Showing papers on "Concept map published in 2008"

Facilitating Collaborative Knowledge Building

Abstract: This article describes a detailed analysis of knowledge building in a problem-based learning group. Knowledge building involves increasing the collective knowledge of a group through social discourse. For knowledge building to occur in the classroom, the teacher needs to create opportunities for constructive discourse in order to support student learning and collective knowledge building. In problem-based learning, students learn through collaborative problem solving and reflecting on their experiences. The setting for this study is a group of second-year medical students working with an expert facilitator. The analysis was designed to understand how the facilitator provided opportunities for knowledge-building discourse and how the learners accomplished collective knowledge building. We examined episodes of knowledge-building discourse, the questions and statements that the students and facilitator generated throughout the tutorial, the change in their understanding of the problem that they were solving,...

Making learning visible: the role of concept mapping in higher education

Abstract: This article develops the concept‐mapping method as a tool for enhancing teaching quality in higher education. In particular, it describes how concept mapping can be used to transform abstract knowledge and understanding into concrete visual representations that are amenable to comparison and measurement. The article describes four important uses of the method: the identification of prior knowledge (and prior‐knowledge structure) among students; the presentation of new material in ways that facilitate meaningful learning; the sharing of ‘expert’ knowledge and understanding among teachers and learners; and the documentation of knowledge change to show integration of student prior knowledge and teaching. The authors discuss the implications of their approach in the broader context of university level teaching. It is not suggested that university teachers should abandon any of their tried and tested methods of teaching, but it is shown how the quality of what they do can be significantly enhanced by the use ...

The effect of concept mapping on students’ learning achievements and interests

Abstract: The study described in this paper has examined whether concept mapping can be used to help students to improve their learning achievement and interests. The participants were 124 students from two classes enrolled in an advanced accounting course at the School of Management of a university in Taiwan. The experimental data revealed two important results. First, adopting a concept mapping strategy can significantly improve students’ learning achievement compared to using a traditional expository teaching method. Second, most of the students were satisfied with using concept mapping in an advanced accounting course. They indicated that concept mapping can help them to understand, integrate and clarify accounting concepts and also enhance their interests in learning accounting. They also thought that concept mapping could be usefully used in other curriculum areas.

Concept mapping: an educational strategy to improve graduate nurses' critical thinking skills during a hospital orientation program.

Abstract: Novice graduate nurses (GNs) are often deficient in the critical thinking skills needed to assess and handle patient problems and life-threatening situations. Concept mapping is an effective teaching strategy for developing critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills. This small descriptive comparison study was undertaken to determine whether concept mapping improved critical thinking skills in GNs during a hospital orientation program. Schuster's (2002) Concept Map Care Plan Evaluation Tool was adapted to measure GNs' critical thinking in concept maps based on case studies at the beginning and end of orientation. A paired t test was computed on pre- and post-mean map scores of 14.071 and 16.428, respectively. Concept mapping was a valuable teaching and evaluation strategy for this group that could be used by nursing educators to improve critical thinking and identify and correct areas of theoretical and clinical deficiency.

Mediated learning experience and concept maps: a pedagogical tool for achieving meaningful learning in medical physiology students

Abstract: Even though comprehension of human physiology is crucial in the clinical setting, students frequently learn part of this subject using rote memory and then are unable to transfer knowledge to other contexts or to solve clinical problems. This study evaluated the impact of articulating the concept map strategy with the mediated learning experience on meaningful learning during the cardiovascular module of a medical physiology course at Universidad Autonoma de Bucaramanga. This research was based on the ideas of David Ausubel (meaningful learning), Joseph Novak (concept maps), and Reuven Feuerstein (mediated learning experience). Students were randomly allocated to either an intervention group (mediated learning experience articulated with concept mapping) or a control group (traditional methodology). The intervention group constructed concept maps related to cardiovascular physiology and used them to solve problems related to this subject. The control group attended traditional discussion sessions and problem-solving sessions. All students were evaluated with two types of exams: problem-solving and multiple-choice exams. The intervention group performed significantly better on the problem-solving exams, but the difference was not significant in the multiple-choice exam. It was concluded that intervention promoted meaningful learning that allowed the students to transfer this knowledge to solve problems. The implemented strategy had a greater impact on the students who came into the study with the lowest cognitive competence, possibly because they were empowered by the intervention.

