Priit Reiska

Concept Mapping as a Tool for Research in Science Education

In recent years concept mapping has become a powerful tool that is frequently applied in different contexts in science education. There are still, however, questions and problems that arise when researchers in science education begin to design concept map formats and search for appropriate methods of analysis. In a symposium, five research groups from different countries shared experiences of using concept maps and hence provided some answers to the questions and some illumination of the problems.

Is My Concept Map Large Enough

Users learning to concept map often confront the problem of when is it that their concept map is complete. They ask the question “Is my concept map large enough?”. As they progress in their understanding of concept maps, users often stop asking themselves whether the concept map is the appropriate size, which is key when using concept maps as means to communicate and share knowledge. In this paper we examine what factors need to be taken into account when determining the proper size for a concept map, and examine the importance of the purpose of the concept map and its intended audience. The stages through which a new Cmapper goes are also examining, and propose that to reach a Level 3 Excellent Cmapper, the question to be asked is “Is my concept map small enough?”.

A Comparison of STS-teaching and Traditional Physics Lessons - On the Correlation of Physics Knowledge and Taking Action

In this paper one of a total of three components of the research project “Learning Physics and Taking Action” is described (Dahncke, 1996, 1997). We report in key words on the frame of reference, aims of the study, structure of the three components, hypotheses and the design of the study. Then, we briefly explain the basic concepts which underlie our hypotheses and the design: knowledge as propositionally represented knowledge, taking action according to Edelmann’s criteria (1996), lessons as traditional physics lessons or STS-teaching (Science-Technology-Society), the effect of teaching as part of a control group design with six secondary school classes (130 subjects / 9 th graders in Germany and Estonia) and a design of repeated measuring with data collection before and after the corresponding lessons. The acquisition, processing and evaluation of data as part of a multifactorial analysis are briefly mentioned and presented together with the findings of the study.

Innovating with Concept Mapping

Student-generated concept maps (Cmaps) have been the preferred choice to design assessment tasks, which are time-consuming in real classroom settings. We have proposed the use of Cmap with errors (elaborated by teachers) to develop assessment tasks, as a way to address the logistical practicality obstacles usually found in classrooms. This paper compared two different tasks, finding the errors and judging the selected propositions in Cmap with errors, exploring two topics with different levels of difficulty. Our results confirmed Cmap with errors as a straightforward approach to include concept mapping into the classroom routine to foster the pedagogic resonance (the bridge between teacher knowledge and student learning), which is critical for motivating students to learn meaningfully. Moreover, Cmaps with errors are also amenable for on-line learning platforms. Future works of our research group will develop an automated process for evaluation and feedback using the task formats presented in this paper.

Enhancing the Value of Active Learning Programs for Students’ Knowledge Acquisition by Using the Concept Mapping Method

The use of active learning programs in combination with new learning and assessment methods like concept mapping could be lead to the more student oriented learning and teaching. The aim of the study is to evaluate active learning programs by using a Concept Mapping method and to make suggestion for further development of the programs. In the study 414 concept maps from 207 basic school students were collected before and after participation in on of the active learning programs (ALPs). The results showed that active learning programs helped the students to acquire new knowledge and reduce misconceptions. To increase the efficiency of the ALPs it is recommended to increase the duration and also compose one-class multi-day programs.