Concept Mapping in Social Studies

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 56

AVR-Vol. No. 2, July- September 2014

EFFECT OF TEACHING THROUGH CONCEPT MAPPING ON

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOCIAL STUDIES

Dr. Manoj Kumar

Assistant Professor, Saraswati College of Education,

Madlauda, Panipat

This study revealed the impact of teaching through Concept Mapping in Social Studies’

components. The sample selected for the study consists of 40 students from class-VIII, of Govt.

Senior Secondary School, Uplana, Karnal. The experimental method is selected in which the

one-Group Pre-test Post-test design was used. The students were taught using concept mapping teaching

technique. The results show that students taught through concept mapping have higher achievement. In

nutshell, concept mapping enhances meaningful and active learning and it also provides wider scope to

curriculum developer in social studies and other sciences.

Key Words: Concept Mapping, Socio-Economic Status, Achievement, Social Studies.

Preamble:

The student population as there is exceptionally heterogeneous and there are broad

differences in the intelligence, abilities, aptitudes, interests and goals of students, as well as,

the diversities, in the needs of society are recognized. Some students seek the simple; others

the complex; some pursue the concrete; others the abstract; some are interested in the known;

others in unknown. It is the rare student indeed, who can master the spectrum, even though the

conditions for teaching and learning may be ideal.

Historical Background of Concept Mapping:

In the 1960s, Joseph D. Novak (1993) at Cornell University began to study the concept

mapping technique. His work was based on the theories of David Ausubel (1968), who stressed

the importance of prior knowledge in being able to learn abou t new concepts. This program

was based on the learning psychology of David Ausubel 1963, 1968, Ausubel et al., 1978. The

technique of concept mapping was developed by Joseph D. Novak and his research team

at Cornell University in the 1970s as a means of representing the emerging science knowledge

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 57


of students. Concept maps were developed to enhance meaningful learning in the sciences.

Concept maps have their origin in the learning movement called constructivism. In particular,

constructivists hold that learners actively construct knowledge. Thus was born a new tool not

only for use in research, but also for many other uses.

Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. They

include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships between

concepts indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts. Words on the line referred to as

linking words or linking phrases, specify the relationship between the two concepts. Concept

maybe defined it is perceived regularity in events or objects, or records of events or objects,

designated by a label. The label for most concepts is a word, although sometimes we use

symbols and in the universe, either naturally occurring or constructed. Propositions contain

two or more concepts connected using linking words or phrases.

Cross-links: The links between concepts in different segments or domains of

knowledge on the map that helps to illustrate how these domains are related to one another.

Cross-links are important in order to show that the learner understands the relationships

between the sub-domains in the map. It is important to help students reorganize that all

concepts are in some way related to one another.

What is CONCEPT MAPPING?

A concept map can be considered as somewhat similar to a spider chart, an organization

chart or a flow diagram. The most useful form of a concept map for teaching and learning is

one arranged in a hierarchical organization which the more general and more inclusive

concepts at the top of the map and the more concrete and specific ones at the bottom.

There are three basic features used in creating concept maps: (1) a list of concepts, (2)

lines that represent the relational links between these concepts, and (3) labels for these linking

relationships (Lawson 1994). The procedure of concept mapping starts with the generation of

a list of concepts through brainstorming. Connecting lines are drawn between these concepts to

indicate the flow of inter-relationships. Labels along the connecting lines further explain the

inter-relationships between concepts which may result in a knowledge structure. These maps

can be refined by many rethinking and redrawing processes as more knowledge is accumulated

from a search (Novak 1995).

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 58


According to Asan (2007), Concept mapping is a method to visualize the structure of

knowledge. Since the knowledge expressed in the maps is mostly semantic, concept maps are

sometimes called semantic networks.

According to Nelson (2007), Concept Mapping is a nonlinear, graphic representation of

unstable domains, depicting major concept nodes and the interrelationships of those nodes. It is

a learning strategy identified as having a significant impact on retention and retrieval of

information, with continued processing of data over time.