Conceptual maps: measuring learning processes of engineering students concerning sustainable development

Abstract: In the 1990s, courses on sustainable development (SD) were introduced in technological universities. After some years of practice, there is increased interest in the evaluation of the most effective ways for teaching SD. This paper introduces the use of conceptual maps as a tool to measure the knowledge acquired by students when taking a Sustainability course. Pilot measurements have been made to evaluate the concepts and their interrelations in order to evaluate the students’ learning. These measurements were carried out using a sample of more than 700 European students. To measure the learning outcomes of courses, the evaluation is done twice. Before the course starts, the students’ previous knowledge on sustainability is measured; once the students have completed the course they are evaluated again. By comparing conceptual maps drawn by each student, the improvement of the students’ knowledge is evaluated. This paper shows the measuring process, and points out the suitability of using conceptual maps f...

Concept mapping as a follow-up strategy to learning from texts: what characterizes good and poor mappers?

Abstract: Concept maps consist of nodes that represent concepts and links that represent relationships between concepts. Various studies have shown that concept mapping fosters meaningful learning. However, little is known about the specific cognitive processes that are responsible for such mapping effects. In a thinking-aloud study, we analyzed the relations between cognitive processes during concept mapping as well as the characteristics of the concept maps that the learners produced and learning outcomes (38 university students). To test whether differences in learning outcome are due to differences in general abilities, verbal and spatial abilities were also assessed. In a cluster-analysis two types of ineffective learners were identified: ‘non-labeling mappers’ and ‘non-planning mappers’. Effective learners, in contrast, showed much effort in planning their mapping process and constructing a coherent concept map. These strategies were more evident in students with prior concept-mapping experience (‘advanced beginners’) than in those who had not used this learning strategy before (‘successful beginners’). Based on the present findings, suggestions for a direct training approach (i.e., strategy training with worked-out examples) and an indirect training approach (i.e., supporting the learners with strategy prompts) were developed.

Mining e-Learning domain concept map from academic articles

Abstract: Recent researches have demonstrated the importance of concept map and its versatile applications especially in e-Learning. For example, while designing adaptive learning materials, designers need to refer to the concept map of a subject domain. Moreover, concept maps can show the whole picture and core knowledge about a subject domain. Research from literature also suggests that graphical representation of domain knowledge can reduce the problems of information overload and learning disorientation for learners. However, construction of concept maps typically relied upon domain experts in the past; it is a time consuming and high cost task. Concept maps creation for emerging new domains such as e-Learning is even more challenging due to its ongoing development nature. The aim of this paper is to construct e-Learning domain concept maps from academic articles. We adopt some relevant journal articles and conference papers in e-Learning domain as data sources, and apply text-mining techniques to automatically construct concept maps for e-Learning domain. The constructed concept maps can provide a useful reference for researchers, who are new to the e-Leaning field, to study related issues, for teachers to design adaptive learning materials, and for learners to understand the whole picture of e-Learning domain knowledge.

Using Word Associations for Assessing Non Major Science Students' Knowledge Structure before and after General Chemistry Instruction: The Case of Atomic Structure.

Abstract: Determining students’ knowledge structure is important for assessing what a learner knows about a domain of knowledge. Traditional assessment methods are not always appropriate for exploring students’ knowledge structure and changes during the learning period. This study investigates how the existing knowledge structure of the learners interacts with content knowledge to produce a new knowledge structure relating to atomic theories, and whether a word association test (WAT) could be used to assess changes in students’ knowledge structure. Participants’ (40 elementary science education minors enrolled in a general chemistry class) knowledge structure was examined using WAT before and following a unit of instruction on atomic theories. In order to map the structures, relatedness coefficient values and response frequencies were used. When the maps obtained from these methods were examined it was seen that both had limitations. For this reason a new/different mapping technique was developed and used. It showed that the differences in the students’ knowledge structures before and after instruction make it clear that instruction had affected the knowledge structure.

