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posted by:
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Jim Vanides
on May 18, 2003
at 0:39AM
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subject:
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Concept Maps and Literacy
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I am a Research Assistant in the Stanford Education Assessment
Laboratory. We recently completed a study on the use of Concept Maps
for science assessment, and it occurs to me that they might be very
helpful in helping students express their science understanding -
perhaps a precursor to expository writing about science.
The concept maps that are most revealing of student conceptions about
science are the maps that are open-ended. A simple concept mapping
activity could be launched by providing students with a short list of
key science terms, and then asking them to draw a map that shows how
the terms are related. Ask them to label the connecting lines with a
phrase that explains the relationship between the two terms, eg:
"DENSITY depends on MASS".
The maps capture a student's view of how the terms are related, and
provide a spring-board for a rich conversation in the classroom. This
could also be followed up by a writing activity.
I'm happy to provide additional information about using concept maps,
if anyone is interested...
- Jim Vanides (jimvanides @ att.net)
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