When students use concept maps to construct and represent their understandings, these concept maps can be analyzed for representation of understanding from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. In this study, a qualitative approach was utilized to extend the interpretations from the quantitative analysis of students' conceptual…

This paper reports a study on how prospective elementary school teachers make sense of teaching social studies through conceptual mapping, and therefore provide an opportunity for teacher educators to assess the value of conceptual mapping as a pedagogical tool. Pre- and post-course concept mapping was incorporated into three sections of an…

This paper presents a mixed-method evaluation design which utilizes concept mapping along with questionnaire and interviews. Recent developments in mixed-method evaluation have helped identify five purposes which mixed-method evaluation designs tend to serve. These are triangulation, complementarity, development, initiation, and expansion. The…

Research on notetaking as a learning strategy and on the related techniques of outlining and concept mapping is reviewed. The effectiveness of these techniques in helping the learner encode new information and their usefulness in interactive multimedia instruction are explored. Research strongly supports an external-storage function of notetaking…

The main author of this paper (J.W.) wrote the original as two separate essays for a Bachelor of Education unit at Northern Territory University (The Teaching of Science: EBE 483) for the second author (B.P.). This unit contains as a major component student/teacher research on children's ideas (misconceptions) in science. This paper seems very…

The present work has the purpose of showing the evolution of topics or mathematical concepts that are both relevant and with marked grades of abstraction. In this report is specifically described the utilization of metacognitive tools. These include concept maps, the Gowin heuristic vee, and the clinical interview. They are efficient in showing…

The generalizability of scores from different scales in performance assessment was studied. First, a concept map of teachers' and raters' perceptions about various scores and scales was constructed using multidimensional scaling analysis. Then, a generalizability study using a random, partially nested design was conducted to analyze the…

In a best-evidence synthesis of studies that examine change in teacher candidates' conceptions and practices during their teacher education course work, too few researchers provide evidence for the linkage between candidates' beliefs and their learning. To address this problem, a mixed-design study explored on the micro-level (i.e., a lesson) the…

An alternative method of measuring the knowledge of students is to use mental models, and specifically concept maps. Concept maps provide a visual representation of conceptual and relationship knowledge within a particular domain. This study builds on previous studies and attempts to reduce their methodological weaknesses. Students in several…

With the establishment of the Internet and World Wide Web as part of the digital revolution, there has been a trend in which synchronous and asynchronous distance education opportunities have been made available to a greater variety of learners. However, students are indiscriminately pursuing online learning opportunities for the sake of…

This paper presents a slide presentation software that incorporates a concept map, which explicitly shows how the various slides (and other multimedia components) presented are related to each other. Furthermore, presentations are conceived as hypermedia systems, where the presenter can navigate among slides (and the concept map) instead of the…

This study was designed to explore the validity of scores from a select-and-fill-in (SAFI) concept map assessment as a measure of 130 undergraduate students' connected understanding of introductory astronomy. Scores from SAFI maps created for this purpose possessed high internal consistency and showed large mean increases from the beginning to the…

This paper uses a theoretical framework for concept mapping as an instance of a learning environment - the knowledge arena - and examines it against an existing framework for active learning called REAL (Rich Environment for Active Learning). The paper is intended to help in the understanding of environments for learning. Section 1 defines a…

Discusses use of a concept map in developing, teaching, and assessing the concept of "away" (as indicated by physical/chemical changes or changes in energy/human perception). A copy of the map and an activity (using a flashbulb) to get children thinking about what it means to throw something away are included. (JM)

Used concept mapping, along with other analytical techniques, to examine and address barriers to African-American families' involvement in the treatment of family members with mental illness. Focus groups recommended a variety of strategies for improving caregiver supports and for increasing the involvement of caregivers in the treatment process.…