1. Teacher Inquiry: The Effect of Using Concept Mapping Software In The Classroom By: Teresa Slade

2. Question? What impact will using concept mapping software in my teaching have on student success ? Rationale  I want to get my students more engaged in geography classes in order to improve on acquisition, retention and integration of knowledge to promote meaningful learning.  I feel that using computer based concept mapping strategies will help students learn and integrate ideas more effectively and accurately.

3. Methodology A – Colleague Interviews B – Literature Review C – Action Plan for Teaching Next Year

4. What Is Concept Mapping? It is an organized representation of concepts in a visual and hierarchical manner using concept labels. Big and inclusive ideas are placed at the top, Exemplary or subordinate ones below. Concepts are linked with arrows and the arrows are labelled to explain the nature of the association. Mapping can be done manually or computer generated using applications, such as Inspiration or SMART Ideas.

5. Rules of the Concept Mapping Method

6. Concept mapping represents organized knowledge. Concept mapping is an excellent teaching and learning tool (Glasgow, Cheyne, & Yerrick, 2010, p. 3)

7. Concept Mapping Can Be Used For Several Purpose.. To generate ideas (brainstorming) To design complex structures (long text, hypermedia, large web sites) To communicate complex ideas To aid learning by explicitly integrating new and old knowledge To assess understanding and diagnose misunderstanding (Plotnick, 2001)

8. Benefits of Concept Mapping Visual, easy to retain and recall technique– supports the brain’s memory systems. Promotes integration of prior and new knowledge and concept connections. Aids students with many different learning styles and cognitive abilities Provides teachers with an effective strategy to support student accommodations. Fosters meaningful learning and higher level thinking. Promotes higher level thinking, higher student performance and greater student achievement and success.

9. Computer Based Concept Mapping (CBCM) The practical advantages of constructing concept maps electronically are similar to those of using a word processing program to write. “There is an ease of construction, an ease of revision, and the ability to customize maps in ways that are not possible when using paper and pencil” (Anderson-Inman et al. [13]). Jonassen (1990) proposes that few of the computer tools used today for learning have been designed as learning tools. Usually educators use existing tools for teaching purposes. According to Jonassen, “concept mapping computer tools belong to the rare category of computer tools that were designed specifically for learning.” (Plotnick, 2001, [43])

10. Benefits of Concept Mapping Software Strategy for Supporting IEP Accommodations: –reduce the impact of limitations of working memory –minimizes cognitive overload –creates organizational framework –chunks of information

11. Benefits of Using Concept Mapping Software Ease of Construction –Easy to create from scratch or from a template –a template provides an organized, logical framework/guide for creating a map Dynamic linking –point and drag a concept or group of concepts to another place on the map and automatically update all the appropriate links –can create hyperlinks to WWW. Ease of Adaptation, Manipulation and Revision –encourages revisions to the concept map because deletions, additions, and changes are accomplished quickly and easily

12. Benefits of Using CBCM Conversion –Computer generated maps can be converted into other electronic formats, such as images or word processing documents. –Documents can be used as converted or continued to be worked, moving towards a finished product Storage: –Digital storage takes less space, makes retrieval easier, allows others to work on the map, and makes it easier to create large scale maps Communication: –Can send maps as attached files with e-mail messages, or include them in WWW pages. –Can enhance meaning of concepts and enhance communication between student and teacher.

13. CBCM Can Enhance Learning –Aids in critical and creative thinking –Teachers can lay out more and more detail in a classroom setting, linking prior knowledge to new knowledge –Knowledge is seen as continuous, rather than as broken up into pieces –Students can get a deeper understanding of complex logical patterns and, therefore, can think critically about interrelationships –Technologies that promote communication within and outside the classroom make it easier for feedback, reflection, and revision to occur, thus enhance learning –Enhances student engagement, reflection and revision

14. Assessment Tool After studying a unit, students could be asked to create a concept map as homework or in lieu of a standard test. It can help to illustrate their knowledge of a subject more thoroughly than multiple choice tests may, while also reinforcing what they know, making the test itself a learning experience

15. SMART Ideas Language Arts Template Sample

16. Concept Mapping Software Most Common Concept Mapping Software Used In Education SMART Ideas Inspiration Kidspiration

17. Top 12 Concept Mapping Applications Top 12 Concept Mapping Software Programs : Based on criteria of usability, flexibility, conversion and personal preference, the http://www.mytopdozen.com/Best_Concept_Mapping_Software.html http://www.mytopdozen.com/Best_Concept_Mapping_Software.html 1.Kidspiration 2.Inspiration 3.OpenMind 4.3D Topicscape 5.MindManager 6.SmartDraw 7.FreeMind (free software) 8.IHMC Cmap Tools 9.VUE (free software) 10.Axon Idea Processor 11.Semantica 12.Timberbox

18. Reflection What might you do differently based on these results? –Make a greater effort to integrate CBCM activities in the classroom. Were there any limitations? –Access to labs, computer skill level of students What new questions does your inquiry raise? –Can CBCM be integrated into other subjects I teach, such as math How has your understanding of your own teaching grown over this course? –It is important to recognize how Digital Natives learn –I need to recognize how I must adapt and assimilate as a Digital Immigrant.