CONCEPT MAPPING

Presented by
Samiran Mandal
Updated on 19.01.2024.

1
 What is knowledge

Knowledge refers to information stored in the

learner’s mind. Knowledge can be classified into
four categories.
1. Facts
2. Procedures
3. Concepts
4. Principles

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 What is fact ?
• A fact is a proposition about a unique object or
event. A proposition is a statement which describes
a relationship between two or more objects ,
events, or qualities e.g. “Beethoven wrote nine
symphonies “.
• The utterance “pencil, typewriter, word processor
“is not a fact because it is not a proposition.
• The statement “there are twenty six letters in the
English alphabet “ is a fact because (a) it is a
proposition and (b) there is only one English
alphabet. Facts have no generality and it is this
feature which distinguishes them from concepts,
principles and procedures. 3
 What is fact ?

• For example “The distance between the earth

and the moon is 384,400 km”. Or “Chlorine is a
poisonous gas”. Or “Cook produced the first map
of New Zealand”.
• Facts have no generality as it is this knowing
facts, objects, events or people (either directly as
concrete experiences, or as a verbal information)
• Facts, by definition do not have examples- they
exist independently. Example: Meaning of road
signs.
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 What is procedure ?

Procedures – Knowing what to do in given

situations (i.e. knowing procedures).

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 What is concept ?
• A concept is a class of objects, qualities or events (
rather than a unique object or event ). Individual
objects are grouped together because they share a
common characteristic ( or set of characteristics).
• Specific concepts or groups of concepts, (being able
to define etc.,) i.e. name of classes of items or ideas
that can be exemplified. The term “cat”, for example ,
can be used to refer to all members of the stimulus
class “cats” , not just the household cat, and the
term “red” can be used to refer to all members of the
stimulus class “red hued objects”. Terms such as
“cat” and “red” are referred to as concept names.
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 What is concept ?

• Presentation about a concept may be about the

name of the concept e.g. These things here are
called “ hexagons”, or they may be about the
definition of the concept ( “A hexagon is a six
sided figure “). Or they may be about an
example of the concept ( “Is this one a hexagon
? Yes because it has got six sides”), or non-
example of the concept ( Is this a hexagon. No.
Because it has got five sides.)

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 What is principle ?
• A principle is a proposition which describes the
relationships between two or more concepts. In
some accounts , principles are referred to as
rules.
• The principle “plants grow faster in the summer
than in winter” describes a relationship between
plant growth and seasonal climate.
• The principle “distance travelled equals speed
over time” describes the relationship between
concepts “distance”, “speed” and ‘time“.

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 What is principle ?

• Presentations about a principle may be about

any of the following (a) the principle itself , (b)
the name of the principle, (c) an example to
which the principle applies, (d) an instance
where the principle does not apply, or a
definition , example, or non-example of one of
the concepts contained within the principle.
• Rules or principles which link certain concepts or
facts in specific ways (enabling one to explain or
predict phenomena.) i.e. rules that guide or
explain change . 9
 Importance of concept in daily life ?
• We build our world on concepts. Throughout any day
, we use hundreds of concepts like “tooth brushing”,
“politeness”, “news”, “TV”, “sadness” .
• As we learn and experience new things , we both
draw upon and increase our conceptual banks. We
constantly put old concepts to use and, in the
process , frequently extend them and acquire new ,
related ones.
• The chain of concept acquisition , usage,
enlargement , and revision is continuous for as long
as we are able to think. 10
 Importance of concept in daily life ?

• Concepts enrich , as well as extend and

order, our psychological worlds.
• Many concepts , such as chair are acquired
because they have functional value; they are
useful for something we need or want to do.
• Others , such as sports , drama, are learned
just because they make our lives more
interesting and pleasant.
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 Importance of concept in daily life ?

Concepts serve us in three additional ways

• They simplify our learning tasks
• They expedite communication
• They help us distinguish between reality and
imagery

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 How concepts simplify our learning tasks ?

• Our intellectual world is comprised of millions of

bits and pieces of knowledge. If each of these
items required a separate category in our
knowledge network , information retrieval would be
extremely unwieldly.
• Concepts allow us to organize and store similar
pieces of information efficiently. Once formed ,
they eliminate our need to treat each new piece of
knowledge as a separate category.