Mining Student Behavior Models in Learning-by-Teaching Environments

Abstract: . This paper discusses our approach to building models and analyzing student behaviors in different versions of our learning by teaching environment where students learn by teaching a computer agent named Betty using a visual concept map representation. We have run studies in fifth grade classrooms to compare the different versions of the system. Students’ interactions on the system, captured in log files represent their performance in generating the causal concept map structures and their activities in using the different tools provided by the system. We discuss methods for analyzing student behaviors and linking them to student performance. At the core of this approach is a hidden Markov model methodology that builds students’ behavior models from data collected in the log files. We discuss our modeling algorithm and the interpretation of the models.

Visual Tools for Transforming Information Into Knowledge

Abstract: Foreword by Robert J. Marzano Prologue by Arthur L. Costa Acknowledgments About the Author Summary Definition of Visual Tools Introduction:Transforming Static Information Into Active Knowledge Blind Insights Right Now: Jumping the Achievement Gap for All Children Overview of the Book 1. The Mapping Metaphor Cognitive Dissonance in Representation Systems The Elephant in the Room The Mapping Metaphor: Terra Incognita Mapping the Brain Visual Tools for Mapmaking The Foundation of the Mapping Metaphor: Seeing 2. Facilitating the Networking Brain and the Patterning Mind Nonlinguistic and Linguistic Representations Research Studies on Graphic Organizers Reading Comprehension and Reading First Research Mapping Living Systems The Brain Is a Pattern Detector The Visual Brain The Mind Organizes Into Schematic Patterns Multiple Intelligences as Active Patterns Habits of Mind 3. Using Visual Tools Clarifying a Confusion of Terms and Tools Content-Specific Visual Tools Defining Visual Tools Theory-Embedded Tools Types of Visual Tools Reviewing Your Toolkit Choosing Appropriate Visual Tools The Importance of Student Ownership of Visual Tools Saving Time Constructing Knowledge in Cooperative Groups Beyond Blueprints, Templates, and Blackline Masters 4. Brainstorming Webs for Facilitating the Creative Mind Flow of Information and Knowledge Thinking in Pictures The Brain and Brainstorming The Misconceptions About Brainstorming Webs Webs for Facilitating Habits of Mind Software for Brainstorming Webs Brainstorming Webs for Collaborative Reflection, by David Schumaker Mind Mapping Viewing Book Reviews Mindscapes From Metaphors Seeking Personal Growth 5. Graphic Organizers for Analytical Tasks An Overview of Graphic Organizers, by Greg Freeman Comparing Graphic Organizers and Brainstorming Webs Organizers for Habits of Mind Chunking, Memory, and the Organizing Brain Content-Specific Graphics as an Advanced Organizer Process-Specific Maps The Big-Picture Organizers Mapping Lesson Plans Design and Understanding 6. Conceptual Mapping for Integrating Creative and Analytical Thinking Thinking About the Box Habits of Mind and Conceptual Maps When Thinking Became Popular Novak and Gowin's Concept Mapping Techniques The Inductive Tower Argument Maps and Rationale, by Tim Van Gelder Feedbacks and Flows in the System Connection Circles, by Rob Quaden and Alan Ticotsky Systems Thinking Leaving Tracks An Integration of Visual Representations: Teaching With Unit Visual Frameworks 7. Thinking Maps: A Synthesis Language of Visual Tools A Short History of Thinking Maps Defining Thinking Maps as a Language Five Levels of Thinking Maps Implementation Differentiated Thinking Patterns for English-Language Learners, by Stefanie Holzman Essential Cognitive Questions Based in Standards Using Thinking Maps Software to Map the Standards, by Sarah Curtis From Students and Teachers to Leadership Development and Whole-Schools Transformations The Role of Thinking Maps in the Process of Becoming a Professional learning Community, by Larry Alper Whole System Change 8. Thinking Maps for Special Needs, by Cynthia Manning Thinking Maps Give Me a Chance to Learn: Learning Prep Student Background on Learning Prep School Developing the Fundamental Psychological Processes Through Thinking Maps Thinking Maps and High-Stakes Testing Teachers and Students See the Success Thinking Maps and "the Real World" In Conclusion References and Further Reading Index

