Mapas conceptuales y el problema fundamental de moverse entre las estructuras de conocimiento

A concept map provides a ʻsnap shotʼ of a studentʼs understanding that is frozen in time by drawing it out on paper or on a computer screen. However, to represent the dynamic state of student learning, concept maps either need to emphasise dynamism (through the phrases that are chosen to act as links within the propositions that form the map), or need to be viewed as a single perspective on a more complex situation that can only be fully appreciated by considering movement between knowledge structures (e.g. through sequential mapping over time, or by indicating relationships between map structures that represent complementary learning contexts). The recognition of the importance of movement between knowledge structures needs careful management, whether teaching is conducted as a face-to-face activity or (increasingly) as a digital/online activity. Existing models of e-learning development (such as the TPACK model) can be modified to accommodate a multiple perspectives view. When the purpose of teaching is the promotion of studentsʼ ability to move between knowledge structures (rather than acquiring a single structure), the purpose of producing a concept map changes and becomes part of a wider dynamic process of learning, rather than providing a static record of what has already been learnt.Un mapa conceptual ofrece una "instantánea" del entendimiento de un estudiante, la cual se congela en el tiempo al dibujarla sobre un papel o en una pantalla de ordenador. Sin embargo, para representar el estado dinámico del aprendizaje de los estudiantes, los mapas conceptuales necesitan enfatizar dinamismo (a través de las frases que son elegidas para actuar como enlaces dentro de las proposiciones que conforman el mapa), o necesitan ser vistos como una perspectiva única de una situación compleja que sólo puede ser apreciada en su totalidad al considerar el movimiento entre estructuras de conocimiento (por ejemplo, a través de la construcción de mapas secuenciales en el tiempo, o indicando las relaciones entre las estructuras del mapa que representan contextos de aprendizaje complementarias). El reconocimiento de la importancia del movimiento entre estructuras de conocimiento requiere un manejo cuidadoso, sea cual sea la enseñanza se lleve a cabo como una actividad cara-a-cara o (como ocurre cada vez más) como una actividad digital / en línea. Los modelos existentes de desarrollo de e-learning (tales como el modelo TPACK) pueden ser modificados para acomodar una vista de perspectivas múltiples. Cuando el propósito de la enseñanza es el fomento de la capacidad de los estudiantes para moverse entre las estructuras de conocimiento (en lugar de la adquisición de una sola estructura), el objetivo de producir un mapa conceptual cambia y se vuelve parte de un proceso dinámico de aprendizaje más amplio, en vez de proporcionar un registro estático de lo ya aprendido

Using concept maps to surf semantic waves in the pursuit of powerful knowledge structures

The evolution of concept mapping has benefitted from the robust theoretical basis provided by Ausubelian learning theory. However, for concept mapping to maintain its relevance and to keep pace with the evolutionary changes in the educational context, it is vital that educational researchers and classroom practitioners can augment this theoretical base with contemporary learning theories that will help to improve the application of concept mapping and increase the likelihood that the goal of meaningful learning will be achieved in practice. This involves shifting the focus of concept mapping from product to process and the role of the learner from ‘being’ to ‘becoming.’ The act of concept mapping needs to be viewed as a way of mastering learning rather than of mastering specific content. We propose the consideration of the explicit role of semantic waves as an improvement from simplistic knowledge representation towards the development of more complex knowledge modelling as a way of developing powerful knowledge structures

In vivo laboratory practicals in research-led teaching: An example using glucose tolerance tests in lean and obese mice

The use of animal models is an essential part of medical research and drug development. The essential skills required to be able to do such research includes experimental design, statistical analysis and the actual handling and treating of the animals (in vivo skills). The number of students in the U.K. receiving training in handling and experimenting on animals has declined rapidly in the last few decades which has led to initiatives to increase numbers of students with these skills to meet demand. Within the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at King's College London, we run a course for 2nd year undergraduates entitled “Animal models of disease and injury”. This course not only covers the theoretical and ethical aspects of using animals in research, but also contains practical laboratory classes in which students get hands-on experience using animals. One of the laboratory classes we run is a glucose tolerance test in obese and lean mice. This is an example of research-led teaching which aims to develop research skills through engaging students in research like activities. In this paper, we outline the methodology of the glucose tolerance practical and highlight some of the skills we and the students think they gain by research-led teaching such as this

The development of academics’ feedback literacy: experiences of learning from critical feedback via scholarly peer review

The emerging literature related to feedback literacy has hitherto focused primarily on students’ engagement with feedback, and yet an analysis of academics’ feedback literacy is also of interest to those seeking to understand effective strategies to engage with feedback. Data from concept map-mediated interviews and reflections, with a team of six colleagues, surface academics’ responses to receiving critical feedback via scholarly peer review. Our findings reveal that feedback can be visceral and affecting, but that academics employ a number of strategies to engage with this process. This process can lead to actions that are both instrumental, enabling academics to more effectively ‘play the game’ of publication, as well as to learning that is more positively and holistically developmental. This study thus aims to open up a dialogue with colleagues internationally about the role of feedback literacy, for both academics and students. By openly sharing our own experiences we seek to normalise the difficulties academics routinely experience whilst engaging with critical feedback, to share the learning and strategies which can result from peer review feedback, and to explore how academics may occupy a comparable role to students who also receive evaluation of their work

Visualising the pedagogic frailty model as a frame for the scholarship of teaching and learning