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 How concepts expedite communication ?
• Most useful aspects of concepts lies in their ability
to speed up and simplify communication among
people. Because you and I share similar concepts
, we can easily communicate without any need on
my part to explain in great detail every idea ,
event, or object.
• Each new concept builds on preceding ones ; their
cumulative pattern and sequencing make
extended descriptions of each one unnecessary.
When communication between two people breaks
down, it is often because one member has not
learned concepts that are basic to the
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conversation.
 How concepts help us to distinguish between
reality and imagery ?
• Subtle functions of concepts is their ability to help us
between illusion and reality.
• One who has acquired the concept of cow has no trouble
distinguishing between a picture or a three dimensional
model of a cow and a real cow.
• Similarly , knowledge of other concepts allows one ,
without much conscious analysis, to recognize that
various pictures and models are only representations.
Confusion between real examples of concepts and their
second hand representation can occasionally be
detected in children , as with a little girl who believed that
chickens were an inch and a half high. 15
 What is generalization ?
• Generalization is a process describing how
organisms behave if things were the same.
• Dogs have certain characteristics which vary from
one dog to another , such as their colour , size and
so on . These are called variable characteristics.
• They are what you need to learn to generalize
across all kinds of dogs
• As an empirical fact, two different stimuli can
under the proper conditions elicit the same
response , albeit at different strengths , perhaps.
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 What is equivalence ?

• Organism must do is to organize the

environment into categories so that
objects and events that are not physically
identical may yet be treated as equivalent.

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 What is discrimination ?
• Organisms come to discriminate among stimuli
when they are trained to respond differently to
them.
• In an empirical, operational sense, then
discrimination is the opposite of generalization.
• We can look up discriminative learning in a
general way as the process of breaking down
generalizations.
• A process describing how organism tells that
things are different.
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 What is discrimination ?
• Discrimination learning can be considered a
simple form of concept learning.
• All dogs have certain characteristics in common,
such as being mammals , having a certain type
of teeth , a certain type of diet , a certain range
of body shapes, and so on. These are called
common characteristics .
• Some of them are easily visible (e.g. body
shape) and some of them not (e.g. diet)

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 What is discrimination ?
 All dogs have certain
characteristics in common,
such as being mammals ,
having a certain type of
teeth , a certain type of diet
, a certain range of body
shapes, and so on. These
are called common
characteristics .
 Some of them are easily
visible (e.g. body shape)
and some of them not (e.g.
diet) 20
 What is a concept ?
A concept is a category used to group similar
events , ideas, objects , or people.
Example: When we talk about a particular
concept such as student , we refer to a
category of people who are similar to one
another – they all study a subject. The
people may be old or young , in school or
not ; they may be studying baseball , but
they can all be categorized as students.
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 What is a concept ?
A concept is a category used to group similar
events , ideas, objects , or people.

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 What is attribute ?
Concepts share a set of defining attributes ,
or distinctive features.
For example , books all contain pages that
are bound together in some way (but what
about electronic books). The defining
attributes theory of concepts suggests that
we recognize specific examples by noting
key required features.

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 What is attribute ?

Although some concepts , such as equilateral

triangle , have clear-cut defining attributes ,most
concepts do not.
Take the concept of party. What are the defining
attributes ? You might have difficulty listing these
attributes ,but you probably recognize a party
when you see or hear one (unless , of course we
are talking about political parties , or the other
party in a lawsuit, where the sound might not help
you recognize the “party’).
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 Types of concepts

The concepts may be divided into following

three categories.
• Concrete concepts

• Defined concepts

• Concept systems

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 What is concrete concept ?
• This category includes concepts which are
classes of real objects or situations etc. Thus red
is a concrete (or primary) concept as it is a word
which defines a particular class of real objects
(objects which are red in color).
• A child can learn this concept by direct
experience of a variety of red objects and other
objects which are not red. The word ‘red’ is a
useful learning aid (in order to check that the
concept is being learned), but it is not essential
to the learning process.
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 What is concrete concept ?
• Such ideas as ‘higher’, ‘bigger’, ‘same’,
‘different’, ‘first’ and ‘last’ are also primary
concepts, because they too can be developed
entirely through direct experience, without the
need of a language.

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 What is defined concept ?
• This category, includes concepts which are
classes of other concepts. These cannot be
learned without the use of a suitable language.
Whereas one can demonstrate one’s
possession of the concept ‘red’ or ‘bigger’ by
pointing at appropriate real objects, one cannot
do this to demonstrate one’s understanding or
‘colour’ or ‘size’. The examples that make up
the class described by these words are
themselves concepts. Every real object has a
color and a size.
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 What is defined concept ?
• One needs language, and previous mastery of
simpler concepts, in order to communicate to
the learner the meaning of ‘color’. ‘Red’ is a
color, and so is the ‘blue’ and ‘green’. By
quoting such examples of colours, one can
communicate the concept of ‘colour’. But if the
learner does not have the concepts of ‘red’
and ‘blue’ the sentences we use to
communicate the concept of color will be
meaningless to him.

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 What is concept system ?
• This category includes sets of related concepts
which, it is hypothesized, the learner stores in his
memory in such a way that the relations between
the concepts, as well as the concepts themselves,
are remembered and can be recalled.
• The concept ‘physical properties’, together with the
properties themselves, may be taught of a system
of interrelated concepts. Thus such physical
properties as mass, weight, density or size may be
stored in such a way that the interrelationships
between them we are also remembered, or
alternatively they may be stored as separate
concepts. 30
 What is concept system ?
• In the former case, the observation that one
object floats while another sinks would lead
(apart from the direct conclusion that one is
more dense than water and the other is less
dense) to other, correct, conclusions about
the relative masses of the objects in relation
to their apartment volume. In the later case, it
is less likely that such secondary conclusions
would be made correctly.

