Concept Maps: A Powerful Meaning-Making Tool

I recently received a request on Instagram to write a blog post about concept maps. While I often touch on concept mapping in my workshops and writing, I’ve never dedicated an entire blog post to unpacking why this strategy is so valuable for meaning-making. In this blog, I’ll highlight the value of concept maps, explore different ways to structure a concept, and share practical tips for how you can use them in your lessons to help students build deeper connections and better retain information.

Benefits of Concept Mapping

Concept maps are powerful tools for supporting the meaning-making process because they help students visually organize and connect information. Let’s explore the specific benefits of using concept maps to support meaning-making.

• Making Connections: When students encounter new information, they need to attach it to what they already know—their existing knowledge framework. During a recent training session, a teacher used a Velcro analogy, which I thought was brilliant! To retain new information, students need to Velcro or stick it to something that already exists in their minds.
• Visualizing Relationships: Concept maps challenge students to think deeply about the relationships between concepts and visually structure those relationships in a meaningful way. Some concepts may appear in a hierarchical arrangement, with main ideas at the top and related subtopics branching off below. By contrast, other ideas may appear laterally on the map, illustrating connections and similarities rather than a strict hierarchy.
• Thinking Actively: Creating a concept map requires active thinking. Students must think deeply about the content and decide how to categorize ideas. This process can help improve their understanding of and ability to retain the material.
• Improving Memory and Recall: Organizing information visually makes it easier for students to remember, comprehend, and recall. Research has established that our visual memory plays an important role in interpreting and remembering information. The visual representation and connection of complex concepts can also make the abstract more concrete.

Given the benefits of visually connecting, organizing, and structuring new information to aid critical thinking, comprehension, memory, and recall, it’s helpful for teachers and students to have a collection of concept map structures they can share with students. Let’s explore different types of concept maps.

Hierarchical Concept Map

This concept map organizes information in a top-down structure, beginning with the main concept at the top and branching downward into subtopics and supporting details. It’s particularly useful for topics with clear categories or levels of importance. Students begin by identifying the central concept and then breaking it into related subtopics that fall under that main idea. They can further expand on each subtopic with supporting details, creating a detailed map that helps them visualize how the broader concept is composed of smaller, interconnected ideas. This structure encourages students to think critically about relationships between concepts and how smaller ideas support a larger understanding.

In science, students may start with ecosystems as the main concept, followed by subtopics like biotic and abiotic factors. Then, they can further break these subtopics down with additional information or supporting details, like identifying producers and consumers under biotic factors.

Flowchart Concept Map

This type of concept map is ideal for visualizing sequences, processes, or decision-making outcomes. Flowcharts help students map out steps in a process or guide them through decision-making pathways by using arrows and shapes to show relationships between each step. This structure is particularly useful for subjects like science (e.g., the steps of an experiment), history (e.g., timelines of events), or problem-solving in math, where each decision can lead to different outcomes. Students can see how each step influences the next by organizing information sequentially, fostering a deeper understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships in the material they’re studying.

In a government class, students can use a flowchart to think critically about the outcomes of a political decision or proposed law. Students could begin with a central question like, “Will the proposed law pass through the legislative process?” From there, the chart branches into “Yes” and “No” outcomes. If the answer is “Yes,” students can explore different results, such as the law’s impact on specific groups or its long-term consequences. If the answer is “No,” students can investigate what amendments or changes might be needed or consider what happens next (e.g., public protests, re-introducing the bill, or a veto).

Spider Map

This concept map format is ideal for investigating a key concept, brainstorming, or exploring multiple aspects of a single topic. A central idea is placed in the middle, and related concepts or ideas radiate outward in a spider-like fashion. Spider maps allow students to explore the various dimensions of a topic, helping them understand the connections between ideas and organize their thinking more freely. This format is especially useful for brainstorming sessions, character analysis in literature, or examining the causes and effects of a historical event. It helps students visually map out complex topics, making it easier to see relationships, connections, or areas where further investigation might be needed.

Students exploring renewable energy could use a spider map to brainstorm various green energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass. Each branch would represent a different energy source, and students could create multiple layers by expanding on each one. For instance, they could add details about where the energy source is harnessed (e.g., solar energy from sunny regions, wind energy from coastal or open plains), the specific technologies involved, and the challenges and benefits of each. This process helps students visualize how each renewable energy source contributes to a cleaner energy future while also considering the practical implications of adopting these technologies.

Venn Diagram

This concept map format is ideal for comparing and contrasting two or more items or concepts. Traditionally, a Venn diagram consists of two interlocking circles, but it can be expanded to three or more circles when comparing multiple items. In the outer sections of the circles (the non-overlapping areas), students identify the unique characteristics or attributes of each item being compared. In the overlapping sections, they list the similarities or shared traits. This structure helps students visually organize similarities and differences, making analyzing the relationships between concepts easier. The expanded format also allows for more complex comparisons, providing a versatile tool for analyzing a wide range of topics across subjects.

In an English class, students could use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast two characters from a novel. Since I just published a blog on Shakespeare, let’s use Romeo and Juliet as an example. Students could place Romeo in one circle and Juliet in the other. In the non-overlapping sections of the Venn Diagram, students list each character’s unique traits. Romeo might be described as impulsive and passionate, while Juliet might be characterized as more pragmatic and thoughtful. In the overlapping section, students would explore their shared traits, such as their deep love for each other and willingness to defy their families for that love. By organizing their observations in this format, students can see how the two characters are similar and how their differences influence the story’s outcomes.

