A concept map is a strategy, method or resource to represent by means of a diagram the whole knowledge regarding a discipline or a field of a discipline. Its objective is to organize and present visually this knowledge bearing in mind the abstraction levels, that is to say, placing general and more inclusive knowledge on the top and specific and less inclusive knowledge on the bottom. Therefore, concept maps differ from other resources for graphical representation because of the capacity of hierarchy, synthesis and visual impact. Using a concept map enables significant learning since it makes it easier for students to understand knowledge and helps them to connect new concepts with the ones they already had. In order to make concept maps a useful tool, they should be checked by both teachers and students, so they can discuss meanings. Thus, they become efficient tools for meaning exploration and negotiation although they can also be really useful for the evaluation of students’ learning.

Bibliography regarding this methodology

GONZÁLEZ GARCÍA, F. (2000). Una aportación a la mejora de la calidad de la docencia universitaria: los mapas conceptuales. Universidad Pública de Navarra. (Exemplar disponible al despatx de l’USQUID-ESUP)

NOVAK, J. D. & CAÑAS, A. J. (2008). The theory concept maps and how to construct them. En Technical Report IHMC CmapTools. Florida: Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. 

ONTORIA, A. et al. (1997). Mapas conceptuales. Una técnica para aprender. Madrid: Narcea. (Exemplar disponible al despatx de l’USQUID-ESUP)

VIDAL, M.; FEBLES, P.; ESTRADA, V. (2007). Mapas conceptuales. En Educación Médica Superior, núm. 21 (3). 

Examples of the implementation of this methodology

AZNAR, F.; ARQUES, P.; COMPAÑ, P.; MOLINA, R. y otros (2009). Los mapas conceptuales y su aportación al proceso de aprendizaje en la asignatura MFAC. Comunicació presentada a la VII Jornada de Redes de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria, 4 i 5 de juliol de 2009.

BESTERFIELD-SACRE, M.; GERCHAK, J.; LYONS, M. R.; SHUMAN, J.; WOLFE, H. (2004). Scoring concept maps: an integrated rubric for assessing engineering education. Journal of Engineering Education, abril 2004. 

FERNÁNDEZ, N. y GARCÍA MUÑIZ, Mª A. (2009). Uso de mapas conceptuales en dos asignaturas de matemáticas. Comunicació presentada al XV JENUI, Barcelona, 8-10 de juliol de 2009. 

HENAO, M. (2004). Experiencia con el uso de mapas conceptuales como estrategia de enseñanza en un curso de ingeniería del conocimiento. Comunicació presentada al III Congreso Internacional sobre mapas conceptuales. Pamplona, 14-17 de setembre de 2004. 

WONG, W. & LEE, J. (2007). Using concept mapping as a quality learning strategy for engineering and ICT Undergraduates: An exploratory Study. International Conference on teaching and learning.