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 Types of concepts

 Well defined concept

 Ill defined concept

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 What is well-defined concept ?
• A concept that can be specified by a set of
features connected by some rule.
• The features are fairly obvious, and the rules,
while sometimes difficult to discover, can at
least be stated clearly.
• Such concepts can readily be taught.

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 What is ill-defined concept ?
• Their features or the underlying rules that connect
these features may not be at all obvious.
• Most natural language categories (i.e. game,
furniture, book ) are concepts of this kind.
• They are seldom taught by definition, but instead
are learned by example.
• Young children learn to distinguish cats from dogs
not by being given a list of defining features , but
instead by being told, “This is a cat , that is a dog .’
etc.
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 What is a feature of an object or
B
event ?
But the idea of feature has very general utility and it
bbut

has long been used in psychology under a variety of

other names, such as attribute, property,
characteristic , or even , somewhat inaccurately ,
dimension.
A feature is any aspect of an object or event that can
be abstracted from that object or event and be said to
be equivalent to the same feature abstracted from
some other object or event.
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What is a feature of an object or
event ?
But features cannot exist in themselves, they are
always abstractions of objects, or events. Green
cannot exist without something to be green.
Example: Grass is green in the summer. Here
greenness is a feature of grass. It is also a feature of
other objects , some automobiles. We can define
features as precisely or loosely as we choose . We
could define green by reference to a pair of wave
lengths of light or we could simply allow it to be
defined by loose judgements of agreements such as
“Yes, I’d say your car is about the colour of grass.
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What is a feature of an object or
event ?
Example: Grass is green in the summer. Here
greenness is a feature of grass. It is also a feature of
other objects , some automobiles.

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 What is a feature ?
Features must always contrast with something. If
everything in the world were the same shade of green
, green would not be a feature because there would
be nothing to contrast it with. We need to contrast
green with red or some other color before we can say
that it is a feature.

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 What is a rule?
A rule is an instruction for doing something.
Rules are of two type
• Heuristic rule
• Algorithmic rule

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 What is heuristic rule ?
• They are general principles that apply with
discretion.
• They do not guarantee success. Example: If
you try to start an automobile engine when it is
hot by pressing on the accelerator too hard, you
are likely to flood the engine and make it
impossible to start.
• This rule about flooding the carburetor is a
heuristic rule.

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 What is algorithmic rule ?

These rules are precise, and they apply

automatically and blindly.
Example : If you add two or more numbers
together and the sum is greater than nine, you
carry the first digit of the sum over to the next
column of figures.

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 What is a concept?

A concept is a set of features connected by some

rules i.e. any well defined concept can be defined
by the relation among certain features. These
relations are spelled out by the rules.
Example: A golf ball is a spherical object of certain
composition, size and weight used for purpose of
playing a particular game. Here, the rule combining
the features is one of conjunction. The features are
added together to form the concept.
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 What is concept?
Example 2: The concept of being a citizen of the United
States also be described by a set of features, but the
rule combining the features is different in this case.
• An American citizen is one who is born in the United
States, or born abroad of American parents, or
someone who has lived in the United States for a
period of time and has gone through the process of
naturalization.
• The rule is clearly a more complicated one. It
includes disjunctive relations, revealed by the
connective or, as well as conjunctive relations,
revealed by the connective or , as well as conjunctive
relations, revealed by the connective and. 43
How to learn new concepts?

There are at least two components in learning

new concepts
• Identify the features
• Learn how these features are connected by
rules
These two components usually go together in
the same process of learning.

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 How to describe concept ?
In the description of concepts and concept
attainment, we emphasize this property of
features by pointing out that features can take
on different states or values. Therefore it is more
accurate to say that green is a feature-state (or
value ) of the general feature of colours rather
than to say that green itself is a feature.
However , the term feature is often used to
mean that state of some feature as well as the
contrasting property itself.

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 What is prototype?
A prototype is the best representative of its category.
For example the best representative of the birds
category for many North Americans might be a robin.
Other members of the category may be very similar
to the prototype (sparrow) or similar in some ways
but different in others (chicken, ostrich ). At the
boundaries of a category , it may be difficult to
determine if a particular instance really belongs.

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 What is prototype?
Robin Sparrow Chicken Ostrich
 What is exemplar ?
An explanation of concept learning suggests that we
identify members of a category by referring to
exemplars.
Exemplars are our actual memories of specific birds,
parties, furniture, and so on that we use to compare
with an item in question to see if that item belongs in
the same category as our exemplar.
Prototypes probably are built from experiences with
many exemplars. This happens naturally because
episodic memories of particular events tend to blur
together over time, creating an average or typical
sofa prototype from all the sofa exemplars you have
experienced. 48
 What is exemplar ?
Prototypes probably are
built from experiences
with many exemplars.
This happens naturally
because episodic
memories of particular
events tend to blur
together over time,
creating an average or
typical sofa prototype
from all the sofa
exemplars you have
experienced.
 What are the variety of rules ?

