concept map for Biology, professor is super picky but I have no idea what I am doing:)

concept map for Biology, professor is super picky but I have no idea what I am doing:)
CONCEPT MAP The goal is for your experience in this class to involve m uch more than rote memorization. In my experience this is what most of your education amounts to . You have been instructed to memorize things and then recognize these things on a multiple choic e test. This, sadly, leads to you having no concept of the topic you are supposed to be learning. In my view, my role, as your teacher, is not just to teach you as much biology as time permits, but to help you learn how to learn . I want you to see the value in knowledge and critical thinking. This will lead to an excitement about learning in fields that are not your major. If you will recall the course outline you received, you may remember what I listed as objectives for this course. My objectives include helping you to become independ ent and self – motivated learners. This can only happen if you understand the differences, which arise because of true comprehension of what you are learning . Memorization of the things in class has little to do with learning. In all honesty I have very little to do with your LEARNING. Only you have control over what you will truly learn. What I hope you will accomplish this biology class is MEANINGFUL learning. Meaningful learning, as described by the educational psychologist, David Ausubel, only comes about when you are able to connect the things you are presently learning to knowledge that you already have in memory. It is essential to see the inter – relatedness of old with new knowledge. It is also essential to see the relationships within the new information you ar e being taught. This course uses several techniques, which I hope, will help you become more efficient and productive learners. Concept mapping is a very useful technique geared specifically to help you achieve truly meaningful learning . The following discussion explains what concept mapping is and how to set up a concept map along with a few suggestions for making good concept maps. W e will complete one concept map in class . However, I hope that you see the value of the learning strategy and use it as applicable. I realize that many of you , at least initially, will view this as a waste of your time. I f you will be diligent, give it yo ur best shot, and hang in there, I think you will see the tremendous potential this statigy has for teaching you how to LEARN, not just memorize, information. WHAT ARE CONCEPTS? Concepts are ideas, which help us, explain the way things work by using words to label concepts. Concepts explain REGULARITIES in either OBJECTS or EVENTS . For example, DOG is a concept, and based on our individual experiences, we may have slightly different ideas on what the label DOG r epresents. However, there are enough s hared regularities in the concept of a DOG that we can communicate easily with one another about DOGS. WHAT ARE CONCEPT MAPS? Concept maps show relationships between concepts. Concept maps have the following charac teristics: 1. They include a number of different concepts and show the relationships between the concepts. 2. They are a hierarchical arrangement of concepts, which show degrees of generality and inclusiveness. The concepts found at the top of the map are the most general and will include the concepts, which are found further down in the concept map. (See Figure 1 at the end of this document). For example, the concept SCHOOL, includes the concepts, PRINCIPALS, TEACHERS, TEST S , LEARNING, etc. and the conc ept TEACHER, includes the concepts, TEST, HOMEW ORK , LESSONS , etc. 3. Concepts are placed inside of circles, rectangles or ellipses. 4. Concepts are linked by LINKING WORDS . Linking words are usually verbs, verb phrases, adverbs, or prepositions. When the concepts plus their linking words are read together, they form a proposition. For example from Figure 1. We could read the proposition that: 5. Concept maps have s everal levels in the hierarchy. For example in figure 1, there are four levels as follows: Level 1 = Schools Level 2 = Principals, Teachers, and Students Level 3 = Lessons, Tests, and Homework Level 4 = Learning Linking words connect these vertical levels of the hierarchy. 6. There are also CROSS – LINKAGES in concept maps. These occur horizontally between concepts in the map. For example, the relationship between teacher and student is a cross – link. In addition, the connections between st udent and test and student and lesson are cross linkages. The best concept maps will always have both links and cross – links. 7. Under each of the lowest level concepts we might also list specific examples for those concepts. For example, in Figure 1, under the concept lessons, we find, lectures as an example of a type of lesson and under the concept homework, we find textbook reading assignment as an example. NOTE: examples are not enclosed in an ellipse. SOME THINGS TO REMEM BER THAT WILL HELP Y OU GET STARTED: Practice is the key to good concept mapping. 1. A concept map does not have to be symmetrical. It can be lopsided, or have more concepts on the right side than on the left, or vice versa. 2. Remember that a concept map is a short cut way of representing information. Do not try to include every de tail. Only the major ideas are n ecessary. 3. There are no perfect or “most correct” concept maps. There are only maps that come closer to the meanings of those concepts the mapmaker has. 4. Do not expect one person’s map to be exactly like anoth er’s map. Everyone thinks a little differently and may see different relationships between certain concepts. Other’s maps may appear in a different format although both yours and theirs may be correct. 5. At first, mapping is time consuming, but it beco mes e asier and faster after your first few maps are made. CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD CONCEPT MAP: Although there is no such thing as the ‘right’ concept map for a given topic, there are several characteristics that well – constructed maps have in common. 1. A concept map usually stems from one main idea. 2. The main idea branches into related general concepts. 3. General concepts are divided into more specific concepts branching from them in several tiers. 4. Specific concepts are elaborated on with example s . 5. Concepts are usually nouns, representing objects or events. Each concept should be a single idea and appear only once in the map 6. Relationships between concepts are shown by linking words (usually verb, verb phrases, adverbs, or prepositions). ALL concepts should be linked. 7. Cross – linkages are used to connect concepts in two different paths of the map. The more cross – linkages, the better, since they demonstrate an incr eased depth of understanding. Lines for linkages may hop over each other. 8. Any two concepts and their linking word taken in isolation should form a complete thought Your concept map must extend to at least four levels (you may use more than four levels if you like). Remember from start to finish each line should convey a complete thought (sentence). E xample (5 levels) : Level 1 = Class of Tissues (Connective) Level 2 = Specific Tissue Type (Blood) Level 3 = Location (Vessels) Level 4 = Function ( Transport ) Connective Tissues Blood Arteries Serving the role of Such as Transport ing Nutria nts A fluid CT located in O2 F or example 1 2 3 5 4