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this format, concept words are given to the
students with the following instructions.
1. Link the concept words in a reasonable and
sensible matter.
2. Put a circle around the concept word
3. Provide a one or two sentence description
that shows how the two concepts are
linked.
4. The linked sentences should contain
the two concept words that are being
connected.
5. The map should be scored on the quality of
the link description
a. Detailed and correct link description
that is evident of deep understanding (2
points)
b. Shallow (superficial) and correct link
description that is evident of partial
understanding (1 point)
c. Incorrect description (0 point)
These instructions are very simple, but
encourage students to generate as many
descriptive and accurate links as possible. Note,
the focus here is on the connection, not the
concept word, which is given to the students.
There is no upper limit to the number of points
students can get on this activity, which motivates
students to create more links. These maps can
be graded on a criterion scale that is based on
the number of content words. For example, if
20 concept words are included, an excellent
concept map would include at least 20 detailed
and correct links (40 points).
In a preview or review scenario, concept
mapping may be facilitated by students working
in groups of two or three. This encourages
students to think aloud as they discuss linkages
between concepts. Also, the teacher acts as the
role of the coach by circulating around the room,
asking students to provided reasoning for their
links, and providing cues to help them achieve
a deeper level of processing. Students can
prepare their maps on large poster size pieces
of paper, which allows the entire group to be
engaged in the activity.
Ultimately, as concept mapping is used
frequently throughout the school year, students
develop the organization skills, which help
the students’ metacognitive knowledge. The
concept map also serves as a way to monitor
this metacognitive organizational process. In this
way, students are self-assessing their overall
understanding of science.
Interactive Science Notebooks
Metacognitive knowledge and monitoring
can also be developed through interactive
note taking, particularly by helping students
with “real-time” organization of information
presented during class time. The interactive
science notebook organizes science knowledge
in three parts labeled, the (a) IN question, (b)
THROUGH section, and (c) OUT question.
More details about these sections and how to
implement interactive science notebooks are
found in Volume 2, Issue 2 of RPDP’s Science
Dissected Newsletter. This particular newsletter
was written by RPDP Regional Science Trainer,
Bret Sibley, and is found at http://rpdp.net/adm/
uploads.news/sciencedis/57v2i2SDInteractiveSc
ienceNotebooks.pdf.
Building Success on Success
Using concept mapping and interactive science
notebooks require initial time for training at
the beginning of the school year. But such
investments in time pay huge dividends later
when students begin to reason scientifically by
actively organizing their knowledge in a way that
help them solve problems in a more efficient
and accurate manner. Taking this initial time to
build success on success will motivate students
to engage in metacognitive processes that will
deepen their understanding of science content
and increase their achievement in science,
especially if concept mapping and interactive
notebooks are embedded within the concepts
being taught.
Reference
Anzai, Y. (1991). Learning and use of
representations for physics expertise. In K. A.
Anders & J. Smith (Eds.), Toward a general
theory of expertise (pp. 64-92). New York:
Cambridge University Press.