There are a number of logically possible ways in

which features can be combined to define
concepts.
These major logical rules are described in table.
The first three rules the affirmative , conjunctive
and disjunctive, are rather straight forward ; they
are also the most common in everyday life.

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 Rules to combine features to form
concepts
Name Notation Description of the concept

Affirmative B All black objects are examples of the

concepts.
Conjunctive B^S All objects that are both black and
square are examples of the concept.

Disjunctive B˅S All objects are that are black or square

or both are examples of the concept

Conditional BS If an object is black, then it must be

[B¯˅S] square to be an example of the
concept.
Biconditional BS Black objects are examples if and only
[(B^S) ˅(B^S¯)] if they are square.
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 Rules to combine features to form
concepts
Examples

Affirmative B

Conjunctive
B^ S

Disjunctive
B˅S

Conditional
B→ S

Biconditional
B↔ S
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 Rules to combine features to form
concepts
Non-examples

Affirmative
B

Conjunctiv
e B^ S

Disjunctive
B˅S

Conditiona
l B→ S

Biconditio
nal B↔ S
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 What is conjunctive rule ?
A conjunctively defined concept specifies that
examplars of the concept must meet two conditions
simultaneously.
Example : An object is a member of the
conjunctively defined concept if it is both black and
square.
Consider the definition of someone eligible to be
president of the United States:” a citizen of the
United States and over 35 years of age”.

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 What is disjunctive rule ?
A disjunctively defined concept specifies that examplars of
the concept must meet either (or both) of two conditions
simultaneously ( in logic this known as the inclusive
disjunctive) . In the exclusive disjunctive , one criterion or the
other , but not both , must be met). Thus an object that is
either black or square is a member of the disjunctively
defined concept.
Example : Consider the rule that some graduate schools
seem to use in defining promising applicants:” one who has
a high grade point average or who has high scores on the
Graduate Record Exam”. This is an example of inclusive
disjunction, since candidates with both good grades and
high test scores are not excluded from consideration. 55
 What is conditional rule ?
The conditional rule (also known as implication) says
that if an object is black then it must be a square to be
an example of the concept. What seems
counterintuitive about the conditional is that if an object
is not black , then it is an example of the concept
regardless of whether or not it is a square.
Example: We can define the concept of attentive waiter
in the following way. If a patron’s glass is empty, an
attentive waiter will fill it . Equally clearly , if an empty
glass is filled , the waiter is attentive. If an empty glass
went unfilled the waiter would not be considered
attentive. 56
 What is conditional rule ?

But again, there is the counter intuitive usage: If

there is no empty glass, the waiter is considered
attentive. The waiter is given the benefit of the
doubt, as it were.

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What is bidirectional rule or equivalence?
The bidirectional rule is also known as equivalence.
The bidirectional rule says that black objects are
examples if and only they are squares. Note that
black square is example. That seems entirely
reasonable.
Note next that no other black object is an example of
the concept. This also follows from a careful reading
of the rule. We may be more surprising is to note that
the grey and while triangles and circles are also
examples of the concept. If you wish , you may think
of them as included by default.
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What is bidirectional rule or equivalence?

To put the same point differently , consider which

objects are actively excluded from membership in
the category: all black things that are not square
and all square things that are not black.
Definition of appropriate behavior :” It is
appropriate to laugh if and only if something funny
said or done “. It is also appropriate not to laugh if
something funny has not happened.

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 What is nature of concept ?

•Concept learning is essentially “pathing things

into a class” and then being able to recognize
members of that class.
•Concepts have names or labels and more or less
precise definitions.
Example : A relatively small body of land
surrounded on all sides by water is labeled an
island. Labels and definition permit mutual
understanding and communication with others
using the concept.

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 What is the nature of concept ?
•Concepts have attributes that describe and help
define them. Some attributes are critical and are
used to separate one concept from all others.
Example: An equilateral triangle is a triangle with
three equal sides. The critical attributes are that it
must be a triangle and that each of the sides must
be equal. Triangle without these equal sides are
not equilateral triangles.

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 What is the nature of concept ?

•Some attributes may be found in some but

not in all members of the class. These are
called non critical attributes.
Example: Size a noncritical attributes of an
equilateral triangle. All concepts have both
critical and noncritical attributes and it is
sometimes difficult for students to
differentiate between the two.

