			Home About us Contact

Concept Maps (concept + map)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Education	78%
Medical Sciences	14%

Selected Abstracts

Concept maps: Experiments on dynamic thinking

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 3 2007
Natalia Derbentseva
Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of map structure, concept quantification, and focus question on dynamic thinking during a Concept Map (CMap) construction task. The first experiment compared cyclic and hierarchical structures. The second experiment examined the impact of the quantification of the header concept in the map. The third experiment explored the effect of the focus question on the map. For all three experiments, the content of the CMaps was assessed for the number of dynamic propositions and the number of quantified concepts. The results show that the cyclic structure, the quantification of the header concept, and the focus question "How" significantly increased dynamic thinking. The studies, the theoretical background, and the implications of the findings are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 448,465, 2007 [source]

CmapTools: Integrating teaching, learning, and evaluation in online courses

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT & CONTINUING EDUCATION, Issue 113 2007
Barbara J. Daley
Concept maps are an instructional strategy that promotes meaningful learning. This chapter examines the use of concept maps in online environments through discussion of CmapTools software. [source]

Functions of Christian Prayer in the Coping Process

JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 1 2008
MARY K. BADE
This research project sought to examine the multiple functions that prayer serves in the coping process for members of Christian groups. We used concept mapping to describe and organize a small group of participants' perceptions concerning the functions of prayer when coping with personal difficulties, as well as examined the frequency and perceived effectiveness of these prayer functions. The number and variety of items generated by participants indicates that prayer can be used in multiple ways to deal with personal problems. Inspection of these items and the resulting concept map yielded three bipolar dimensions that describe a variety of prayer functions: approach/avoidance; internal focus/external focus; and deferring/self-directing. The arrangement of items also corresponded roughly to a three-factor structure found in several existing coping measures. Participants reported that the most effective prayer functions involve seeking guidance and expressing gratitude. [source]

Does concept-mapping strategy work for everyone?

BRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
The levels of generativity, learners' self-regulated learning skills
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of concept-mapping strategies with three different generativity levels (expert-generated concept map, partially learner-generated concept map, fully learner-generated concept map) on knowledge acquisition. Interaction between learners' self-regulated learning (SRL) skills and different levels of generativity was also tested. One hundred twenty-four undergraduate students, randomly assigned to three different concept-mapping groups, were differentiated by high and low levels of SRL skills. The findings suggest that the participants in the fully learner-generated map group significantly outperformed the participants in the expert-generated map group, and participants with high SRL skills significantly outperformed those with low SRL skills across all treatment levels. [source]

Factors affecting writing achievement: mapping teacher beliefs

ENGLISH IN EDUCATION, Issue 1 2004
Claire Wyatt-Smith
Abstract The intersection of teacher beliefs with writing achievement in schooling is a key concern of this paper. The paper reports part of a two-year Australian study that set out to examine in detail how it is that teachers judge Year 5 students' literacy achievement using writing as the case instance. In what follows, we examine the data in the form of concept maps that the teachers them selves made available showing their beliefs about, and insights into the factors that affect student writing achievement. Drawing on these maps, we highlight the range of teacher-identified factors, including those relating to in-class behaviour, motivation, attitudes to school learning, social and cultural backgrounds, oracy and even life circumstances. Additionally, we address how the identified factors function, operating either as standalone elements or within a dynamic network of inter-relationships. [source]

Designs of concept maps and their impacts on readers' performance in memory and reasoning while reading

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 2 2010
Jeng-Yi Tzeng
From the perspective of the Fuzzy Trace Theory, this study investigated the impacts of concept maps with two strategic orientations (comprehensive and thematic representations) on readers' performance of cognitive operations (such as perception, verbatim memory, gist reasoning and syntheses) while the readers were reading two history articles that argue from different perspectives about a historical incident that had a profound impact on Taiwan. The results show that the design and focus of the concept maps may influence the formation of mental representations, and that this may be facilitative or constraining in regard to the readers' memory formation and reasoning about the reading materials. Based on these findings, the meaning of constraining effects of concept maps is discussed, and an instructional method involving the progressive elaboration of concept map systems is recommended. [source]

Proliferation of inscriptions and transformations among preservice science teachers engaged in authentic science