Matrix Concept Map

This type of concept map is ideal for comparing multiple items across different categories or criteria. The matrix format organizes information into rows and columns, with labels representing key categories or characteristics. Students can use this structure to analyze and compare concepts by filling in details in each section of the matrix. Students can perform horizontal comparisons (analyzing different items across a single category) and vertical comparisons (analyzing a single item across multiple categories). This structure enables a balanced approach to comparing and contrasting, helping students organize their thoughts logically and develop deeper insights into the similarities and differences between multiple items or concepts.

For example, when comparing different forms of government (e.g., democracy, monarchy, dictatorship), students could label the rows with each type of government and the columns with categories such as citizen involvement, leadership style, and decision-making process. Filling in the matrix with this information helps students compare and contrast each government system in an organized way, developing a deeper understanding of each’s strengths and weaknesses. This visual structure helps students see where different forms of government align or differ, aiding in critical thinking and deeper analysis.

Concept or Vocabulary Definition Map

This map is designed to help students deepen their understanding of key terms or concepts by breaking them down into specific categories and characteristics. At the center of the map is the focus word, which is the term or concept being explored. From there, students can branch out to different sections that prompt them to categorize and define the word.

• Category the item belongs to: Students identify the broader category or field the word falls under (e.g., science, literature, technology).
• Other items in this category: This section allows students to list related terms or concepts in the same category, helping them see connections and relationships.
• Key attributes: In this section, students list the focus word’s defining characteristics or features, providing more detail about what makes the concept unique or important.
• Detailed definition: Students write a more thorough definition here, explaining the word in full based on its context and usage.
• Examples: Students provide specific examples of the word or concept in action, which helps to solidify understanding through real-world application.

By completing this map, students gain a comprehensive understanding of the concept and improve their ability to categorize, define, and contextualize new vocabulary in various subjects. This concept map reinforces key academic vocabulary or complex concepts across disciplines.

In a math lesson focused on geometry, students could use the concept or vocabulary definition map to explore the term polygon, placing it in the center of the map. In the category section, students would identify geometry as the field it belongs to, connecting the concept to the broader study of shapes. They could then list other items in the same category, such as triangles, quadrilaterals, and hexagons, to show how polygons come in many forms.

For key attributes, students would define characteristics like polygons being 2-dimensional, closed shapes made up of straight lines with a minimum of three sides. In the detailed definition box, students might write that a polygon is a flat shape with straight sides that form a closed figure, with examples ranging from triangles to decagons. Finally, they would provide specific examples, such as triangle (3 sides), square (4 sides, equal lengths), and hexagon (6 sides), helping to solidify their understanding of polygons.

Using Concept Maps

Step 1: Identify and articulate the purpose of the task. Is it to break down a single concept or compare and contrast? The purpose of the exercise will dictate which concept map will be most effective in aiding the meaning-making process.

Step 2: Evaluate the complexity of the task. If the task is complex, providing students with scaffolds to support the process can ensure all students feel confident in their ability to complete the map. Teachers may want to consider:

• Recording a video model demonstrating how to complete a particular type of map with a different concept or set of concepts.
• Filling in parts of the concept map to help students get started.
• Providing sentence stems or word banks to help students navigate the task.
• Offering the option to partner with a classmate for this activity.

Step 3: Dedicate class time to this meaning-making activity. Teachers can end a class with a concept map to help students think more deeply about what they learned from that day’s lesson. Alternatively, teachers may want to use a concept map activity to structure an offline station in a station rotation lesson where students spend time working with a concept or concepts presented in the class before.

Step 4: Ask students to reflect on what they learned as a result of working through a concept map.

• What was the main concept or idea you explored through your concept map? How did creating the map help you understand this concept more deeply?
• Were there any key ideas or relationships that surprised you while working on the map?
• How did the concept map help you see connections between ideas that you might not have noticed before?
• Did you discover any new relationships between concepts that changed how you understood the topic?
• What part of creating the concept map was the most challenging for you, and how did you overcome that challenge?

Wrap Up

As educators continue exploring strategies for driving deeper thinking and improving conceptual understanding, concept maps are powerful tools for organizing knowledge and fostering critical analysis. By allowing students to visually map out connections, relationships, and structures, concept maps help transform passive learning into active engagement. Whether students compare characters in a novel, analyze government systems, or break down complex mathematical concepts, concept maps give them a concrete way to see how ideas fit together.

One of the greatest strengths of concept maps lies in their flexibility. As we’ve discussed, maps can take many forms—hierarchical maps help students organize information by levels of importance, flowcharts guide them through processes or decisions, Venn diagrams facilitate comparison and contrast, and spider maps encourage brainstorming and broad exploration. Each structure serves a unique purpose, making concept maps adaptable to various subjects and learning tasks.

By incorporating reflection after completing the maps, teachers can further encourage students to deepen their understanding and recognize the value of this visual learning tool. Concept maps are valuable tools that help students move beyond memorization to build meaningful connections, leading to stronger comprehension and long-term retention of knowledge.