Propositional Concept Maps: A Tool Engineered for Use to Enhance Content-Area Teaching and Learning

1. Propositional Concept Maps: A Tool Engineered for Use to Enhance Content-Area Teaching and Learning Dr. Nancy Romance Florida Atlantic University Dr. Michael Vitale East Carolina University Presented to Science Coaches School District of Palm Beach County September 2009

2. Workshop Overview • What’s involved in meaningful learning in science ? (Establishing the ‘foundation’ for constructing and using propositional concept maps) • What are propositional concept maps, their characteristics and how do they differ from other graphic organizers? • How are propositional concept maps constructed? • When and how are students introduced to propositional concept maps? • In what ways can propositional concept maps be used by students? • How can propositional concept maps be used by teachers for curriculum planning and assessment?

3. Section 1 What’s involved in meaningful learning in science? Setting the ‘context’ for understanding the power and potential of concept mapping to support quality teaching and meaningful student learning in science

4. What Constitutes Meaningful Learning in Science? • Meaningful learning is a cognitive process in which learners build conceptual understanding in science which, in turn, can be accessed and applied as prior knowledge under conditions of automaticity to new learning tasks • When meaningful learning occurs, learners are able to: • represent and explain the central ideas and organizing principles in a domain • construct rich explanations and predictions • formulate significant questions • apply knowledge in many situations and contexts • organize new concepts within their existing conceptual framework

5. Requirements for Meaningful Learning in Science • A curricular structure that organizes science content in a conceptually coherent and meaningfully sequenced fashion • A curricular structure that provides opportunities for students to be able to: • organize their knowledge around core concepts (big ideas) and concept relationships • explicitly relate what is to be learned (new knowledge) to what has already been learned (accessing prior curricular knowledge) • learn more about what is being learned (depth of knowledge) • engage in cumulative review of what has been learned • automatically apply their knowledge to similar or new contexts

6. Consensus Research Findings About Meaningful Learning.. Recent Research Related to Learning with Understanding…(Bransford,et al, 2000) 3 Major Findings… • Prior Knowledge is a major determinant of future learning • Understanding involves organizing/ re-organizing knowledge around core concepts • Learning involves knowing when to use prior knowledge and skills for future learning (metacognition)

7. Meaningful Learning – Finding # 1: Prior Knowledge…. Recommendations for Teachers…. • Teachers must draw out students prior knowledge creating classroom tasks and conditions under which student thinking is revealed (and often archived for later reference) • Teachers should use frequent formative assessment to determine essential student learning and meaningful understanding as instruction unfolds • Teachers must build student prior knowledge, if necessary

8. Meaningful LearningFinding # 2: Big Ideas/Core Concepts Recommendations for Teachers….. In order for students to develop understanding in an area of study, they must: • (1) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge • (2) understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptually coherent framework, and (3) organize knowledge in ways that facilitates retrieval and application (e.g., such as can be done with propositional concept maps)

9. Meaningful LearningFinding #3: Thinking about what one knows….. Recommendations for Teachers… • must develop a metacognitive approach to instruction enabling students to learn how to take control of their own learning by always relating new knowledge to what they already know, defining their own learning goals, and monitoring their own progress in achieving them

10. IF Meaningful Learning Serves as the Basis for Understanding, THEN…….. Consider the following chain of ideas: Teaching meaningful science content… • provides a coherent context for building conceptual understanding • serves as the conceptual basis for linking all instructional activities to the knowledge (core concepts) to be learned, THEN • results in cumulative development of understanding which is the basis for reading comprehension – a powerful added bonus!!!!!

11. Consensus Research: Conclusions Relating to the Role of Knowledge in Reading Comprehension • Rand Research Findings • Recommends more content-area reading • Defines comprehension as… The simultaneous process of extracting and constructing meaning from print materials or other forms of communication

12. American Educator Spring 2003 Entire issue devoted to comprehension Available from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT.org)

13. Section 2 What are the characteristics of propositional concept maps and how do they differ from other forms of graphic organizers?

