GAC : Appendix A

Clipping

The concept map is an educational tool with great versatility. It is useful in eliciting, representing, and assessing students'understandings; and as an organizer, guide, and vehicle for developing curriculum and in the design and delivery of instruction. Additionally, the process of constructing a concept map - concept mapping - is a powerful learning strategy that is graphic in nature and forces the learner to think about the relationships between terms. This latter aspect makes concept mapping especially suited to the study of science, given that the learner may perceive that studying science means memorizing a bunch of facts. If you already have examined or taught any of the Investigation level lessons in this unit, you noticed that concept maps are shown as part of the "overview and outcomes" section of most of these lessons. Additionally, some of these lessons specifically recommend teaching and learning activities and assessments that employ concept mapping. Each of the concept maps shown in the "overview and outcomes" section of the lessons illustrates concept relationships that are important components of the understanding that each lesson seeks to develop. We envision that these maps will serve as a flexible guide for the teacher in terms of what science content and understandings are especially important relative to the outcomes and instruction in each lesson. Accordingly, we anticipate these maps will be of use to the teacher as s/he plans and carries out instruction and assesses learning. We also anticipate that the teacher may not use the maps exactly as set forth. The teacher may embellish the map, pull out small portions of the map, revise the map, and so on. Again, these maps are not meant to explicate the only accurate understanding or a totally complete understanding of the subject matter. Purpose of Appendix