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 What is concept map ?
 Concept maps are a graphical tool that is used
to visualize meaningful relationships among
concepts.
 It is used as a knowledge representation tool,
meaning they basically represent the
knowledge structure that we humans store in
our minds about a certain topic.
 Both simple and complex concept maps
consist of two things: concepts and
relationships among them.
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 What is concept map ?
In a concept map
 Knowledge is deductively (from general to specific )
presented
 Concepts are usually enclosed in circles or boxes and
arranged pyramidally with the broader concepts at the
top and the narrower concepts gradually down the
pyramid
 Various concepts are then interconnected by connecting
lines or linkages which are defined using suitable word
or words or phrases so as to elicit a meaningful
relationship between concepts
 Two concepts linked through linking words make up
propositional statement
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 What is concept map ?
Concept map on molecules

Molecules

have Can be

Motion Water
Can change
determines
have Found in
State
Living
Heat Can be things
Can be Can be
Solid
Gas Liquid
65
 What is the origin of concept map ?
 Concept maps are spatial representations of
concepts and their interrelationships that are
intended to represent the knowledge structures
that humans store in their minds .
 Joseph D Novak of Cornell University an American
Educator and Research Scientist developed in
1972 in the course of Novak’s research program at
Cornell University where he sought to follow and
understand changes in children’s knowledge of
science.
66
 What is the origin concept map ?
 During the course of this study the researchers
interviewed many children , and they found it difficult
to identify specific changes in the children’s
understood science concepts by examination of
interview transcripts. The need to find a better
solution to represent children’s conceptual
understanding led to development of the concept
map in 1972.
 This program was based on the learning psychology
of David Ausubel’s cognitive psychology that
learning takes place by assimilation of new concepts
and propositions into existing concept and
propositional frameworks held by the learner. 67
 What is the origin of concept map ?
 This knowledge structure held by a learner is
also referred to as the individual’s cognitive
structure.
 Out of the necessity to find a better way to
represent children’s conceptual understanding
emerged the idea of representing children’s
knowledge in the form of a concept map.
 Thus was born a new tool not only for use in
research , but also for many other uses.
 Ausubel made the very important distinction
between rote learning and meaningful learning.
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 Three conditions for meaningful learning
Meaningful learning requires three conditions:
1. The new material being presented must be clear
and relatable to the learner’s prior knowledge.
Concept maps are helpful here , as they identify
general concepts held by the learner which can
then be built upon.
2. The learner must posses relevant prior knowledge,
especially when trying to comprehend detailed and
specific knowledge in an area.

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 Three conditions for meaningful learning
3. The first two conditions can be controlled directly by
the instructor. However, the third cannot, as it requires
that the learner choose to learn meaningfully. In other
words, they make an effort to assimilate new and old
information rather than just memorizing. The teacher
or mentor has only indirect control is the motivation of
students to choose to learn by attempting to
incorporate new meanings into their prior knowledge,
rather than simply memorizing concept definitions of
propositional statements or computational
procedures..
70
 Two important ideas of Ausubel

 Most new learning occurs through derivative

and correlative subsumption of new concept
meanings under existing concept or
propositional frameworks . Learning that is
meaningful involves reorganization of existing
beliefs or integration of new information.
 Cognitive structure is organized hierarchically,
with new concepts or concept meanings being
subsumed under broader, more inclusive
concepts
71
 What is the origin of concept map ?
 Concept mapping is a method to visualize the
structure of knowledge .
 Since the knowledge expressed in the maps is
mostly semantic , concept maps are sometimes
called semantic networks.
 Often it is claimed that concept mapping bears a
similarity to the structure of long term memory.
 Visual symbols are quickly and easily recognized
, and this can be demonstrated by considering the
large amount of logos, maps, arrows, road signs
and icons that most of us can recall with little
effort. 72
 What are the features of concept map ?
 A concept map is a diagram or graphical tool
that visually represents relationships between
concepts and ideas.
 Most concept maps depict ideas as boxes or
circles (also called nodes), which are
structured hierarchically and connected with
lines or arrows (also called arcs).
 These lines are labeled with linking words and
phrases to help explain the connections
between concepts. 73
 Mechanical
properties
MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES Determined from

OF METALS
Stress- strain
diagram

Shows four
behaviours

necking strain
yielding elastic
hardening
behaviour

decreases of sample makes the rising is related to

stress strain curve stress called folows
cross section

Ultimate tensile Flatter Yield stress Hooke,s Law

strength curve
74
What are the key features of concept maps ?
Concept maps or conceptual diagrams have specific
characteristics differentiating them from other visual
tools.
 Concepts
 Linking words /phrases
 Propositional structure
 Hierarchical structure
 Focus question
 Parking lot
 Cross links
75
 What are the concepts ?
 Concepts are defined as “ perceived regularities
or patterns in events or objects , or records of
events or objects , designated by a label” and
are depicted as shapes in the diagram.
 Nodes are circles or boxes that are used to
represent a concept or an idea.
 These may vary in size, according to their
hierarchy on the map. Example: more general
nodes at the top of the map may be bigger than
the more specific nodes that follow them.
76
 What are linking words/phrases ?

