Concept Mapping

Concept Mapping

http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/composition/handouts/concept.html

This article defines concept mapping as "a technique that allows you to understand the relationships between ideas by creating a visual map of the connections." This article also gives examples of what concept maps can be used for; (1) to see the connections between ideas you already have (which can be helpful in studying for a test); (2) to connect new ideas to knowledge that you already have (which can help you organize ideas as you find them in researching a paper; and (3) to organize ideas in a logical but not rigid structure that allows future information or viewpoints to be included (which can help you decide how you want to organize a paper). The integration of these ideas gives rise to practical use of concept maps in daily organization of thoughts and knowledge.

The creation of concept maps is then broken down into a 7 step process beginning with the research and recording of at least 15 different concepts or ideas, and then moving these ideas onto post it notes, next organization of the ideas from broadest to most concise, then place them together by relationship, next draw a line from an upper concept to the lower concepts they are related to (Broadest to most concise) and rearrange the pieces of paper, next you identify the relationship by naming the connecting lines with words or phrases and rearrange the pieces of paper, assign each concept an example, then copy the finished concept onto a single piece of paper. There you have it, a complete concept map in 7 easy steps.