Concept Mapping in the Classroom

Concept mapping is a great tool to use in the classroom and it can have a great impact on student learning. Concept mapping helps students to learn through visualization. For students who are visual learners, this would be a great learning tool for them to use. Concept mapping also improves writing proficiency. Along with the visual pictures students can use to help compare and evaluate ideas, they can also write down there ideas in relation to those pictures they use. Lastly, students can use concept mapping to plan and organize school projects. Visualizations in concept mapping can be organized in a diagram that the student can create on their own. Each concept map is individualized and personalized by the student who creates them. Every student learns and processes information in a different manner and so, respectively, not all of the concept maps will be the same! This helps students to visualize and really see how they process and think about information and how they organize that information in their head in a way that enhances their learning the best. Students will learn how they learn! When this is visible to them, they can take advantage of that knowledge and apply it to many different aspects of learning in the future.
I found some examples of how concept mapping can be used in a classroom on the inspiration website. In the first example, after students read and learn about a shakesperean play, they can then use concept mapping to help them organize, compare, evaluate, and comprehend how they understand the play and the meaning behind the play. They can use graphics to help them comprehend the different themes in the play and how even though all those themes may be completely different, there is a connection among them. In the second example, students learn about science and the laws of basic physics through making visual connections between different laws of science and how the relationships connect to many other aspects of life. In the third example, students can use concept mapping to help them create and understand the steps taken to complete math problems such as addition of fractions, multiplication, and division.
I think that it may take me a week or two to really absorb all the information and all of the possiblities that are available through inspiration and kidspiration software. I would make sure I really knew how to use everything in this software and that I knew all the possible things that can be done and used through this software because I want to use it to correctly and in a way where students can learn to the best of their ability. Although it would take me a little while to really explore and engage in all the learning possibilities available through this software, I do believe it is worth it. Students who are visual learners will benefit greatly from this software because I know that I am a visual learner and if I had used this software when I was younger, I believe it would have helped me a great deal in learning new concepts that were difficult for me to organize and remember. When I am writing a paper and doing research, I make concept maps on my own time to organize my thoughts and papers. This software will help students learn how to organize their thoughts which is a great tool that can be used all through many different aspects of life.