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 4 2007
Eddie Lunsford
Abstract Inscriptions are central to the practice of science. Previous studies showed, however, that preservice teachers even those with undergraduate degrees in science, generally do not spontaneously produce inscriptions that economically summarize large amounts of data. This study was designed to investigate the production of inscription while a group of 15 graduate-level preservice science teachers engaged in a 15-week course of scientific observation and guided inquiry of two organisms. The course emphasized the production of inscriptions as a way of convincingly supporting claims when the students presented their results. With continuing emphasis on inscriptional representations, we observed a significant increase in the number and type of representations made as the course unfolded. The number of concrete, text-based inscriptions decreased as the number of graphs, tables and other sorts of complex inscriptions increased. As the students moved from purely observational activities to guided inquiry, they made many more transformations of their data into complex and abstract forms, such as graphs and concept maps. The participants' competencies to cross-reference ultimate transformations to initial research questions improved slightly. Our study has implications for the traditional methods by which preservice science teachers are taught in their science classes. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 538,564, 2007. [source]

Student perceptions about the characteristics of an effective discussion during the reporting phase in problem-based learning

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2006
Astrid J S F Visschers-Pleijers
Objective, To explore student perceptions of factors contributing to the effectiveness of discussions in the reporting phase of the problem-based learning (PBL) process, where students report and synthesise the results of self-study. Methods, Forty-eight Year 1 and 2 medical students participated in 6 focus group interviews about the characteristics of effective group discussions and possible improvements. The data were analysed qualitatively in several stages. Results, The analysis yielded 4 main characteristics of effective discussions: asking for, giving and receiving explanations; integrating and applying knowledge; discussing differences with regard to learning content, and guiding and monitoring the content and the group process of the discussion. Integrating and applying knowledge included structuring, relating and summarising information and providing examples from practice. Discussing different opinions included discussing a variety of literature resources and disagreements. The main learning effects mentioned by the students were retention, understanding, integration and application of knowledge. Conclusions, Students have clear ideas about what promotes effective discussions during the reporting phase. Their PBL experience has provided them with some insights that are in line with theory and research on collaborative learning. Future research should examine differences between student and tutor perceptions of the quality of discussions. Introductions to PBL for students and tutors should include training in asking open but focused questions, supporting explanations with arguments and dealing with conflicts about learning content. Tutors should be trained in giving effective and personal feedback. Collaborative creation of external knowledge representations (i.e. concept maps) should be advocated, as should variety of literature resources. [source]

CmapTools: Integrating teaching, learning, and evaluation in online courses

Promotion of the Good Life by Public Health Nurses

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 6 2001
Leena M. Uosukainen Lic.
The question of what is the good life has been discussed by philosophers since antiquity. The good of an individual and of a community is complicated. Communities influence an individual's experiences and world views, which are always individual. Public health nurses promoting the good life need multidisciplinary knowledge, as well as other skills such as personal competence and qualifications. The focus of the theoretical framework of promotion of the good life is based on models of health promotion and sustainable development. Working with different clients requires nursing theories, other theories, and multidisciplinary models in practice. Continual quality improvement is needed in order to increase customer satisfaction. This article discusses a doctoral thesis that consists of three empirical studies. The theoretical framework for promotion of the good life as the work of public health nurses is outlined, and the outcomes of the first study, the qualifications concerning health, and the environment are described. In the other parts of the study, curriculum building using future methodology and evaluation with concept maps is reported. [source]

Biochemistry of the envenomation response,A generator theme for interdisciplinary integration

BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010
Erik Montagna
Abstract The understanding of complex physiological processes requires information from many different areas of knowledge. To meet this interdisciplinary scenario, the ability of integrating and articulating information is demanded. The difficulty of such approach arises because, more often than not, information is fragmented through under graduation education in Health Sciences. Shifting from a fragmentary and deep view of many topics to joining them horizontally in a global view is not a trivial task for teachers to implement. To attain that objective we proposed a course herein described,Biochemistry of the envenomation response,aimed at integrating previous contents of Health Sciences courses, following international recommendations of interdisciplinary model. The contents were organized by modules with increasing topic complexity. The full understanding of the envenoming pathophysiology of each module would be attained by the integration of knowledge from different disciplines. Active-learning strategy was employed focusing concept map drawing. Evaluation was obtained by a 30-item Likert-type survey answered by ninety students; 84% of the students considered that the number of relations that they were able to establish as seen by concept maps increased throughout the course. Similarly, 98% considered that both the theme and the strategy adopted in the course contributed to develop an interdisciplinary view. [source]