Showing papers on "Concept map published in 1989"

Analysis of the conceptual structure and reasoning demands of elementary science texts at the primary (K-3) level

Abstract: Eleven elementary science texts commonly used in the nation's schools were examined in terms of conceptual structure and reasoning demands of the texts. Specifically, one primary level (K–3) unit was randomly selected for analysis. Concept maps were drawn and evaluated, and the propositions between concepts were examined in terms of the Piagetian mental schema needed for comprehension. Results show that (1) concept maps and therefore the conceptual structures for a unit on air and/or weather vary widely across texts; (2) all but two conceptual structures are well defined, in that a single concept or group of concepts is not isolated from the total framework; (3) the reasoning needed to comprehend the between-individual concepts is concrete, in that classificational, interactional, and direct observational reasoning are necessary; and (4) these reasoning demands are above the developmental capabilities of a large segment of primary-level children, who function in the preoperational stage. Discussion of the results focuses on the kind of science that is appropriate for primary-level youngsters.

Concept Mapping: Developing Guides to Literature.

Abstract: Students often complain that they get lost reading literature. Con cept maps, which are diagrams that show the relationships among con cepts in a piece of writing, can help stu dents travel through literature to desti nations that they can identify and de fend. This article describes the use of instructor and student concept maps for Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea and Albert Camus' The Stranger and suggests that concept mapping is an aid toward student self education and autonomy. When literature appears confusing to students as readers, they cannot see what their professors consider good. A method to resolve this difficulty, con cept mapping, is a heuristic device de scribed by D. B. Go win in Educating (1981, 84). It is a tool to show the rela tionships among concepts in a particu lar piece of writing, regardless of the discipline. In virtually any formal writ ing, key concepts organize the mate rial. Concepts or regularities in events are linked together into a meaningful whole, which is the concept map. When this method is applied to liter ature, characters, action, and symbols are the concepts. Given a map before reading, a student has a direction in which to travel, signs to consider along the way, and a destination to achieve. After reading, students can draw a