Concept Mapping: Definition, Elements, Steps, Uses in Education!

 A Simple Guide to Create and Use Concept Maps: Science Example!

Definition and Importance

When thinking about a certain concept, lots of ideas may come to our mind and may form a mess after a while making it difficult to grasp the main point or details about it. That's where a concept mapping comes in. 

A concept map is a visual way to organize your ideas and make connections between them as well. They improve our ability to understand and remember concepts because our brains process visuals more than texts. 

Elements

A concept map is made up of three basic elements:

• Shapes: representing concepts or ideas (rectangles or ovals).
• Arrows: showing the relationship between concepts. 
• Text: identifying the concepts and relationships. 

How to create a concept map?

1. Topic Identification + Focus question: The first step in creating a concept map is to identify the main concept or the subject of study. For example, I tried to map some of the thing that I know about the immune system. So, I drew a rectangle and wrote within it 'Immune System'. The main idea should be located at the top of the map as everything we write down falls under this main topic. One would say: 'But, I know lots of things about the Immune System!' like history of discovery, structure, function, and disorders. So, a concept map holding all of these information may become messy and hence unuseful. Therefore, it would be much better to focus on one 'Focal question' to specify the issue this concept map will be talking about. In this example, the focus question can be: What are the main types of Immune responses? 
2. Brainstorming: Now, we can start adding any related concept. They should be as brief as possible to avoid having a text-crowded concept map with less visual effects. In our example, we can use names of responses, cells, and organs. 
3. Drawing the map: The concepts should be arranged in a hierarchal format. The map should start with the main concept at the top and then end up with more specific concepts as we move down. The specific and non-specific immune responses are the broadest, so I put them under the main topic.
4. Connecting ideas: To show relationships between ideas, we draw arrows between them with a text that defines this relationship. It is better to use verbs to link concept together and use simple phrases as we move down the map. This is called a 'Proposition' So, when your map is finished, you'll have a set of propositions about a given topic. You may also create cross-links between  ideas to show how they are related together. 
5. Refining the map: Finally, you can add colours to organize ideas and review review the make to make sure of proper connections and probably add some more.

Uses in Education

In education, concept maps can be used as:

• Learning tool: as a visual presentation tool, while brainstorming, making outlines, or testing the knowledge of students. It is an effective tool for students to build on previous knowledge and create connections between newly learned and previously learned ideas.     
• Evaluation tool: to access students' understanding for a given topic and enhance their critical thinking skills while making connections between ideas. 

To create your own Concept maps

www.lucidchart.com is a site that I have used to make my own maps after creating an account or you may find templates for free on the internet! 

Enjoy mapping your lessons!