Strategies such as Concept Maps, Descriptive or Thematic Maps, Tree Diagrams, or Problem and Solution Maps may provide a visual representation of how information is arranged and interrelated. Graphic organizers may be prepared by a teacher in advance, or they may be generated in class. If they are created in class, they might be produced by the whole class or by groups.
Hopefully, having students participate in the creation of graphic organizers will interest and motivate them since they will be actively engaged rather than listening passively. Instructors may sometimes wish to create organizers in order to introduce students to new material. Advance Organizers may be used before a new topic is introduced.
They may assist students to make connections between what learners have already covered or what they already know and what they will be learning. Generally, teachers may focus on the main topics that will be covered in the lesson. They may also be used to help students see connections in a text: ex. Teachers may prepare Advance Organizers before a class, or they may choose to create them in class working with students. Teachers might ask questions related to prior knowledge and have students provide responses that reveal connections leading to the new information to be covered.
Examples of Advance Organizers might include concept maps, graphics, scenarios, stories, outlines, questions, or other introductory materials that preview a topic and connect it to previously learned information. Strategies such as Concept Maps illustrate how information is related. Concept Maps as an Example.
Concept maps were developed by Joseph Novak as a teaching tool, but they can also be used by students as learning tools. Concept maps provide a strategy to represent textual information in an alternative format.
While Concept maps may not present information in as much depth as text, they can be useful in assisting learners by allowing them to analyze information from another angle. Some learners find it easier to process information presented in a visual format.
In the Figure 1 below, we can see a simple example with the topic connected to major details which then can be branched off to numerous minor details. Concept maps come in a variety of forms and can be considerably more complex. Figure 2. Suggested Readings and Web Sites. Background — concept maps Concept maps help represent knowledge.
They may include names, ideas, theories, and concepts. Since they may be drawn on paper or with computer programs, the concepts may be enclosed in circles or rectangles. The relationships between concepts is indicated by a connecting line between two concepts. Some lines may be blank, but it is often a good idea to include a few words to clearly specify the relationship.
They might provide a useful break in a lecture and allow the teacher to demonstrate links between previously learned and new information. To be effective, teachers should explain the strategy to students and model the process until students are comfortable. Students should be encouraged to develop their own graphic organizers to help themselves clarify their understanding of course content.
Students can also use concept maps, descriptive or thematic maps, tree diagrams, or problem and solution maps as note taking tools, to represent the information in journal articles, or to depict the structure, themes, or characters of short stories, novels, films, or plays.
Once completed, they form a dominant overall picture of the information being presented. Primarily used in teaching and learning situations, graphic organizers use visual symbols to structure and highlight the most important aspects of a concept while removing information that is non-essential. In this way, they organize the information by breaking in down so that it is clearer to understand. Organizers can also clarify patterns and relationships between ideas. Because each organizer will be used for a specific purpose, teachers should give detailed instruction to students on how and why the organizer is being employed.
Students then should have the opportunity to practice it for themselves, with teacher feedback being given to support their efforts. Graphic organizers can be used before, during and after instruction. It can then provide a structure for new information while showing the relationship between previously learned and new ideas.
While learning the new concept, students can use an organizer to arrange the information in a way that makes it most understandable to them and is best adapted to their personal learning style. It also provided a visual that identified gaps in their understanding.
Concept mapping not only allows students to consolidate their thinking but also provides a formative assessment the teacher can use to check for understanding and surface misconceptions. If this is our goal, students need the opportunity to construct the processes to achieve those ends. In and out of school, scaffolds are meant to be removed; educators have to be willing to remove the training wheels or temporary platforms and let students become independent learners.
Students will continue to encounter text and other content outside of school without the assistance of graphic organizers. Deliberate design and implementation of graphic organizers helps students develop autonomy and complex thinking capacity.
Let Learning Goals Drive Design Well-designed graphic organizers should guide students to categorize key concepts, surface the interconnection of ideas, or help students construct knowledge.
Make the Student the Designer Over-scaffolding a graphic organizer means the higher-ordered skills of evaluation, determination, and judgment are used in the design stage by the teacher rather than in the instructional stage by the student.
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