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Concept Maps

What is concept mapping?

A concept map visually represents a central concept and its associated information. It provides insight into students’ cognitive organization of content as well as the connections they see between content areas. Students can create concept maps individually or in groups, during or outside of class, and before, during or after a lesson or unit. You can use concept maps both as learning activities and assessment tools.

Why should you use a concept map?

Concept maps help both you and your students in multiple ways. They:

  • let you assess students' prior knowledge and/or retained knowledge
  • help students organize existing and new information
  • pull relevant information into working memory, allowing students to connect new information with existing information (known as priming)
  • help students understand a central concept
  • help students identify the interconnectedness of concepts
  • give students a tool for reflection and metacognition
  • enhance understanding and retention of information by requiring students to transform information from one modality (e.g., text, oral lecture) into another form (i.e., visual representation)

How can I use concept mapping?

Keep these considerations in mind when incorporating concept maps into your teaching:

  1. Design intentionally. Explain to students why you are using concept maps so they understand their purpose in the lesson.
  2. Define assessment criteria. If you plan to use concept maps for grading, clarify how you will evaluate student success.
  3. Decide how students will create maps. Choose whether students will draw maps by hand or use software. If they will use software, provide a tutorial beforehand to prevent extra cognitive load. Otherwise, students may focus more on learning the tool than completing the task. Confirm whether the software is free or requires purchase. Generative AI frontier models such as ChatGTP, Claude, or Gemini may be useful; dedicated AI tools such as Napkin.ai can create infographics.
  4. Provide an example. Show a sample concept map so students know what one looks like. Some may not be familiar with the term “concept map.”
  5. Allow enough time. Allocate at least 15–20 minutes for students to work together in person or synchronously online. For asynchronous courses, give students enough time to collaborate even though they are not working simultaneously.