I'm often hard-pressed for time in the classroom. I have to finish the syllabus on time. However, it would be very useful if I could have a reflective gauge of the students understanding of the lessons without spend the time in quizzes so that appropriate steps could be taken is using (Concept Maps)
A concept map is a picture of our understanding of something. It is a diagram illustrating how sets of concepts are related. Concept maps are made up of webs of terms (nodes) related by verbs (links) to other terms (nodes). The purpose of a concept map is to represent (on a single visual plane) a person’s mental model of a concept.(1)
Concept maps are helpful as a tool to gauge students understanding because they make the knowledge construction process visible (Ligorio, 2002). Hence, students can focus on the task better as there is a common visible object to talk about with their classmates (Hmelo-Silver, 2003). In addition, Cuevas, Fiore and Oser (2002) mentioned that making students reasoning visible helps them to see the relationship between the concepts in the material and identify any misconceptions or lapse in the relationship between the concepts. They added that concept maps provide an alternative modality to low verbal ability learners. Diagrams repeat the information presented in the text so students get to know the subject they are learning twice, in two different forms text and graphic.
Also, mind maps are useful for summarizing information, consolidating information from different research sources, thinking through complex problems and presenting information in a format that shows the overall structure of your subject.
I have heard previously about the concept map, but I did not know the importance and effectiveness of it to students, but after I knew that through the course TCDEIT 514 I have decided to use it with my students to gauge my students understanding
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