Concept mapping, Week 3 reflection paper

Virtual Field Trips and Concept Mapping
The current unit I am working on in grade six science is Animal Diversity. The guiding question chosen for my students to work on is, “How have mammals adapted for movement?”. The site the students will visit on their virtual field trip to answer this question comes from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), http://www.amnh.org/ology/#features/movingmammals??KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=450&width=790. The AMNH site provides a child friendly atmosphere extruding fun and learning at the same time; just what a virtual field trip should be all about.
According to Novak and Canas (2008), concept maps work best when students have background knowledge and are motivated to learn. Through the use of an engaging site like AMNH, all students will be able to acquire the background knowledge necessary for linking connections. The AMNH site also provides video feed and other graphics, which according to Dr. Orey (Laureate, 2008) provides an artifact to link information in our memory to.
The students will be required to make higher level thinking connections in the concept map. Students will need to be able to organize facts and then apply them. Questions such as, “How are Bats and Monkeys similar in their adaptations to movement?” will further the connections of knowledge already gained through the AMNH web site. Through developing and using two different concept mapping tools: http.www.bubble.us.com and http.www.spinscape.com, I have learned through hands on experience the connections being made in my mind grow when I use these tools. When the tools work the way I want them to, connections are made and when the tools do not facilitate my needs, I am still making connections by thinking about why the tool does not have features I need to accomplish a desired task.
Sometimes the best organization of information in my mind comes when I have to struggle with it. Several times I had to go back, or redo an item, to have it look a certain way I wanted it to. The tools are fairly straightforward, yet the student still needs a solid understanding of the material to be able to map it. By working through new mapping tools, students will strengthen their understanding of any material. The students are able to work collaboratively with the concept maps, another major component of learning in my classroom. Not only do the students need to know facts, they must know how to articulate and share their knowledge with their peers. Through the use of well thought out concept maps, students will develop the skills needed to be leaders in the 21st century.



REFERENCES
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2000). Bridging Learning theory, Instruction and Technology. Baltimore: Author.
Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Teaching and learning with technology (3rd ed. pp. 2–35). Boston: Pearson.
Novak, J. D. & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf