The Study Skill: Concept Mapping
Purpose of a making Concept Maps: To
remember information longer and to be able to use it more
effectively. It will allow you to move information into your long
term memory.
How to make Concept Maps:
1. Start with a list of concepts or ideas to be mapped. This list
does not have to be complete, but it should be complete
enough to allow you to choose the main idea of the map.
2. Look through the list to identify the concept words that
directly relate to the main idea. Place these works below the
main idea. Continue this procedure with all the words on you
list and any supporting ideas until they are all placed in order
of priority under the main idea.
3. Use lines to connect the concepts, based on relationships
that link them.
4. Use connecting words to label the linking lines so that the
relationship between any two concepts is a clear and complete
thought.
5. Look for all possibilities to add cross-links to the map.
Cross-links show how completely one understand the
relationships among concepts.
Features of Good Concept Maps:
A concept map does not have to be symmetrical. It can have
more concepts on one side than the other.
There are no perfectly correct concept maps, only maps that
come closer to the meanings you have for those concepts. As
the mapmaker, you must make it correct for you.
Do not put more than 3 words in a concept box
Do not string out more than three boxes in a row or line
without branching out.
Write linkage words connecting every two concepts. Use as
few words as it takes to make the connection between the
concepts clear.
Maps are two dimensional-not just a list of concepts
connected by lines
They show which concepts are more important by their
placement on the map and by what concepts branch off
them.
Concept maps have many branches with no more than 3
concepts boxes in a row and no more than 3 or 4 words in a
concept box.
Maps have only concepts in the boxes and only linkage words on the
lines.
How Concept Maps are Evaluated:
Maps must
have the following criteria:
1. Appropriate labeling of concepts. Concepts should be
succinctly represented-no longer than 3 words. The
arrangement of concepts should be hierarchical from general
to specific. Concepts should be represented by a cross-link.
2. Appropriate labeling of linkage words. Does the map show a
clear distinction between concepts and links? Is the link
between the 2 concepts meaningful? Does it correctly
represent the relationship? Can complete ideas be traced
through several links?
3. Adequate branching. Student's first maps generally look
similar to outlines and as such are linear in form without good
branching. Be sure to links as many boxes together as
possible. Well done maps should be as wide as they are long.
4. Cross-linking of concepts. The best maps show sufficient
cross-links among concepts. Cross-links show that you know
how multiple ideas are connected.
from: http://www.iloveteaching.com/chs/study/cm/