14. Propositional Concept Maps.. • What are they…. • As a product, they are graphic organizers that present the conceptual structure of the knowledge within a discipline (big ideas, core concepts and relationships) in an hierarchical fashion and utilize propositional statements to express the relationships • As a strategy, propositional concept mapping is a dynamic, interactive process in which students or teachers can organize and represent their own conceptual understanding • As a tool, propositional concept maps are engineered for ease of use when building coherent curricular structures, developing blueprints for instruction and assessment, and as a dynamic interactive tool to support student learning and expository writing

15. As a Product - Emphasis on “Big Ideas”: • The National Research Council (NRC) in the NSES suggested that BIG Ideas: • Represent the central ideas and organizing principles in a domain • Facilitate rich explanations and predictions • Motivate the formulation of significant questions • Are applicable in many situations and contexts • Provide the basis for organizing concepts

16. Propositional Concept Maps: As A Tool Perspectives from Cognitive Science Illustrates how knowledge in any meaningful domain (e.g., biology, economics) has an inherent structure that…. • permits many other concepts to be related to it • is a requirement for effectively using and applying knowledge broadly • is the central issue associated with transfer of knowledge to other contexts and situations (Bruner, 1963)

17. Biological Classification Please examine Concept Map on Biological Classification that has been distributed

19. PCM: As A Tool ….Can Help Us Build Coherent Curriculum PCM as a Tool have the characteristics that exemplified the evidence that Bill Schmidt identified as part of the TIMSS Study—that is the science curriculum in high performing countries was…. • “Focused” • Curriculum was organized around Big Ideas and core concepts that support linking concepts for in-depth learning • “Coherent” • Content was conceptually organized and meaningfully sequenced • “Articulated” • Content was vertically and horizontally communicated across grades and schools • “Sufficient” • Curricular content had no critical gaps or overlaps in the concepts being presented

20. Propositional Concept Maps –Major Curricular Myth Busters….. Organized Curricular Sequences (..in the form of PCM) • Build understanding of core concepts and concept relationships • Require the use of questions to strategically link prior knowledge with new knowledge in order to deepen understanding • Advocates practice, extension activities and cumulative review • Advocates the importance of concept learning “Covering” the Curriculum • Emphasizes coverage of topics rather than deep, meaningful learning • Uses reading and answering questions as a pathway to understanding; sample question of the day • Uses lots of skill and drill • Form vs substance (i.e., thinking skills instead of gaining knowledge)

21. PCM: A Tool for Constructing Conceptually-Organized Science Curriculum as a Foundation for In-Depth Learning • Implementing a coherent science curriculum is the main way in which most students build what E. D. Hirsch calls “Intellectual Capital” • Can be compared to “the rich get richer” • Enables one to participate in conversation (and get the punch line in a joke) • Enables one to communicate effectively • Enables one to comprehend complex texts • Determines what new knowledge students pay attention to • Determines how new knowledge is perceived • Suggests what learners judge to be important • Determines what they actually learn and remember

22. Propositional Concept Maps are not…. • Fishbone Diagrams (cause/effect) • KWL Charts (compare/contrast) • Flowcharts (time order/cycles) • Frames (Boxes) (problem/solution) • Concept Circle Maps (listing) • Semantic Webs (chunking) And here’s why: Because PCM represent knowledge hierarchically, use linking verbs to connect concepts, and provide a tool for learners to represent their understanding at a much deeper level

23. Section 3 How are propositional concept maps constructed?

24. PCM - Construction Features • Concepts are represented as nouns in boxes • Concepts are linked using verbs and verb phrases which are located on lines connecting boxes • Concepts (nouns) and linking words (verb phrases) always represent propositional relationships in the form of complete sentences • Lines end with arrows to denote direction of the concept relationship being represented • Concepts that apply broadly to the entire map are connected to the top concept (super-ordinate concepts) • Concepts that are equally important are organized along the same plane

25. Concept Mapping As a Graphic Organizer

26. Focusing on Content Knowledge Concept Map Example: Heat Energy

27. PCM –General Construction Guidelines… General Suggestions …… • Construction guidelines exist for both teachers and students • PCM’s are best constructed by individuals working in small groups • PCM’s can be constructed using postit notes and large sheets of paper or on the computer using software such as Inspiration (or Cmap Tools) • PCM can be linked together as a family of maps rather than crowding too much information on one map • PCM’s can and should be modified as knowledge becomes more refined • PCM’s should reflect a reasonable representation of how one thinks the knowledge being learned should be organized

