An Introduction to Graphic Organizers
Teachers are
constantly on the lookout for technologies and strategies that might assist
students to become better learners. No matter how we look at it, some
classes will require a degree of memorization. In the history classes
that I teach, many of my students have been honest enough to admit that
they are procrastinators and that they cram for exams. Since there are
so many names, events, and terms that are entirely unfamiliar to students,
cramming almost inevitably leads to disappointing grades.
Some researchers have pointed to strategies that might supplement
and possibly support the traditional lecture that is the staple of history
courses. One strategy that holds some promise is the use of graphic organizers.
Graphic organizers have been and continue to be researched to determine
their effectiveness in improving learning among various students. Research
has looked at graphic organizers in a variety of settings and among different
populations. Once students learn how to develop their own graphic organizers,
they should be able to use them to help determine which information is
important, which details are subordinant, and what connections exist between
topics, ideas, and concepts.
Definition
A graphic organizer is a visual and graphic representation that
is intended to indicate relationships between people, facts, terms, or
ideas related to a topic or lesson. Graphic organizers are also sometimes
referred to as knowledge maps, concept maps, story maps, cognitive organizers,
advance organizers, or concept diagrams.
Graphic organizers are based on the learning psychology of
David Ausubel (1963, 1968, 1978). Ausubel theorized that learning takes
place when a learner is able to integrate new ideas and information to
existing ideas and information. The visual representation of information
in graphic organizers allows learners to see a connection between learned
information and new information. Often it seems that students take notes
in class and understand information only as seperate facts without recognizing
a similarity to or connection with previously learned content.
Research indicates that graphic organizers may support or improve
comprehension of information from lecture, discussions, textbooks, literature,
films, and lab experiments. Teachers may want to use graphic organizers
as part of lectures or in lessons to help students see the connections
between people, facts, terms, or ideas related to a topic or lesson. These
connections may help some students understand relationships between concepts.
Graphic organizers are used to generate visual representations of
information. Graphic organizers may include:
· Descriptive or Thematic Maps
a Network Tree
· Spider Maps.
Problem and Solution Maps
· a Problem-Solution Outline
Sequential Episodic
Maps
· Fishbone Maps
a Comparative and Contrastive
Map
· a Compare-Contrast Matrix.
a Continuum Scale
· a Series of Events Chain
Cycle Maps
Strategies such as Concept Maps, Descriptive or Thematic Maps, Tree
Diagrams, or Problem and Solution Maps may provide a visual representation
of how information is arranged and interrelated.
Graphic organizers may be prepared by a teacher in advance, or they
may be generated in class. If they are created in class, they might be
produced by the whole class or by groups. Hopefully, having students participate
in the creation of graphic organizers will interest and motivate them since
they will be actively engaged rather than listening passively.
Instructors may sometimes wish to create organizers in order to
introduce students to new material. Advance Organizers may be used before
a new topic is introduced. These graphic representations may function
as a way to focus the learners’ attention. They may assist students
to make connections between what learners have already covered or what
they already know and what they will be learning. Generally, teachers
may focus on the main topics that will be covered in the lesson. They
may also be used to help students see connections in a text: ex. themes
in a novel, components of a film – the use of lighting or music to influence
an audience.
Teachers may prepare Advance Organizers before a class, or
they may choose to create them in class working with students. Teachers
might ask questions related to prior knowledge and have students provide
responses that reveal connections leading to the new information to
be covered.
Examples of Advance Organizers might include concept maps,
graphics, scenarios, stories, outlines, questions, or other introductory
materials that preview a topic and connect it to previously learned
information. Strategies such as Concept Maps illustrate how information
is related.
Concept Maps
as an Example
Concept maps
were developed by Joseph Novak as a teaching tool, but they can also
be used by students as learning tools.
Concept maps provide a strategy to represent textual information
in an alternative format. While Concept maps may not present
information in as much depth as text, they can be useful in assisting
learners by allowing them to analyze information from another angle. Some
learners find it esaier to process information presented in a visual format.
In the Figure 1 below, we can see a simple example with the topic
connected to major details which then can be branched off to numerous minor
details. Concept maps come in a variety of forms and can be considerably
more complex.
Figure 1. Simple Concept
Map
Figure 2 uses a cluster map to explain the working of concept maps.
Figure 2
Suggested Readings and Web Sites
Background -- concept maps
Concept maps help represent
knowledge. They may include names, ideas, theories, and concepts. Since they
may be drawn on paper or with computer programs, the concepts may be enclosed
in circles or rectangles. The relationships between concepts is indicated
by a connecting line between two concepts. Some lines may be blank, but it
is often a good idea to include a few words to clearly specify the relationship.
Teachers might use graphic
organizers of one type or another to focus the students' attention at the
beginning of class and remind them of previously learned information. They
might provide a useful break in a lecture and allow the teacher to demonstrate
links between previously
learned and new information. To be effective, teachers should explain the
strategy to students and model the process until students are comfortable.
Students should be encouraged
to develop their own graphic organizers to help themselves clarify their
understanding of course content. Students can also use concept maps,
descriptive or thematic maps, tree diagrams, or problem and solution
maps as notetaking tools,
to represent the information in journal articles, or to depict the structure,
themes, or charecters of short stories, novels, films, or plays.
William Trochim (1986) built
upon the principle of concept maps as planning tools for the design and
demonstrating of organizations. Trochim focused on the idea of having groups
develop maps. Students in a chemistry class might, for example, develop
a cluster map of the elements. Each student might contribute a section on
the attributes and characteristics of one element, and their sections could
be combined. The map could be placed on a Web page with hot spots containing
links to pages for each student's research.
Purposes of Concept Maps
Ways to Use Concept Maps
How to Construct Concept Maps
Chain of Events
Cluster
Comparison - Contrast
Continuum
Cycle
Fishbone
Interaction
Problem - Solution
Spider Map
Venn Diagram
History Frames/Story Maps
Inquiry Chart
Concept of Definition Map
Uploaded March 24, 2004