There are various tools on the Internet than can be used to create a concept map. The one above was created using bubbl.us. It is so simple to use and yet so invaluable, better still it is free to use. There are various reasons why a concept map is a valuable tool for the classroom, and it is not limited to simply a "pretty" display for the students to use.
Time is valuable, not only to the teachers, but the students as well. With sometimes a maximum of four hours a day to complete a variety of subjects (not counting disruptions) using that time to stumble through several programs to create a concept map that lacks even half of the looks of the one above, is a definite waste of time.
The main reason that concept maps work so well is they are a physical representation of our own brains layout- its schema. With little knowledge of concept maps a person can easily understand the links between each bubble. "Chunking" information is the best way for our brains to use the least amount of power for the desired result of being able to "pull" information out of our head. Each person does this subconsciously whether it be for a test eg name the bones in the human hand, to ordering a pie eg pie+sauce = yummy, be sure to not forget to ask for sauce.
Hm, you have a fixation for food, don't you! lol Anyway, as you say, chunking is the way our brains best absorb information. Key to this is the idea of how many bits of information we can retain at a time. Given a phone number, we will most likely break it into chunks of 3-4 digits at a time. For an email, maybe two chunks for the bits before and after the '@' symbol. But on average, we can only retain 5-7 bits of information at a time before we start to forget stuff. As a result, the rule of thumb for presentations has for a long time something like 5 points down the page, eight words per point. As a result, each slide/point is more likely to be retained. Maybe the same rule should apply for things like mind/concept maps? Maximum of 5 points per level?
ReplyDeleteOn a slightly unrelated note, if you have some free time and are interested in this, look up 'Conceptual Mediation',as it is a interesting look into how students can inadvertently proactively block learning of new knowledge, based on their prior knowledge, and how to correct this block. It's also a useful tool for your own benefit. For example, once you know how conceptual mediation works, it's easy to correct the spelling of that word you always get wrong.