Learning about seasons in a technologically enhanced environment: The impact of teacher-guided and student-centered instructional approaches on the process of students' conceptual change

Abstract: To explore the ways in which teacher-guided and student-centered instructional approaches influence students' conceptual understanding of seasonal change, we designed a technology-enhanced learning (TEL) course to compare, by means of concept maps, the learning outcome of students in two groups: a teacher-guided (TG) class (with whole-class presentations) and a student-centered (SC) class (with individual online learning). The participants were two classes of second-year senior high school students in Taiwan. Overall, the results showed that most students developed a deep and accessible understanding of the reasons for the seasons after undergoing experiences provided by the TEL course. More importantly, it was found that, in this technologically enhanced environment, the student-centered approach was more effective than the teacher-guided approach in altering students' alternative conceptions of seasonal change (F = 28.05, p < 0.001). The conceptual evolution of students in the two groups was plotted and compared. These plots indicated that, first of all, the cognitive processes of contextualization and sense making helped students re-examine their old ideas about the phenomena, leading them to generate alternative conceptions and undergo both positive and negative conceptual change. The student-centered approach allows students to more freely test their own hypotheses in the processes of exploration and modeling, and thus move from assimilatory to properly scientific explanations. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed92:320–344, 2008

Quantitative and qualitative measures of student learning at university level

Abstract: This paper reports the use of quantitative and qualitative measures of university student learning during teaching in psychiatry. Concept mapping, pre-and post test scores and performance in written assignments were used to measure the quality of change in personal understanding and to show the ways that the knowledge-targets of the course were achieved. The data show that: (1) Concept mapping can be used to explore personal understanding because it facilitates discrete statements of meaning. (2) These personal statements can be compared through time to assess change. (3) Specific criteria can be used to measure the quality of the change from one statement to another so that the different qualities of change that occur can be made-visible in the course of teaching. The approach is discussed in the broader context of learning theory and teaching practice. We show in particular, that prior-knowledge is an important determinant of learning because it affects the sense that can be made of taught material.

Using concept mapping to locate the tacit dimension of clinical expertise: towards a theoretical framework to support critical reflection on teaching

Abstract: The tacit dimension of expertise is given considerable prominence in the literature on clinical education. However, the concept of knowing more than you can tell is one that cannot be used explicitly to support student learning. In this paper, the authors contend that much professional knowledge that has been described as tacit can be surfaced for examination through application of concept mapping techniques. This allows the articulation of expert practice in a way that can be modelled for students. It also provides a new model of expertise that is based on connections between chains of practice (characterized by sequences of observable actions) and the underlying network of understanding from which they are extracted. These connections, often overlooked and automated in daily practice, represent the location of the tacit dimension. Localizing the tacit dimension in this way allows the teacher and student to focus on the connections of tacit knowledge with formal knowledge and with practice in such a way that intuitive actions can be verified and connected to underlying knowledge frameworks. The act of concept mapping also slows reflection on actions that are normally automated and often overlooked. The resulting model includes an additional dimension that is missing from the traditional stage models of expertise. As such, it provides a conceptual framework upon which it would be possible to develop protocols to support the continuing development of clinical teachers through peer observation and/or guided self-reflection.

Using concept mapping to measure learning quality

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to describe a method of teaching that is based on Novak's concept‐mapping technique.Design/methodology/approach – The paper shows how concept mapping can be used to measure prior knowledge and how simple mapping exercises can promote the integration of teachers' and students' understandings in ways that are meaningful.Findings – The concept‐mapping method facilitates quick and easy measures of student knowledge‐change so that teachers can identify the parts of the curriculum that are being understood and those that are not. This is possible even among very large student groups in the 50‐minute slots that are allocated to so much teaching in higher education.Research limitations/implications – Concept mapping is discussed in the wider context of student learning style. The styles literature has been criticised because it tends to encourage undue labelling of people or behaviours. The approach described here also uses “labels” to typify learning (using the terms non‐learning and ro...

