Concept mapping is a method of visually organizing material in such a way that the relationships between concepts becomes clear and meaningful to the learner, thus enhancing understanding and long-term memory of the material.

Not unlike an outline, concept mapping requires that main ideas be recognized and supporting evidence be located in such a way that its relationship to the main idea is evident. Unlike an outline, however, the method of concept mapping is freer and more open in its structure. It can look like a hierarchical flow chart, or a free form child's drawing. The key is to begin by extracting the main idea or focus of the lesson or article, and then arrange the supporting details in groups of like information. In the free form style, the main idea would be placed in the center of the page with a circle or box around it. Each group of supporting details would be placed next to, or above, or below the main idea in its own box or circle. Each of these boxes would be connected to the main idea with a dotted or straight line. Some annotations are possible on these connecting lines if they explain exactly what the relationship is or what it means.

Some examples of concept maps can be reviewed at the Web sites below. When you are finished studying these examples, return to this page and practice making a concept map.

http://users.edte.utwente.nl/lanzing/cm_home.htm
Concept mapping home page with a sample concept map

http://www.inov8.psu.edu/faculty/cmap.htm
Excellent description of concept mapping both from a theoretical and practical perspective with sample concept map

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/x/jxm651/project1/
Descriptions and examples of different types of concept maps including flow charts, spider maps, and semantic maps

Making a Concept Map

This exercise asks you to practice making a simple concept map.

• First: read one of the articles that interest you from the list below.
• Second: using the concept map template provided here, organize the material in a meaningful way.
• Note: Articles will open in a new browser window.