Concept Mapping

History of Concept Mapping

Concept maps were developed by Joseph Novak to shift learning in classrooms from rote learning to meaningful learning experiences rooted in a constructivist view of education. Concept maps in this context represent existing knowledge in addition to showing what students are currently learning. The process had the best results when students developed their own concept maps, compared with teachers’ pre-made maps. Concept mapping afforded an opportunity for students to take ownership of learning, investing more in the process of knowledge creation instead of just memorizing facts.

Concept mapping has been used in various disciplines and settings, including programme planning and evaluation, educational settings, computer science, community health, business development and community planning. The process is useful in group settings [Page 173]to help all involved see a topic or project in its entirety and therefore identify areas of strength and concern. Concept maps can also show what information is missing in learning and collaboration. In addition, mapping fosters creativity by helping people think about connections and relationships in a new way.

Action Research and Concept Mapping

As a tool for researchers and participants, concept mapping is useful in both individual and group action research projects to explore the development and relationships of various concepts, themes and ideas within the research. Concept mapping can be used to help refine and focus a project as well as to develop a general theme, sub-themes and a concept and/or question that relates to the research.

In collaborative settings, concept mapping can be used as a facilitation tool of knowledge construction within action research. Groups can use concept maps to develop questions and assessments, show knowledge generation and the development of ideas and highlight relationships among the ideas explored in the research. Concept mapping can be used in all the stages of an action research project, from planning to implementation of findings and reflection, to show what questions the research will examine, the voices of researcher-participants, outcomes and analysis of process. Concept mapping in the pre-stages of an action research project could help document the knowledge that the researcher or participants will bring to the project, helping to construct learning onto previous knowledge. Therefore, concept mapping can help with planning in action research by building on an idea and former knowledge to form areas of development and inquiry. The individually developed concept maps can help create a shared vision of the project as well as show the diversity of knowledge among the constituents.

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