 Linking words or linking phrases are located on

the lines connecting objects in a concept map,
and these words describe the relationship
between two concepts.
 They are as concise as possible and typically
contain a verb. Examples include “causes”,
”includes” and “requires”.

77
 What is propositional structure ?
 A concept map illustrates a set of meaningful
propositions about a topic.
 Every two concepts (in some cases more than two)
along with the linking phrases, form a meaningful
sentence, otherwise known as a proposition.
 Propositions are meaningful statements made up of two
or more concepts connected with linking words.
 These statements are also known as semantic units or
units of meaning.
 Concepts and propositions are the foundation for the
creation of new knowledge in a domain. Essentially , a
concept map visually conveys a set of propositions
about a certain topic. 78
 What is hierarchical structure ?
 Within a domain of knowledge , there is a hierarchy
of concepts , where most general concepts are at
the “top” of the hierarchy and the most specific ,
less general concepts are hierarchically below
 A key element of the concept map is its hierarchical
structure.
 The most general and inclusive concepts are
positioned at the top of a concept map with the more
specific and exclusive concepts arranged
hierarchically below.

79
 What is hierarchical structure ?
 As such a concept map is designed to read
from top to bottom.
 However, the structure of a concept map is not
limited to this structure, it could take a free-
form approach too- starting from center and
spreading outwards.

80
 What is focus question ?
 Generally, a concept map should be woven around a
focus question, which is the problem or the issue the
concept map seeks to resolve. The better the focus
question, the richer the concept map will be.
 Developing of focus question allows you to design
with a context in mind and thus helps guide and
maintain the direction of your concept map.
 Within the hierarchical structure , the focus question
should be at the very top of the concept map and
serve as a reference point.

81
 What is focus question ?
 Every concept map responds to a focus question ,
and a good focus question can lead to a much
richer concept map.
 When learning to construct concept maps,
learners tend to deviate from the focus question
and build a concept map that may be (somewhat)
related to the domain , but which does not answer
the question.
 This is fine in the sense that the map built
probably answers another focus question , and so
the focus question of the map should be changed
to reflect this.
82
 What is focus question ?
 Usually focus questions that require explanation
,rather than simple description or classification ,
lead to better concept maps.
 Generally speaking , focus questions that call for
more event explanations require deeper , more
meaningful thinking than those that describe
object characteristics.

83
 What is focus question ?
Examples of better and poorer questions are given
below:
 Good focus questions
 Why do we have seasons?
 How can we help teachers become more
effective?
 How do we explain what writer was trying to
illustrate in this short story ?
 Less useful focus questions
 What are the key features of a flower ?
 What are common traits of effective teachers?
84
 What is parking lot ?
 Before beginning your concept map it can be
helpful to come up with a list identifying the key
concepts need to be included. Usually 15 to 25
concepts will suffice.
 These concepts could be listed , and then from this
list a rank ordered list should be established from
most general , most inclusive concept , for this
particular problem or situation , to the most specific
, least general concept.

85
 What is parking lot ?
 This list is referred to as a parking lot, as you
will move the items into the map as you figure
out where they fit in.
 Some concepts may remain in the parking lot
as the map is completed if the mapmaker sees
no good connection for these with other
concepts in the map.

86
 What is cross link ?
 Cross links are relationships between concepts
in different domains of the concept map, allowing
you to visualize how ideas within these different
domains are connected.
 Both the cross links and hierarchical structure
facilitate creative linking, and these cross-links
often indicate moments of creativity.
 Students often comment that it is hard to add
linking words onto the “lines” of their concept
map. This is because they poorly understand the
relationship between the concepts , or the
meanings of the concepts , and it is the linking
words that specify their relationship. 87
 Why use a concept map ?
 The brain processes visuals 60,000 times
faster than it processes text. Designed as tool
to organize and represent knowledge ,
concept mapping can help you visualize
relationship between various concepts and
test your understanding of complex subjects.
 Thinking through and visually representing
relationships between ideas from mental
connections that allow for better retention of
knowledge.
88
 Why use a concept map ?

 This diagram is a popular way to capture

understanding of a topic for work, school , or
personal study . It’s used most frequently in
academia but the process can be easily
applied to other fields.
 How to use Concept Mapping ?

Concept mapping is a technique that allows

one to understand the relationships between
ideas by creating a visual map of the
connections. Concept maps allow one to :
1. See the connections between ideas you
already have (which can be helpful in
studying for an exam);

90
 How to use Concept Mapping ?
2. Connect new ideas to knowledge that you
already have (which can help one organize ideas
as one finds them in researching for an essay or
research paper); and
3. Organize ideas in a logical but not rigid structure
that allows further information or viewpoints to be
included (which can help are absorb and adapt to
new information and ideas).

