Using Concept Mapping for Assessment

Using concept maps as a form of collaboration to promote student learning and creativity can be a valuable educational tool. It can also be useful for assessing students before, during, and after the presentation of new material. The teacher can use concept mapping prior to the introduction of new material to assess the student's existing knowledge of the subject matter. Concept mapping can then be used to see how well a student is grasping the content during a given unit of study. And finally, testing the student on what they have learned, using concept maps, may allow the teacher to better understand the the student's depth of understanding. It may be a true indication of how well the student can simulate practical application of the subject matter discussed. A true and thorough understanding of material is important for long term retention. This retention is vital if the students are to perform well on overall achievement tests.

This approach is discussed in an article titled "Starting Point, Teaching Entry Level Geoscience" (http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/assessment/conceptmaps.html) . Concept maps are used to evaluate the student's prior knowledge, their progress, and their overall retention of the material discussed. This allows instructors to follow the student's progress but more importantly, concept mapping can identify any misconceptions the student may have on the material covered in class. Concept mapping can be a complete and thorough evaluation of how well the student "gets it".

In a paper written by Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo, "Examining Concepts Maps As An Assessment Tool" (http://cmc.ihmc.us/papers/cmc2004-036.pdf) she quotes a source which reflects the views of cognitive psychologists, "...the essence of knowledge is structure" (Anderson, 1984, p. 5). It is Ruiz-Primo belief that the student's understanding of material is greatly enhanced through the practice of interconnection that concept mapping provides. She further states, "It can be easily argued that the dimension of structure of knowledge yielded by concept maps is unique in comparison to traditional achievement tests".

Concept maps are a simple but valuable educational tool which can be used in all phases of instruction; from assessing the students' prior knowledge, to monitoring their progress, and finally, evaluating what and how well they have learned.