Concept Map Mining: A Definition and a Framework for Its Evaluation

Abstract: Concept maps are visual representations of knowledge, widely used in educational contexts. We use the term "concept map mining" (CMM) to refer to the automatic extraction of concept maps from documents such as essays. The principles behind CMM have been proposed for applications such as: information extraction in specific knowledge domains, the measurement of student understanding and misconceptions based on written essays, and as a preliminary step to creating domain ontologies.Previous work on the automatic extraction of concept maps present two problems: 1) overly simplistic and varying definitions of concept maps, and 2) the lack of an evaluation framework that can be used to measure the quality of the generated maps. In this paper, we propose a formal definition of the term CMM, with a focus on educational applications.We also propose an evaluation framework that will allow other researchers to share a common ground to evaluate the performance of CMM methods.

Concept Map Assessment for Teaching Computer Programming

Abstract: A key challenge of effective teaching is assessing and monitoring the extent to which students have assimilated the material they were taught. Concept mapping is a methodology designed to model what students have learned. In effect, it seeks to produce graphical representations (called concept maps) of the concepts that are important to a given domain and how they are related, according to the students. In recent decades various methods have emerged to evaluate concept maps, each measuring different features of concept maps. New approaches are still being developed. Few guidelines are available regarding the method to choose for a given application. This paper is a literature review that consists of two parts. The first is a review of the many automated and manual techniques of concept map analysis. The second is a critical and reflective commentary on these techniques.

Measuring the quality of e-learning

Abstract: This paper shows how concept mapping can be used to measure the quality of e-learning. Six volunteers (all of them 3rd-year medical students) took part in a programme of e-learning designed to teach the principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their understanding of MRI was measured before and after the course by the use of concept mapping. The quality of change in individuals' maps was assessed using criteria developed to distinguish between meaningful and rote-learning outcomes. Student maps were also scored for evidence of conceptual richness and understanding. Finally, each map was compared directly with the content of the electronic teaching material. The results show that many of the student misconceptions were put right in the course of their learning but that many of the key concepts introduced in the teaching were ignored (or sometimes learnt by rote) by the students. This was because the teaching material locked these new ideas in structures and terminology that precluded meaning-making among non-experts. Our data suggest that students' prior knowledge is a key determinant of meaningful learning. We suggest that this must be acknowledged if the design and use of electronic teaching material is also to be meaningful. Ultimately, measures of student learning are the only authentic indicators of the quality of teaching through technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concept Mapping Using CmapTools to Enhance Meaningful Learning

Abstract: Concept maps are graphical tools that have been used in all facets of education and training for organizing and representing knowledge. When learners build concept maps, meaningful learning is facilitated. Computer-based concept mapping software such as CmapTools have further extended the use of concept mapping and greatly enhanced the potential of the tool, facilitating the implementation of a concept map-centered learning environment. In this chapter, we briefly present concept mapping and its theoretical foundation, and illustrate how it can lead to an improved learning environment when it is combined with CmapTools and the Internet. We present the nationwide “Proyecto Conectate al Conocimiento” in Panama as an example of how concept mapping, together with technology, can be adopted by hundreds of schools as a means to enhance meaningful learning.

A Student-centred Approach: Assessing the Changes in Prospective Science Teachers’ Conceptual Understanding by Concept Mapping in a General Chemistry Laboratory

Abstract: Although researchers in higher education propose alternatives to traditional approaches to assessment, traditional methods are commonly used in college or university science courses. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility and validity of Prospective Science Teachers’ (PSTs) concept maps as authentic assessment tools in a student-centred approach to describe the changes in the conceptual understanding of the PSTs in general chemistry laboratory investigations. After the PSTs (n = 47) decided on important issues, such as who would assess their concept maps and what scoring strategy and criteria would be used, they practiced assessing their own and peers’ concept maps during the first five laboratory investigations. They subsequently constructed and assessed pre- and post-laboratory concept maps in a student-centred approach consisting of self, peer, and instructor assessments for the five remaining laboratory investigations. The results of the study showed using pre- and post-laboratory concept maps as authentic assessment tools in a student-centred approach was valid and reliable for describing the conceptual understanding of the PSTs in a university general chemistry laboratory course. The results of individual interviews indicated most PSTs had positive views of their assessment practices in the laboratory course. This study also provides pedagogical implications for the training of science teachers.

