The concept of Concept Mapping

The notion of concept mapping has always been pretty basic for me, the activity was always a good way to brainstorm or evaluate how much information students had retained. The article The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to Construct and Use Them by Joseph D. Novak & Alberto J. Cañas Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition has allowed me to now consider the intricacies of this tool. I also highly recommend that stakeholders that are serious about revolutionizing the teaching, learning and assessing process study this article as well.
It was interesting to note the philosophy and psychology that works as the premise of concept maps, the mapping itself engenders much more than just the presentation of ideas. Concept mapping allows for a transformation in the ways in which learners and teachers map the information that they experience or are required to engage. In the article the use of concept mapping is not limited to that of a brainstorming activity but examples are given of its possible usage throughout the the lesson or in a given topic. The evaluation of its use by students was also considered and actual attempts are being made to regularise the nature of this evaluation. The perpetual issue in trying new approaches to learning or teaching has been the inability to generate an appropriate means of assessing what was done, resulting in the use of traditional forms of assessment and an inaccurate assessment of the students progress.
Technology namely the use of the Cmap tools also gives a more hands-on approach to what can be done in the classroom and the ways in which it can enhance the learning process. The advantages and limitations are presented but it is clearly to the advantage of the learner that the concept of concept mapping and the use of software that supports its use be incorporated into the teaching and learning process.

I am a primary school teacher at a rural school in the Northeastern educational district. My teaching experiences have thus far been limited to this educational district. I have encountered many different cases of struggling readers, with the common thread of difficulties in the areas of reading as a result of some deficiency in their reading experiences. Therefore, I recognize the importance of the background and societal experiences of the reader in the reading process. In my not so distant past as a young student I can recall my delight in reading just for the sake of it and losing myself in the pages of whatever I happened to be reading at the time. It is unfortunate that this ‘delight’ is greatly lacking in many students and I am not only referring to struggling readers but also to the students who can be described as independent readers. My desire to become a reading specialist stems from this concern, that reading at any level is becoming a dying art and students are opting to exhibit a-literacy tendencies that is, they are choosing not to read.
I believe that reading development proceeds through the interaction of the individual with print for meaning and the construction of meaning. This occurs through the initial stages of readiness for reading and is continuous in its development. This process begins at the onset of the interaction of the reader with print but is facilitated via the acquiring of strategies and skills that aid in achieving the purpose for reading. The infusion of technology into such a process will enable the reader to become more ably equipped to glean and construct meaning and perhaps once again pique the interest of students to become independent and avid readers.