Faculty Development Spring Institute Making Learning Visible: Learning and Teaching with Concept/Mind Maps Dr Aziza Ellozy Director, CLT Associate Dean for Learning Technologies Dr Hoda Mostafa Associate Professor of Practice Center for Learning and Teaching/School of Sciences and Engineering THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

Faculty Development Spring Institute Objectives To become acquainted with the characteristics of Concept maps and Mind maps To go over preliminary steps on how to map To identify what can be done with them in the teaching/learning environment To share our experience with concept maps in a 100 level course Discuss possible follow-up

Faculty Development Spring Institute Concept Maps THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO Concept maps were first used by J.D.Novak of Cornell (1960s) Cmaps may help us identify the way we think and the way our students think

Faculty Development Spring Institute Concept Mapping A technique to represent KNOWLEDGE graphically THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

Faculty Development Spring Institute THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO What does a CMap look like? And how do I map?

Faculty Development Spring Institute Concept Map: structure THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO Concept Maps have two components: Concepts or terms Links or linking phrases that connect the concepts or terms

Faculty Development Spring Institute Example of a Concept Map Choose a specific concept, topic (article, reading…) Select a few related key terms Draw arrows between them + add a phrase that links terms Add cross-links

Faculty Development Spring Institute Another example of a Concept Map about concept mapping

Faculty Development Spring Institute What can be done with Concept Mapping ? generate ideas (brain storming, etc.); communicate complex ideas; organize and integrate a complex structure assess understanding or diagnose misunderstanding.

Faculty Development Spring Institute Mindmapping According to its inventor, Tony Buzan, mindmapping is a graphical technique of taking notes and visualizing thoughts/ideas that are arranged radially around a central concept, word or idea.

Faculty Development Spring Institute An example: With “Mindomo” Use small icons to attract attention. Put the theme (main idea, concept) in the center of the map Primary Branches

Faculty Development Spring Institute Our original purpose: have students read assigned readings in depth

Faculty Development Spring Institute How we used Concept/Mind Maps Hybrid approach: we integrated the highly visual characteristics of computer Mind Maps into concept map We had students design Concept maps to  interpret readings,  summarize lectures or  represent their knowledge of an open ended subject We used “Mindomo”, a free online software

Faculty Development Spring Institute How we used Concept/Mind Maps As a learning tool As a teaching tool As an assessment tool As a review tool: greater power to evoke memory than ordinary linear notes

Faculty Development Spring Institute Examples Student Concept Maps

Faculty Development Spring Institute Magnified Converting linear text to a non-linear graphic representation Cmap of an assigned reading

Faculty Development Spring Institute Cmap of an assigned reading: K. Popper’s “Heroic Science” Poor analytical skills

Faculty Development Spring Institute Cmap of an assigned reading: K. Popper’s “Heroic Science”

Faculty Development Spring Institute Cmap of an assigned reading: K. Popper’s “Heroic Science”

Faculty Development Spring Institute Cmaps of a lecture presentation

Faculty Development Spring Institute Examples Broad-ended topics

Faculty Development Spring Institute Broad ended topic: Biological evolution

Faculty Development Spring Institute Broad ended topic: in-class exam Graphical rendition of a pencil and paper student C- map in response to exam question

Faculty Development Spring Institute Anonymous surveys Doing concept maps “required me to look at the assigned reading in more depth”.

Faculty Development Spring Institute Assessing Concept/Mind Maps The need for rubrics Example of a rubric THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

Faculty Development Spring Institute THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

Faculty Development Spring Institute Activity: Try your hand at C-mapping

Faculty Development Spring Institute If you want to learn how to use the software and are interested in a hands-on session, please leave us your name, and time

Faculty Development Spring Institute Questions? Thank You

Faculty Development Spring Institute Spring 2008