Improving Learning Through Interventions of Student-Generated Questions and Concept Maps

Abstract: Using the principles of the scholarship of teaching and learning, we evaluated 2 learning strategies to determine if they could improve student exam performance in general psychology. After the second of 3 exams, we gave students the option of participating in a specific learning activity and assessed its impact using the third exam. In Study 1, participating students generated a minimum of 3 questions per week over course material. Lower performing students who participated improved their exam performance such that they were indistinguishable from stronger students who did not participate. In Study 2, students had the option of generating concept maps over course material. Generating concept maps significantly improved performance.

Implementing Concept-based Learning in a Large Undergraduate Classroom

Abstract: An experiment explicitly introducing learning strategies to a large, first-year undergraduate cell biology course was undertaken to see whether awareness and use of strategies had a measurable impact on student performance. The construction of concept maps was selected as the strategy to be introduced because of an inherent coherence with a course structured by concepts. Data were collected over three different semesters of an introductory cell biology course, all teaching similar course material with the same professor and all evaluated using similar examinations. The first group, used as a control, did not construct concept maps, the second group constructed individual concept maps, and the third group first constructed individual maps then validated their maps in small teams to provide peer feedback about the individual maps. Assessment of the experiment involved student performance on the final exam, anonymous polls of student perceptions, failure rate, and retention of information at the start of the following year. The main conclusion drawn is that concept maps without feedback have no significant effect on student performance, whereas concept maps with feedback produced a measurable increase in student problem-solving performance and a decrease in failure rates.

The effects of a concept map-based information display in an electronic portfolio system on information processing and retention in a fifth-grade science class covering the Earth's atmosphere

Abstract: An electronic portfolio system, designed to serve as a resource-based learning space, was tested in a fifth-grade science class. The control-group students accessed a traditional folder-based information display in the system and the experimental-group students accessed a concept map-based information display to review a science portfolio. The student-constructed science portfolio was a result of a collection of digital artefacts such as graphic images, instructional videos and textual files on terms and definitions relevant to the Earth's atmosphere. In the information-processing performance test, the experimental-group students scored significantly higher and spent much less time in finding answers to the questions presented. Also, in the 3-day delayed memory retention tests, the experimental-group students achieved significantly higher scores. The multiple regression models confirm that the visualisation variation is the most significant predictor for student performance (ie, comprehension and access time). Also, the regression models suggest that language-arts proficiency may reduce overall system access time; while higher math proficiency may predict retention scores.

Ontology-based concept map for planning personalized learning path

Abstract: Developing personalized Web-based learning systems has been an important research issue in the e-learning field because no fixed learning pathway will be appropriate for all learners. However, the current most Web-based learning platforms with personalized curriculum sequencing tend to emphasize the learnerspsila preferences and interests for the personalized learning services, but they fail to consider difficulty levels of course materials, learning order of prior and posterior knowledge, and learnerspsila abilities while constructing a personalized learning path. As a result, these ignored factors easily lead to generating poor quality learning paths. Generally, learners could generate cognitive overload or fall into cognitive disorientation due to inappropriate curriculum sequencing during learning processes, thus reducing learning effect. With advancement of the artificial intelligence technologies, ontology technologies enable a linguistic infrastructure to represent concept relationships between courseware. Ontology can be served as a structured knowledge representation scheme, which can assist the construction of personalized learning path. Therefore, this study proposes a novel genetic-based curriculum sequencing scheme based on a generated ontology-based concept map, which can be automatically constructed by a large amount of learnerspsila pre-test results, to plan appropriate learning paths for individual learners. The experimental results indicated that the proposed approach is indeed capable of creating learning paths with high quality for individual learners. This will be helpful to learners to learn more effectively and to likely reduce learnerspsila cognitive overloads during learning processes.