28. Step-by-Step: Teacher Guidelines for Constructing PCM’s • Select a topic area, unit or mini-unit for study (or big idea and benchmarks) • Identify major concepts and sub concepts and place on individual postit notes • Different sources can be used (e.g., benchmarks, textbooks, teacher knowledge) • Line concepts up so that you can easily see all of them (parking lot) • Concepts are represented in the form of nouns and noun phrases (e.g., states of matter) and placed in boxes or on individual postit notes • Keep the number of concept words on each postit note to a minimum (e.g., one or two)

29. Teacher Guidelines for Construction of Propositional Concept Maps • Caution! • Don’t try to organize concepts while simultaneously brainstorming all the ideas you consider important • Don’t worry if you have too many concepts as you can always delete some later • Ask: What is the general organizing concept or most subsuming concept that can serve to organize the topic? Place it on top of map • Next: Select the next layer of major concepts that organize (or categorize) the topic into broad subtopics,

30. Step-by-Step Guidelines for Construction PCM’s • Begin to arrange/organize concepts on paper or technology tool (anywhere you decide to construct the map) • Rehearse – that is, think about what linking verbs represent the relationship you are trying to represent and can assist you in creating a complete proposition or thought (complete sentence) • Important Note: Initially all links (e.g. verbs) should be written in pencil to allow for any changes in position or wording • Maintain focus on relatedness among concepts as the key for organizing the concepts • A single map cannot represent everything you know about a topic (use sub-maps for elaborations)

31. Step-by-Step Guidelines for Construction of PCM’s • Don’t hesitate to add or delete concepts, as needed • Arrows positioned at end of links are helpful in showing flow of concept relationships • Specific examples and small details are usually placed at the bottom of maps • Continue: Use the same process for each concept on a map, arranging and linking as appropriate. • Read map aloud to yourself. Ask: Does it make sense? Edit and rearrange as necessary...

32. NSF/IERI Science IDEAS Project #0228353

33. NSF/IERI Science IDEAS Project #0228353

34. NSF/IERI Science IDEAS Project #0228353

35. NSF/IERI Science IDEAS Project #0228353

36. NSF/IERI Science IDEAS Project #0228353

38. Concept Maps that Emphasize Big Ideas: Mathematics

39. Concept Maps that Emphasize Big Ideas: U.S. History

41. Section 4 When and how are students introduced to propositional concept mapping?

42. PCM Introduction to Students… • Several approaches can be useful: (Whole Class) • Unit/Lesson Starter: Map exists, can be displayed in classroom and students receive orientation to map structure as well as reference it throughout instruction (big idea overview approach) • Unit/Lesson Summary: Teacher has copy of map; teacher guides the identification of all key concepts (vocabulary) being learned; teacher models out-loud how he/she would organize the concepts and explains the basis for the organizational structure • Textbook Page Summaries (and for Comprehension): Teacher guides student use of the knowledge-based reading comprehension intervention (KBI) with course textbook or reading packets, identifies key vocabulary terms, and guides whole class construction of the propositional concept map using key concepts and relationships discussed

43. Section 5 How can propositional concept maps be used by students?

44. PCM – 3 Uses for Teachers and Learners

45. PCM: Strategic Uses for Students Concept Mapping by students emphasizes the role of conceptual knowledge in: • Content-area reading comprehension (e.g., solar system example) • Blueprint for written composition / communication • Tool for independent study or for preparation for tests • Visual representation and review of concept relationships

47. PCM: As An Instructional Tool • Student construction of PCM requires… • Numerous episodes of modeling PCM construction by teacher • Numerous opportunities for guided practice - small groups of students begin to construct PCM • Opportunities for whole class sharing and revising of PCM • Further modeling, guided practice and independent practice

48. PCM: As An Instructional Tool • Benefits to students • Encourages students to discuss concepts and concept relationships (develops vocabulary) • Provides a means for them to represent how they think and what they understand about concepts being learned • Builds and reinforces strategic learning strategies and skills (e.g., cause/effect relationships; similarities/differences; core ideas and scientific principles; logical development of ideas) • Develops collaborative learning environment for students • Supports reading comprehension

49. Section 6 How can propositional concept maps be used by teachers for curriculum planning and assessment?

50. PCM – 3 Uses for Teachers and Learners