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to offer exploration of pedagogic frailty as a framework to support professional development of university teachers in a personalised and discipline-sensitive way. Design/methodology/approach – The method involves participants constructing a concept map for each dimension of the model. These maps must have high explanatory power to act as a frame for developing a personal narrative to support reflection on practice. This reflection starts from the academic’s current knowledge structure and provides a bespoke, individualised focus for further learning. Findings – This conceptual paper is informed by case studies of academics’ interactions with the frailty model that have helped to refine it as a faculty development tool. This is clarified by providing explicit requirements of an “excellent” map, and places the reflective process within a learning theory that is aligned with the values that underpin the model. Originality/value – The type of rhizomatic learning that is supported by the model, in which there are no imposed learning outcomes or strictly delineated pathways to success, is particularly suited to support the professional development of more senior academics. This represents an innovative approach to faculty development

Care as a threshold concept for teaching in the salutogenic university

The dominant narratives currently offering critique of the neoliberal university suggest a professional environment that is both uncaring and unhealthy. This paper adopts a Deleuzian gaze on the rhizomatic multiplicity of teaching to identify and reinterpret key lines of flight within this assemblage – identified as care, pedagogic health and salutogenesis. It is argued that the perspective described by the coexistence of these lines may develop a more positive ontology as a basis from which a university may be able to work towards a more productive state of healthy learning. The point at which the three lines of flight co-exist is hypothesised as a ‘triple point’

The Active Use of Concept Mapping to Promote Meaningful Learning in Biological Science.

The focus of this work is the use of student concept mapping to promote meaningful learning in the classroom. All the studies reported were done in secondary schools and an undergraduate science course. All results and their discussion are presented within a human constructivist framework. The central question on which the research is based can be given as: How can concept mapping be used to contribute to understanding? This thesis is presented as a process of enquiry. Thus questions addressed by particular methodologies and approaches are later superseded with new questions and methods. This is consistent with a grounded approach and is part of an authentic constructivist research process. The main findings can be summarised as: 1. Quantitative methods of concept map analysis are inappropriate for promoting meaningful learning among secondary science teachers and their students. It is too time-consuming, fails to recognise the individualised nature of learning and emphasises curriculum-centred notions of ‘correctness’ - a stance at odds with the constructivist viewpoint. 2. A qualitative approach to concept map analysis has been developed in this thesis. It is shown to emphasise a contextual understanding of students’ and teachers’ conceptual ecologies in which development may indicate learning (through conceptual change) or switching (through contextual appreciation). 3. Finally, this work offers arguments against a rigid and didactic prescription of the curriculum that fails to respect the students’ perspective. A teacher-student dialogue to promote meaningful learning is likely to occur only when teachers question their own beliefs and approaches to teaching and learning. Constructivist classroom approaches can be mediated by concept mapping to emphasise the exploration and sharing of meaning rather than absolute correctness. Such approaches are likely to have an impact upon teaching quality and should be a key part of initial teacher-training and continued professional development

Editorial: Novakian concept mapping in university and professional education

Novakian concept mapping has the potential to make a major impact in the development of higher education as universities strive to support students’ generation of powerful knowledge. This can be achieved by increasing the accessibility of multiple perspectives on knowledge that reveal and exploit the epistemic chaos that lies beneath a veneer of curriculum coherence. This veneer has only served to restrict the impact of university teaching so that institutions have typically acted as centres of non-learning. Papers in this special issue will support the development of the application of concept mapping into an era of knowledge transformation, where concept maps can help to challenge redundant non-learning discourses

The Active Use of Concept Mapping to Promote Meaningful Learning in Biological Science

The focus of this work is the use of student concept mapping to promote meaningful learning in the classroom. All the studies reported were done in secondary schools and an undergraduate science course. All results and their discussion are presented within a human constructivist framework. The central question on which the research is based can be given as: How can concept mapping be used to contribute to understanding? This thesis is presented as a process of enquiry. Thus questions addressed by particular methodologies and approaches are later superseded with new questions and methods. This is consistent with a grounded approach and is part of an authentic constructivist research process. The main findings can be summarised as: 1. Quantitative methods of concept map analysis are inappropriate for promoting meaningful learning among secondary science teachers and their students. It is too time-consuming, fails to recognise the individualised nature of learning and emphasises curriculum-centred notions of ‘correctness’ - a stance at odds with the constructivist viewpoint. 2. A qualitative approach to concept map analysis has been developed in this thesis. It is shown to emphasise a contextual understanding of students’ and teachers’ conceptual ecologies in which development may indicate learning (through conceptual change) or switching (through contextual appreciation). 3. Finally, this work offers arguments against a rigid and didactic prescription of the curriculum that fails to respect the students’ perspective. A teacher-student dialogue to promote meaningful learning is likely to occur only when teachers question their own beliefs and approaches to teaching and learning. Constructivist classroom approaches can be mediated by concept mapping to emphasise the exploration and sharing of meaning rather than absolute correctness. Such approaches are likely to have an impact upon teaching quality and should be a key part of initial teacher-training and continued professional development

Pedagogic frailty: A concept analysis

This paper adopts the approach of a map-enhanced concept analysis of pedagogic frailty with the intention of increasing clarity of purpose of the model and to promote more explicit discussion on how the term could be used positively within the educational research literature. Examples that are given here show that commonly used expressions such as ‘teaching excellence’ and ‘research-led teaching’ contain so much variation in meaning as to be misleading in their use. The maps offered show different perspectives in aspects of pedagogic frailty, such as those that may be perceived by an external examiner to a programme. The recurrence of frailty at varying levels of resolution and at different times within an evolving Higher Education context means that management of frailty and resilience should be embedded as a constant, dynamic activity within an institution, rather than a single-shot intervention