Concept Map - a diagram or graphical tool that visually depicts the relationship between different concepts.
They are useful for brainstorming, knowledge-sharing, and the retention of information. Visual representations of concept maps can include graphic organizers, graphs, flowcharts, or timelines.
In the 1970s, educator and researcher Joseph D. Novak at Cornell University developed concept maps to research children’s abilities to learn scientific concepts. Since then, the concept map has been a learning tool in educational settings and a knowledge-sharing tool in business and health care.
Psychologist David Ausubel’s assimilation theory of learning states it is easier to discover new knowledge if it links to something the subject already knows, which helps to explain why the use of concept maps can be helpful.
How to Make a Concept Map
Diagraming a concept map is easy, and you can do it using templates from concept-mapping software or freehand it on a simple whiteboard. Try these steps to create your own concept map:
Brainstorm the parking lot. List the words, facts, themes, key concepts, and ideas you associate with the main topic. This extensive list of ideas is also known as the “parking lot.”
Choose a main topic. Identify the central concept or focus question connecting every element you brainstormed. This can be a problem to solve or an idea you want to explore.
Connect the concepts. Once you have a rough layout of the concept map, create linking phrases that tie together different ideas or groups of ideas.
Draw a rough sketch. Decide how you want to structure your concept map and create a rough sketch. Perhaps you want a hierarchical structure, a free-flowing structure, or a propositional structure. Figure out the central topics, the related subtopics, and the more specific ideas. Create boxes around your nodes (ideas) and draw arcs to connect the different nodes where appropriate.
Review the map. Look over the concept map and revise it as necessary, adding any ideas you think are missing or modifying any linking phrases. You can also add color to emphasize different concepts and make your concept map more understandable.
Elements of a Concept Map
People typically organize concept maps hierarchically, with the more general concepts at the top, leading to more specific related ideas at the bottom. The essential visual elements of a concept map include:
Arcs: Lines or arrows that connect the different ideas. You can label arcs with linking words or phrases that explain the connection between the concepts.
Boxes: You can also organize concept maps in a more free-flowing structure, with a central idea that branches out into different ideas. Not all ideas have to link to one another. A concept map can start with one main idea, then branch out into two different ideas with arcs and linking words. This structure, known as propositional structure, might include boxes or circles to separate ideas.
Nodes: Each of the main ideas within the concept map is a node. Use arcs to connect multiple nodes.
How to Use a Concept Map
To boost brainstorming sessions: The organization of a concept map works well for collaborative learning. Participants can work on developing a concept map in a classroom or office, and these concept maps foster the discovery of new ideas.
To consolidate knowledge: Creating a concept map can help to distill information from various sources into a single coherent narrative or collection of ideas or resources.
To educate on a complex idea: The visual elements of a concept map can encourage critical thinking and help learners understand and retain complex information.
To see the big picture: Concept maps can help students and employees understand prior knowledge and identify lacking information. Visually mapping out the information fosters big-picture thinking.
Concept Map vs. Mind Map
Concept maps and mind maps both encourage brainstorming and problem-solving, but the two differ in the following areas:
Source: Visual tools like concept maps use external sources to create a visual knowledge base, whereas mind maps are for brainstorming, during which individuals develop new concepts for the map.
Topic: Subtopics do not interconnect in mind maps, which typically focus on one main topic with several related topics. On the other hand, concept maps can contain multiple big topics and subtopics that might or might not interconnect.
Visualization: You can organize concept maps using a visual hierarchy or a free-flowing web. By contrast, mind maps have one central idea from which related thoughts radiate outward.
So, someone asked me how Percy Jackson and Supernatural even fit together in my brain without everything exploding.
The answer? This crazy concept map to show the mess going on up there 😎. Hope you can see it! Also, first time using Canva for a CM, so don’t expect a masterpiece — more like digital doodles!
RELEASE ME FROM MY TRADITIONAL CHAINS! I want to edit and make my huge hyper detailed map of the entire map now. Unironically I do my fun making this little map section and I can wait to update my digital map so I can then update my large real map. The og map if you will.
This week I went back to visit the discussion in the notes on @seaweed-solarpunk’s post on solarpunk fashion. I collected all the suggestions in reblogs and tags and tried to find common themes to organize into a concept map. This is just my interpretation, but I think the three most important tenets of solarpunk fashion are eco-friendliness, inclusive design, and personal significance.
[image ID: a colorful branching concept map where the central idea is Solarpunk Fashion, and the three main branches are in primary colors. Where the branches connect and overlap, the color changes to a secondary color between the primaries. All text in the bubbles is listed in the text to follow. End ID]
Eco-Friendly
• Local sourcing
• Biodegradable textiles
• Durable
• Closed-loop production
• Biomimicry
- Integrated biotechnology
- Upcycled electronics
• Heirlooms and Secondhand
- Thrifted
- Hand-me-downs
- Dumpster-dived
- Clothing swaps
Inclusive Design
• Body-type inclusivity
• Accessibility
- Decorated disability aids
- Physical comfort (including for those with sensory issues)
Personal Significance
• Radical authenticity
- Genderfuckery
- Rejection of mega-corporations
• Handmade/modified
- Small practices
- DIY
- Visibly mended
• Culture
- Religious symbols
- Pride flags
- Traditional dress
I’d love to hear what the solarpunk community here thinks of this framework, what you’d keep, remove, or change.
Thinking of a AU Map idea... A bit hesitant on it since, while being canon compliant, it has like, a few OCs of my own...
Warrior Cats, but bugs. It's like a cordyceps situation, where normal cats are insect-cats and the Dark Forest are parasite/fungi-cats
and uhh lots of body horror anddd Idk does it seem appealing at all??
It'd probably be a "you can add your own OC as an insect/parasite in the bg" type of Map
Wouldn't want to work ages for only 2 people to join, or something, so would anyone be interested if it came out like next month or so, anyone at all
Here's some brief concept/character art of what I'm thinking of so far:
Sorry I thought it'd be obvious, by canon-complaint, I mean there will be canon characters present, like Brokenstar, Clawface, Stumpytail, Tangleburr, Deerfoot, Blackstar and Littlecloud, to name a few.
I will make references for them if this gets any kind of recognition
Hello! I made a draft map for my Warriors rewrite au. It’s a very rough map, so a lot of things are subject to change. I also didn’t focus on drawing roads and towns, just on getting the rough locations of different Twolegplaces. Since this is an au, a lot of things don’t match the canon maps. This includes the location of SkyClan’s solo and lake territories.
The top map shows rough elevations. Lighter colors indicate higher elevations, and dark colors are for lower elevations. On the bottom is a political map that shows the various locations of the Clans; the color key is in the upper left corner. The names of the Twolegplaces are canon.
I’ve also made a bunch of maps with notes about the various journeys taken during the Warriors series. They exist so I can keep track of where everyone was going; they also make it easier to include sneaky parallels. These extra maps are under the cut.
1. The Mountain Trail, or the path the Ancients took to get to the modern Tribe territory.
2. The Sun Trail
3. Cloudstar’s Journey
4. WindClan Diaspora, or the journey WindClan takes after being driven out of its territory during Into the Wild.
5. The journey the six cats took. The chosen cats were mostly left to their own devices aside from being sent to talk to Midnight. Midnight is very knowledgeable about various places on the map, and she is the reason why the six cats went to the Tribe.
6. The Great Journey
7. The Trail of Blood, or SkyClan’s journey to the lake. Though this was one of the shortest migrations in terms of distance, it was one of the most dangerous. Leafstar had to weigh her options carefully.
8. A map with various notes about different rogues and loners.
