concept maps into their auditing class. One aspect of their study allowed students to use concept mapping to answer essay questions in lieu of the traditional narrative response. Christopher Joiner (Joiner 1998) used concept mapping to demonstrate the usefulness of the technique in marketing research. Raval and Shimerda (Raval 2002) used concept maps to integrate accounting information systems concepts. Croasdell, Freeman and Urbaczewski (Croasdell 2003) discuss the use of concept maps for teaching and assessment. Concept maps are intended to represent meaningful relationships between concepts in the form of propositions. Propositions are two or more concept labels linked by words in a semantic unit. In its simplest form, a concept map would be just two concepts connected by a linking word to forma proposition. For example, "accounting is a language" would representa simple concept map forming a valid proposition about the concepts "accounting" and "language". Most concept meanings are learned through the composite of propositions in which the concept to be acquired is embedded. Although concrete empirical props may facilitate concept learning; the regularity represented by the concept label is given additional meaning through propositional segments that include the concept. Propositional segments such as, "a system has an environment," "a general journal is a transaction file," and "transactions are inputs," can help to increase the understanding of financial accounting as a system. Concept maps help provide clarity to students, teachers, and textbook authors about the small number of key ideas that they must focus on for any specific learning task. A concept map can also provide a kind of visual road map showing some of the pathways that may be taken to connect meanings of concepts into propositions. III. DEVELOPING A CONCEPT MAP The process of developing concept maps is simple. For a selected topic, labels are first collected and compiled. These are then linked together in somewhat hierarchic form. When these labels are connected they create relationships. Also, a label may be connected to more than one label, causing multiple branching of the concept in its propositional form. Horizontally, relationships may be joined using cross-links. Depending on the level of understanding and complexity of the

concept, the map may have several levels of hierarchy. The process is largely heuristic and iterative in nature. Joseph D. Novak, in Appendix I of his book, Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge-Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations, (1998) provides a ten step approach to building a concept map. These ten steps are used to develop an example concept map. The example used to develop the concept map is one that was used in an advanced managerial accounting course. In Novak's three requirements for meaningful learning, relevant prior knowledge must exist before new learning, new meaningful learning can take place. It was felt that the students could better comprehend the notion of new knowledge building upon prior knowledge, if they could map a set of concepts that was based on prior knowledge. The ten steps along with the example are described below: 1. Identify a focus question that addresses the problem, issues, or knowledge domain you wish to map. Guided by this question, identify 10 to 20 concepts that are pertinent to the question and list these. Concept labels should be single word, or at most two or three words. The focus question used was, "What is the basic accounting equation'. This question was selected in anticipation that the students would be familiar with the basic concept labels. In the first attempt in identifying the concepts, students identified only the major concepts of assets, liabilities and equity. 2. Rank order the concepts by placing the broadest and most inclusive idea at the top of the map. It is sometimes difficult to identify the broadest, most inclusive concept. It is helpful to reflect on your focus question to help decide the ranking of the concepts. Sometimes this process leads to modification of the focus question or writing a new focus question. When the students worked through this step they identified the need to add the concept, accounting equation. This added concept allowed them to see the hierarchical nature of the concepts. 3. Work down the list and add more concepts as needed. In this step, the students initially did not see any additional concepts to add. After the first attempt at identifying the appropriate concepts, the students were ready to begin to build the map as indicated in step four. 4. Begin to build your concept map by placing the most inclusive, most general concept(s) at the top. Usually there will be only one, two or three most general concepts at the top of the map. The initial map that the students created is presented in Exhibit 1. Since there were only four concepts identified initially, the map was fairly easy for them to create. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 5. Next select the two, three or four subconcepts to place under each general concept. Avoid placing more than three or four concepts under any other concept. If there seem to be six or eight concepts that belong under a major concept or subconcept, it is usually possible to identify some appropriate concept of intermediate inclusiveness, thus creating another level of hierarchy in you map. When this step was introduced, the students were able to identify several additional concepts. They identified that assets contained two subconcepts--current and long-term. They also identified the subconcepts with liabilities--current and long-term debt--as well. Their understanding of additional subconcepts was not as clear with equity. They eventually recognized two subconcepts for equity as well--contributed capital and retained earnings. 6. Connect the concepts by lines. Label the lines with one or a few linking words. The linking words should define the relationship between the two concepts so that it reads as a valid statement or proposition. The connection creates meaning. When you hierarchically link together a large number of related ideas, you can see the structure of meaning for a given subject domain. This step was enlightening for the students. They were not as comfortable in linking the concepts as they were in identifying them. The linking words were not clearly recognized nor did they always link the concepts into a valid statement of proposition. This step had to be

