Amy Narquis
October 2, 2008
Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities
The first thing I noticed about using concept mapping is that is can be very visually pleasing. This is something that’s important to me because I’m a visual learner and being able to have assignments and lessons mapped out using pictures would be beneficial to my students. Specifically in the younger grades, pictures can clarify the main focus points of any given lesson.
If a student learns better through reading, however, the Inspiration.com website provides the option of switching from a diagram to an outline very easily. This also allows for more information to be listed in the outline while still maintaining a fairly simple focused diagram. Presenting material in multiple ways will help the students remember, study and learn material.
Another beneficial aspect is the fact that teachers can use the diagrams to properly display specific events or material such as “The life cycle of a butterfly” or the “Carbon Cycle.” By using the proper directional arrows and clip art, a teacher can create a tangible and easily understood diagram of such complex themes. You can also use the diagrams as a timeline using pictures to help emphasize important dates to remember. Then each date can break off into other sections providing more detailed information about the event. My final favorite idea was to use a concept map dedicated to one spelling word. Their example provided arrows towards synonyms, antonyms, the definition, sentences using the word and the origin of the word. If I wanted my students to understand a word in depth, this would be a great way to make that happen.
1) The three examples I gave (science cycles, timelines, and spelling word study) can blatantly display the exact information a student needs to know. It will be easy for students to access and study as well as explore and broaden their horizons on the topic. I would have loved to have known exactly what we were working on in my classroom when I was young, so I know my students would appreciate having the information readily available and written clearly and accurately. Using concept maps will create organization within the classroom and enable proper communication between teacher and student.
2) I personally would love to be a kindergarten teacher. I would love to introduce technology to my students at this point in their lives. I think it would be difficult to master this type of application for more complex material, however, I think it would be easy to create colorful displays of simple concepts to young children. So, while I believe it would be a little out of my reach and take too much time to create complex displays, simple kindergarten level material will be easy to map and very beneficial in introducing the material and technology itself to my students.
October 2, 2008
Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities
The first thing I noticed about using concept mapping is that is can be very visually pleasing. This is something that’s important to me because I’m a visual learner and being able to have assignments and lessons mapped out using pictures would be beneficial to my students. Specifically in the younger grades, pictures can clarify the main focus points of any given lesson.
If a student learns better through reading, however, the Inspiration.com website provides the option of switching from a diagram to an outline very easily. This also allows for more information to be listed in the outline while still maintaining a fairly simple focused diagram. Presenting material in multiple ways will help the students remember, study and learn material.
Another beneficial aspect is the fact that teachers can use the diagrams to properly display specific events or material such as “The life cycle of a butterfly” or the “Carbon Cycle.” By using the proper directional arrows and clip art, a teacher can create a tangible and easily understood diagram of such complex themes. You can also use the diagrams as a timeline using pictures to help emphasize important dates to remember. Then each date can break off into other sections providing more detailed information about the event. My final favorite idea was to use a concept map dedicated to one spelling word. Their example provided arrows towards synonyms, antonyms, the definition, sentences using the word and the origin of the word. If I wanted my students to understand a word in depth, this would be a great way to make that happen.
1) The three examples I gave (science cycles, timelines, and spelling word study) can blatantly display the exact information a student needs to know. It will be easy for students to access and study as well as explore and broaden their horizons on the topic. I would have loved to have known exactly what we were working on in my classroom when I was young, so I know my students would appreciate having the information readily available and written clearly and accurately. Using concept maps will create organization within the classroom and enable proper communication between teacher and student.
2) I personally would love to be a kindergarten teacher. I would love to introduce technology to my students at this point in their lives. I think it would be difficult to master this type of application for more complex material, however, I think it would be easy to create colorful displays of simple concepts to young children. So, while I believe it would be a little out of my reach and take too much time to create complex displays, simple kindergarten level material will be easy to map and very beneficial in introducing the material and technology itself to my students.
This is an example of a concept map.
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