91
How students can use concept maps ?
• Handy way to take notes during lectures.
• Excellent aids to group brainstorming
• Assist in planning your studies
• Provide useful graphics for presentations
and written assignments.
• Increase learning by relating new and old
knowledge
• Design their own representations of
knowledge
92
 How students can use concept maps ?
• Organize and structure new material
• Plan/outline writing projects
• Map out relationships between things such
as vocabulary words, characteristics in a
story, events in history etc.

93
How teachers can use concept maps ?
• Plan curriculum
• Assess understanding or diagnose
misunderstanding of students
• Explain complex ideas
• Assist struggling readers

94
 How educators can use concept maps ?
As educators incorporate concept maps into
their teaching methodology, they can provide
aids to help facilitate the process for students.
• Give a focus question to get the wheels turning
• Create a parking lot (list of key concepts) to
help students determine what to include in their
map.
• Provide expert skeleton maps so students
have a structure to follow. These are small
concept maps started by an expert of the topic
which students can then expand upon. 95
 Steps for drawings a concept map
The concept map may be drawn in following steps as
given by Carol Johnston of the University of
Melbourne.

Step 1: Select and read a chapter in a text book or a

set of lecture notes on a particular topic, highlighting
what you believe are important points and ideas as
you go along.

Step 2: After you have finished reading and

highlighting, you should identify the key concepts
necessary for understanding the topic and make a
list of their names. 96
 Steps for drawings a concept map

Step 3: Decide which concept is the most

important or most inclusive idea, and make a list
with this concept at the top. Find the next most
general concept and write it next. You now
proceed to rank or cluster the remainder of your
concepts from most inclusive or most general to
least inclusive or most specific.

97
 Steps for drawing a concept map
Step 4: Begin constructing a concept map by placing
the name of the broadest, most inclusive concept(s)
at the top of a piece of paper. Work down, adding
more specific concepts. Sometimes these may be
located alongside each other like brands of detergent
on a supermarket shelf, sometimes it is most
sensible to have them in descending order, one
above the other. Enclose each term in a box or circle.
(At this point, you may decide to write each of the
remaining concepts of very small sticky post-it notes
which can be moved about on the blank sheet of
paper as opposed to writing each concept directly on
the blank sheet. The reason for this is that you may
want to rearrange your concepts while making the
map and the stickies labels will save some erasing
and rewriting). 98
 Steps for drawing a concept map
Step 5: Join the concepts with lines and label the
lines with linking words that show meaningful
connections between the concepts. At a first step
you must formulate the word or words that
accurately describes, accordingly to your text
reading, the relationship between the superordinate
concept and the subordinate concept related to it.
We call these the linking words. The learner
(mapper) should try to be economical in formulating
these links. Linking concepts is the most important
aspect of concept mapping. Here are a few
examples of linking words used to describe
relationships: composed of, includes, depends on, is
influenced by, causes, is affected by.
99
 Steps for drawing a concept map
Step 6: Finish mapping in all the concepts in
your list (see Step 1 above). You continue to
make the map grow by relating additional
concepts from your list to concept already on
the map. You continue with the more
‘inclusive’ terms first, working your way down
to the most specific terms until all your
concepts are mapped in.

100
 Steps for drawing a concept map
Step 7: Now you study your map to see if there are
any other relevant relationships that should be
illustrated between terms on the map. Such
relationships, if they exist, may take the form of
cross-links. Cross-links relationships that exist
between two concepts in different vertical segments
of the concept map. Cross-links help to integrate a
concept map into a cohesive whole. Cross-links can
be constructed at any point in the mapping process.
In fact, the learner will often identify cross-links when
only some of the terms have been mapped. Such
cross-links may be forgotten if not mapped in at that
point.
101
 Steps for drawing a concept map

Step 8: When the concepts are linked together to

form a cause-effect relationship an arrow is used to
show the direction of the relationship. Not all links
need be one-way. Look for examples of two-way
interdepending (sometimes it might be indirect, that
is, via another concept or concepts –and is best
shown by a series of cross-links).

102
 Concept maps as teaching tools

The concept map can be used in the

following ways:
1.Concept maps as introduction
2.Course maps
3.Complete-the-map classroom activities.
4.Concept maps and writing assignments
5.Misconception maps

103
 Concept map as Introduction
The concept map can be used as introductions in the following two
ways:
i) Advance organizers
 Before instruction, construct a map for the entire unit of study,
making sure that all of the major themes and pervasive concepts
are accounted for. From this large scale map, a series of more
specific maps can be drawn to show more detail, resulting in a
rested set of conceptual maps for the unit.
 Create these maps in such a way that they can be presented to
students ( as a handout, power point slide, overhead projection,
classroom poster, etc.)
 At the beginning of the unit instruction, present and explain the
large-scale map. In subsequent classes, refer back to the large –
scale map each new concept is covered. Present more specific
maps in class periods where appropriate.