An Exploratory Study of Elementary Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Ecology Using Concept Maps.

Abstract: Classroom teachers serve a critical role in developing environmentally literate citizens. In this study, the authors assessed K-8 preservice teachers' understanding of basic ecological concepts. Participants (N = 56) constructed concept maps describing the inter-relationships among 16 ecological concepts. The authors analyzed the concept maps to determine how participants organized, associated, and described relationships between the concepts. Although there was a lack of consistency in associating pairs of concepts, participants often created 2 clusters of concepts: a food web cluster and an ecosystem cluster. Associated pairs were often used in similar ways to describe the relationship among concepts. Concepts such as biotic factors and abiotic factors were frequently not used. It is important to ensure that preservice teachers have a solid understanding of ecological concepts before they begin teaching.

Application of Generalizability Theory to Concept Map Assessment Research

Abstract: In the first part of this article, the use of Generalizability (G) theory in examining the dependability of concept map assessment scores and designing a concept map assessment for a particular practical application is discussed. In the second part, the application of G theory is demonstrated by comparing the technical qualities of two frequently used mapping techniques: construct-a-map with created linking phrases (C) and construct-a-map with selected linking phrases (S). Some measurement facets that influence concept-map scores are explored and how to optimize different concept mapping techniques by varying the conditions for different facets is shown. It is found that C and S are not technically equivalent. The G coefficients for S are larger than those for C under the same condition. Furthermore, a decision(D) study shows that fewer items (propositions) would be needed for S than C to reach desired level of G coefficients if only one occasion could be afforded. On the other hand, C seems to reveal stu...

Are high‐coherent concept maps better for prior knowledge activation? Differential effects of concept mapping tasks on high school vs. university students

Abstract: We investigated whether and how prior knowledge activation improves learning outcomes for high school (less experienced learners) and university students (experienced learners) in a hypertext environment Map coherence was defined as the extent to which relationships between the concepts in the map were made explicit Therefore, we classified the mapping task of creating and labelling lines as low-coherent, and the mapping task of labelling provided lines as high-coherent Learners were randomly assigned to the conditions of (1) high-coherent knowledge activation; (2) low-coherent knowledge activation; and (3) a baseline condition without prior knowledge activation We found an overall effect for prior knowledge activation, learning experience, and an interaction between learning experience and the coherence of the prior knowledge activation task on learning outcomes High school students benefited most from labelling provided lines, while university physics majors benefited most from creating and labelling lines This interaction effect and effects of the specific mapping tasks on process measures support the claim that different prior knowledge activation tasks are suited for different groups of learners

Mining knowledge from natural language texts using fuzzy associated concept mapping

Abstract: Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques have been successfully used to automatically extract information from unstructured text through a detailed analysis of their content, often to satisfy particular information needs. In this paper, an automatic concept map construction technique, Fuzzy Association Concept Mapping (FACM), is proposed for the conversion of abstracted short texts into concept maps. The approach consists of a linguistic module and a recommendation module. The linguistic module is a text mining method that does not require the use to have any prior knowledge about using NLP techniques. It incorporates rule-based reasoning (RBR) and case based reasoning (CBR) for anaphoric resolution. It aims at extracting the propositions in text so as to construct a concept map automatically. The recommendation module is arrived at by adopting fuzzy set theories. It is an interactive process which provides suggestions of propositions for further human refinement of the automatically generated concept maps. The suggested propositions are relationships among the concepts which are not explicitly found in the paragraphs. This technique helps to stimulate individual reflection and generate new knowledge. Evaluation was carried out by using the Science Citation Index (SCI) abstract database and CNET News as test data, which are well known databases and the quality of the text is assured. Experimental results show that the automatically generated concept maps conform to the outputs generated manually by domain experts, since the degree of difference between them is proportionally small. The method provides users with the ability to convert scientific and short texts into a structured format which can be easily processed by computer. Moreover, it provides knowledge workers with extra time to re-think their written text and to view their knowledge from another angle.