There is growing concern over graduating trainee teachers' insufficient level of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy. The main purpose of this research was to describe the nature of trainee teachers' ICT literacy at the beginning of preservice training: (a) to explore the structure and to identify the main components of…

This ERIC Digest discusses concept mapping, a technique for representing the structure of information visually. Concept mapping can be used to brainstorm, design complex structures, communicate complex ideas, aid learning by explicitly integrating new and old knowledge, and assess understanding or diagnose misunderstanding. Visual representation…

This paper provides a brief review of research on concept mapping in biology at the college level that has addressed the issues of "conceptual transparency" and "learner friendliness." For many college students, biology is "conceptually opaque." Students may memorize the characteristics of a plant, but find it difficult to identify that plant in…

A concept-map assessment consists of a task that elicits structured knowledge, a response format, and a scoring system. Variation in tasks, response formats, and scoring systems produce different mapping techniques that may elicit different knowledge representations, posing construct-interpretations challenges. This study examined two mapping…

This study presents a quantitative method for scoring concept maps generated by students learning introductory college chemistry. Concept maps measure the amount of chemical information the student possesses, reasoning ability in chemistry, and specific misconceptions about introductory and physical chemistry concepts. They provide a visualization…

This work describes an experimental research on note taking and concept mapping in a science class of 5 graders in Kayseri (Central Anatolia, Turkey) in the academic year 2002-2003. Gained results are in favor of convictions that view note taking as an effective learning strategy. At least it was more effective than concept mapping in the…

Current educational theories emphasize assessment as a vital part of teaching-learning process. Alternative assessment techniques aim to expose and promote the process of the learning rather than the final outcome. Concept mapping is a technique for representing conceptual knowledge and relationships between concepts in a graphical form. Requiring…

A study introduced elementary school students to concept maps--visual representations of a learner's thought processes. Nine teachers with two classes each (kindergarten through fourth grades represented) were taught the terminology of the concept map and were asked to initiate a number of activities in generating concept maps with their children.…

A small set of relationships has been identified which appears to be sufficient for describing all molecular and cellular reactions and structures discussed in an introductory biology course. A precise definition has been developed for each relationship. These 20 relationships are of four types: (1) analytical; (2) spatial; (3) temporal; and (4)…

Flow-diagrams, algorithms, decision logic tables, and concept maps are presented in detail as methods for teaching practical procedures, problem solving, and basic concepts in microbial genetics. It is suggested that the flexible use of these methods should lead to an improved understanding of microbial genetics. (Author/MA)

This work describes an experimental research on note taking and concept mapping in a science class of 5 graders in Kayseri (Central Anatolia, Turkey) in the academic year 2002 - 2003. Gained results are in favor of convictions that view note taking as an effective learning strategy. At least it was more effective than concept mapping in the…

This report examines issues in the scale-up of assessment software from the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). "Scale-up" is used in a metaphorical sense, meaning adding new assessment tools to CRESST's assessment software. During the past several years, CRESST has been developing and evaluating a…

Concept mapping is a technique for visually representing the structure of information, concepts, and the relationships between them. Concept maps are useful tools that help students learn about how they structure knowledge while supporting the process of knowledge construction or metaknowledge. This paper discusses the effect of concept mapping…

This paper explores the effect of using concept maps as study tools on achievement in chemistry. Tenth grade students engaged in building concept maps as homework to investigate the correlation between their mastery of concept mapping skills and their achievement in chemistry, and gender differences in using concept mapping as a homework tool.…

This paper examines differences between beginning and experienced art teachers' perceptions of teaching and learning. The paper first discusses how experienced and novice art teachers may vary in their thinking and approaches to instructional content. It then focuses on the results of a project that investigated curriculum development and teacher…