104
 Concept map as Introduction
ii) Introducing a new topic:
Because the theory of concept mapping is based
on integrating new knowledge with prior
knowledge, concept maps are ideal for introducing
new topics / information. Using a pre-constructed
map of the course up until the new topic
/information (this work especially well if students
are familiar with the pre-map already), introduce
the new topic / idea by drawing the topic in and
showing students where the proper connections to
other topics are located. Also, show students were
common misconceptions can occur with the new
topic. 105
Concept Map as Introduction

106
 Use of concept maps as course maps
Have the teacher and students construct a collective
map as the course progresses. Through discussions,
students should give input for this map by supplying
the key ideas and corrections. (Allow students to take
ownership of their contributions by writing their own
ideas, concepts, and connections on the map).
Alternative option: Students could make mini-maps
of every day or every couple of days, and then these
mini-maps could be combined to create a
comprehensive map.
Alterative option: Use the course’s discussion section
as a time to create a master map of the week’s topic. 107
 Concept maps for complete-the-map
classroom activities
Complete-the-map activities are especially useful for
students to practice thinking about what they have just
read for a class period or what they have just learned in a
class period. If you would like to make a complete-the-map
activity more robust, have students write a brief paragraph
“telling the story” of the concept map that they have
completed.
1. Have students fill the concepts- Give students a map with
the concepts missing. You may or may not want to give
students a list of concepts from which to choose.
2. Have students fill in the linking words-Give students a map
with linking words missing. You may or may not want to
give students a list of linking words from which to choose.
108
Use of concept maps for writing assignments
i) Adding horizontal linking lines.
Prepare a concept map of the subject matter for
students ahead of time.
Make a copy of this map with only the concepts
and the vertical linking lines to give to the students.
Instruct students to add horizontal linking lines in
the lowest level of the map, label them with a
number, and then write a justification for each
linkage.
109
Use of concept maps for writing assignments

ii) Structure an essay assignment for students.

Give students a concept map of the topic you would
like them write about. This will help them to
organize their paper and ensure that every topic
you want addressed is clearly identified for them.

110
Use of concept maps for writing assignments

iii) Let students structure an essay assignment for

you.
Have students construct a concept map to
accompany their writing assignment. This will help
you to follow along the organization of their paper as
you read it, it will help them to organize their paper
as they write it, and it will make misconceptions or
unclear topics immediately clear.

111
Use of concept map as a misconception map
Display a concept map with commonly used
inaccurate connections among topics or common
uses of appropriate concepts. Students can orally
analyze the maps in groups to verify the use of
concepts and the connections among them.
Discuss such maps in the large group as well to
ensure that all students understand the “wrong”
version of such a map and the “correct” version of
such a map.

112
 Importance of concept mapping tool
Students face a great need to understand the larger
questions and problems of their chosen field. Unless
there is understanding, students may only commit
unassimilated data to short-term memory and no
meaningful learning will occur. Meaningful learning is
most likely to occur when information is presented in a
potentially meaningful way and the learner is
encouraged to anchor new ideas with establishment
of links between old and new material. Concept
mapping is an effective teaching method for promoting
critical thinking and is an excellent way to evaluate
students’ critical thinking because it is a visual
representation of a student’s thinking.
113
 Uses of Concept Map In teaching
•Teaching a topic- In constructing concept maps,
difficult concepts can be clarified and can be
arranged in a systematic order. Using concept maps
in teaching helps teachers to be more aware of the
key concepts and relationship among them. This
helps teachers to convey a clear general picture of
the topics and their relationships to their students. In
this way, it is less likely to miss and misinterpret any
important concepts.
•Reinforce understanding- Using concept maps can
reinforce students’ understanding and learning. This
enables visualization of key concepts and
summarizes their relationship. 114
 Uses of Concept Map In teaching

 Check learning and identify misconception-

The use of concept maps can also assist
teachers in evaluating the process of
teaching. They can assess the students
achievement by identifying misconception
and missing concepts.
 Evaluation- Students’ achievement can be
tested or examined by concept mapping.
115
 Steps In Constructing Concept Maps
The following steps are followed in constructing concept
maps.
1. Select- Focus on a theme and then identify related
keywords or phrases.
2. Rank- Rank the concepts (key words) from the most
abstract and inclusive to the most concrete and specific.
3.Cluster- Cluster concepts that function at similar level of
abstraction and those that interrelate closely.
4.Arrange- Arrange concepts in to a diagrammatic
representation.
5.Link and add proposition- Link concepts with linking lines
and label each line with a proposition.
116
Concept Map

117
BASIC CONCEPTS Friction

OF FRICTION exists because of

roughness

between
two bodies in
contact

Consists of

first body Normal Generates

Applie Second body
reaction
d on
force
Applied on Acts on

In static Friction Is
condition force Is angle Angle of
Tangentia
balanced by resu Total betwe friction
l force
ltan reaction en
t of force
In dynamic
condition reaches
Is tangent
of
low velocity Is
limiting
constant
friction force Co-efficient of
at 118
friction
119