explained in greater detail than the previous steps. Once the students understood that the linked concepts along with the linking (action) word should read like a sentence, the linking process became easier. Some students had a difficult time in assigning a linking word to ever line. Exhibit 2 transforms the concepts from Exhibit 1 into a concept map. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 7. Rework the structure of your map, which may include adding, subtracting, or changing superordinate concepts. You may need to do this reworking several times, and in fact this process can go on indefinitely as you gain new knowledge or new insights. The students were not asked to specifically go back and rework their initial concept map for additions and/or deletion, but some of the students continued to see additional relationships among the concepts. They further noted that long-term assets contained four additional concepts--investments, property, plant & equipment, intangibles, and other assets. They also recognized that concept retained earnings was linked to revenues and expenses. 8. Look for crosslinks, between concepts in different sections of the map and label these lines. Crosslinks can often help to see new, creative relationships in the knowledge domain. When this step was introduced, some of the students identified the crosslinks with revenues and expenses in determining net income or loss. Each time these additional relationships were identified, it was noted that additional concepts were being added to the map. 9. Specific examples of concepts can be attached to the concept labels (e.g., golden retriever is a specific example of a dog breed). Some of the students were confusing this step with the earlier step of identifying the appropriate concepts. When the students were first identifying concepts examples of current assets were incorrectly identified as concepts. Further clarification in this area is helpful for the students. The identification of concepts versus examples is not clear cut. It can be quite fuzzy in distinguishing between concepts and examples of concepts. As the students become more comfortable with this process of learning, the degree of fuzziness should diminish. 10. Concept maps could be made in many different forms for the same set of concepts. There is no one way to draw a concept map. As your understanding of relationships between concepts changes, so will your maps. This step is more of a reassuring step than a process step. It needs to be stated that there is no one correct way to developing a concept map, just like there is no one correct way to prepare a written outline. The students need to understand that concepts maps ate a learning aid, not a problem to be mastered. One complete version of the concept map after the students proceeded through the first nine steps is shown in Exhibit 3. As the students reflected on the concepts, new concepts were added as they began to understand the linkages (relationships) among the new concepts added. IV. BENEFITS OF CONCEPT MAPS IN MENINGFUL LEARNING Novak's (1998) continuum for meaningful learning states that a characteristic of meaningful learning for an individual is the "deliberate effort to link new knowledge with higher-order, more inclusive concepts in cognitive structure" (p. 20). This linkage of prior knowledge to new knowledge is part of the three requirements for meaningful learning, and can be easily seen through the use of concept maps. The example presented in this paper is an attempt to demonstrate this linkage. Mapping the concepts for the basic accounting equation, allowed the learner [students] to identify relevant prior knowledge (requirement one). This knowledge map was then extended to include new concepts of revenues and expenses (requirement two). The learner [students] must choose to learn meaningfully (requirement 3) by consciously linking these new concepts/ knowledge to concepts/knowledge [equity] the learner already knows. Using concept maps, the learner can continue to link prior and new concepts in a meaningful learning process. A new concept map can be developed from the learner's understanding of the prior concepts. As the learner refines his/her understanding of revenues and expenses, the knowledge base of an "income statement" can be developed as a concept map of "what is an income statement".

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Concept maps can be used in linking chapter concepts within a textbook. In managerial accounting, cost terms and cost behavior patterns are introduced early in most texts. Once these concepts are understood, it is easy to link these concepts to new concepts introduced in later chapters. The concept of a "cost object", once understood, can be linked to a "job" in the chapter on job costing, a "batch" in the chapter on process costing, or an "activity" in the chapter on activity-based costing. Once this concept is understood, the linkage to new concepts becomes easier to identify and it makes the learning of the new concepts more meaningful. V. CONCLUSION The illustrative map used in this study may not completely correspond with the views that a particular instructor may have about the subject matter. However, it is fairly easy to customize these concept maps to an individual's preference. It is also important to note that when students are asked to create concept maps, their versions from a pre- and post-learning perspective of the new concepts are very likely to be different. Maps evolve over the learning curve, and this process of adjustments is one of the vehicles to offer clarity in understanding concepts. Learning is interactive and concept maps are interactive. Concept maps can enhance the learning process. The clarity of understanding prior concepts to learn new concepts is demonstrated with concept mapping. This is easily seen from the linkages of concepts between various chapters within an accounting or business textbook. This particular method of linking concepts offers a powerful advantage in that the students are now able to relate later chapter material with previously learned chapter concepts. REFERENCES Croasdell, David, Freeman, Lee, and Urbaczewski, Andrew (2003), "Concept Maps for Teaching and Assessment", Communications of the Association for Information Systems, Vol. 12, pp. 396405. Leauby, B.A. and Brazina, P. (1998), "Concept Mapping: Potential Uses in Accounting Education," Journal of Accounting Education, 16, No. 1, 123-138. Macnamara, J.T. (1982), Names for things: A study of human learning, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Markham, K.M., J.J. Mintzes, and M.G. Jones (1994), The Concept Map as a Research and Evaluation Tool Further Evidence of Validity, Journal of Research in Science Teaching 31(1): 91-101. Novak, J.D. (1998), Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Novak J.D. and D.B. Gowin (1984), Learning how to learn, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Raval, Vasant and Shimerda, Thomas A. (2002), "Integrating AIS Course Content Using Concept Maps", The Review of Business Information Systems, Volume 6, Number 3, Summer, pp 85-95. Suen, Hoi, B. Sonak, D. Zimmaro, and D.M. Roberts (1997), Concept Map as Scaffolding for Authentic Assessment. Psychological Reports 81: 734. THOMAS A. SHIMERDA Associate Professor of Accounting, College of Business Administration, Creighton University, Omaha
Thomas A. Shimerda "Concept mapping: a technique to aid meaningful learning in business and accounting education". Indian Journal of Economics and Business. FindArticles.com. 24 Dec, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1TSD/is_1_6/ai_n25012623/