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Concept Mapping in the Second Language Classroom

            Concept mapping is an excellent educational tool that can be used by students to illustrate their understanding of the relationships between concepts they are learning in any given subject area.  With concept mapping, students are creating a visual representation of what they are learning and the depth of their understanding.  Various programs such as Inspiration, PiCoMap, and MindMapper are available to teachers and students to create these maps on both desktops and handheld computers.  Ultimately, as stated by Jonassen in the article, ?Computers as Mindtools for Engaging Learners in Critical Thinking,? concept mapping ?enables learners to interrelate the ideas that they are studying in multidimensional networks of concepts, to label the relationships between those concepts, and to describe the nature of relationships between all of the ideas in the network.?  In the article, ?Leading and Learning with Technology,? by Royer the software application PiCoMap is discussed and analyzed.  This program, which is available as a free software application on the Internet, enables students to create concepts maps and manipulate them on handhelds rather than traditional desktop computers.

            Jeff, the teacher in the article illustrated several key points when concept mapping with students.  He began his lessons by modeling concept mapping by putting the beginning of a map on the board for students to copy.  Later, he graduated to providing students with a list of key concepts and the beginning of a map which students used to create their own maps.  As a result, I plan on completing a concept map on the overhead with my students as a class so they understand how to approach the entire process and can feel successful.  I feel that this step will give students the guidance they need before they create their own maps. 

            Second, Jeff found that students benefited from sharing their maps in small groups or during whole-class discussions and that students should revise their maps to illustrate their improved understanding of the relationships between concepts.  Therefore, when concept mapping with my own students, I plan to require students to discuss their maps and justify the choices they made in linking concepts with proposition statements.  I believe that this step will lead to interactive engagement amongst my students and a deeper understanding than I could provide by simply telling them whether they are right or wrong and moving forward with the next topic.

            In my French classroom, I see several possible applications of this software.  Many of my students find reading in the target language to be challenging and concept mapping could be a tool to help them identify and understand the main ideas.  By giving students a list of concepts to map, students will know where to focus their attention while reading.  For example, my upper-level students often have to read short stories or excerpts from literature.  With concept mapping, students would be able to better visualize the relationships between characters and main events.  Furthermore, all students have to read short descriptions about various cultures and concept mapping would help them to understand the relationships between francophone cultures and their customs, food, language, etc.  To make concept mapping a more collaborative project, students could be assigned different countries and cultures in small groups.  Each student could then focus on concept mapping certain elements of their assigned country and culture.  Students could then use their handhelds and PiCoMap software to beam their files to their group members to read and revise.  Students could then combine their maps and present their overall concept map to the class and use it as a visual aid during a presentation on their country and culture.  These concept maps could then be displayed around the room as a reference of what students have learned.  In addition, as a final step, the students could engage in a class discussion and create one large map examining the relationships between all of the cultures and countries studied.

            Concept mapping would also be useful in helping students to break down and see relationships between various grammar concepts in the French language.  Mapping would be a helpful assignment towards the end of the semester or for students to complete throughout the semester to review and illustrate all of the structures they have learned and give them a deeper understanding of how they are dependent upon and affect one another when speaking and writing within the language.

Posted at 12:10PM Oct 12, 2006 by bdbook in General  |  Comments[0]