Well prepared concept maps facilitate both teaching and learning processes. These

maps facilitate teaching because teachers can use them to prepare and organ ize lessons by

sequencing topics within lectures. (Novak 1995) Moreover, during the concept mapping

process, teachers will have the opportunity to identify and reduce ambiguities, enabling them

to deliver clearer and more coherent explanations to students. For the students, concept

mapping gives new meaning to learning as they organize the acquired knowledge in their own

way (Willerman, 1991).

A concept map is a way of representing relationships between ideas, images,

or words in the same way that a sentence diagram represents the grammar of a sentence, a road

map represents the locations of highways and towns, and a circuit diagram represents the

workings of an electrical appliance. In a concept map, each word or phrase is connected to

another and linked back to the original idea, word or phrase. Concept maps are a way to

develop logical thinking and study skills by revealing connections and helping students see

how individual ideas form a larger whole.

Why Concept mapping in Social Studies?

Concept mapping technique is learner-centred and activities oriented. It actively engages learners

in meaningful activities provided. It is a technique that aids in schematic organization and representation

of knowledge. The technique provides an active, creative, visual and spatial learning activity in their

hierarchical relationship. It provides the opportunity to organize, analyse, evaluate, summarize and own

ideas.

Concept mapping technique can be used to improve students’ learning achievements and interests

in social studies. It is a better technique that significantly improved students learning achievement

compared to a traditional expository teaching approach. It reflects teaching-learning, student’s knowledge

and facilitates their sense-making and improves their meaningful learning. It improves student’s higher

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 59


order thinking skills in social studies. Student’s achievements better in terms of subject matter content

mastery when taught with psychological strategies using concept mapping. This clearly is a manifestation

of the potential of concept mapping to enhance meaningful learning and improved achievement in social

studies. It is found by many researchers significantly beneficial to promote learning achievements as well

as the learning attitudes of the students. Concept mapping gives also real-time feedback to the students as

well as the teachers.

Therefore, Concept Mapping can more effective than traditional instruction in improving

students’ achievements in Social Studies.

The present investigation is aimed at exploring the effect of teaching through Concept

Mapping on the Academic Achievement in social studies. So the different study related to

concept mapping is reviewed.

One experimental study (Braselton & Decker, 1994) with sixth-grade mathematics

students found concept mapping tools to be advantageous in the improvement of students’

problem-solving skills.

Chularut and DeBacker (2003) investigated the influence of concept mapping on the

achievement, self-regulation and self-efficacy in students of English as a second language. The

study was a quasi-experiment which investigated the effectiveness of the concept mapping

used as a second language classroom. The focus was on students’ achievement, self -monitoring

and knowledge acquisition strategies (self-regulation) and self-efficacy in learning from

English language text. Findings shows that four all the variables, concept mapping

(experimental) group recorded significantly greater gains from pre -test to post-test compared to

the control group.

Askin (2007) conducted a study on fifth grade students with twenty-three students at

Ata Elementary School, Trabzon, Turkey to determine the effect of incorporating concept

mapping in science lessons. The students were tested with teacher -constructed pre- and post-

tests containing 20 multiple-choice questions. The pupils in the experimental and control

groups were exposed to the same teaching techniques covering a unit on heat and temperature.

They were given the same pretest after the initial lessons. However, after t he pretest, the

control group was given a traditional oral review of the material and the experimental group

was exposed to the review by the use of Inspiration, which is computer based concept mapping

tool. After these reviews, the students on both groups were given the post-test. Test scores

were analyzed for any statistically significantly difference in the scores on the test. The results

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 60


from present study indicate that concept mapping has a noticeable impact on student

achievement in science classes.

Chiou (2008) examined whether concept mapping can be used to help students to

improve their learning achievement and interests. The participants were 124 students from two

classes enrolled in an advanced accounting course at the School of Management of a un iversity

in Taiwan. The experimental data revealed two important results. First, adopting a concept

mapping strategy can significantly improve students' learning achievement compared to using a

traditional expository teaching method. Second, most of the st udents were satisfied with using

concept mapping in an advanced accounting course. They indicated that concept mapping can

help them to understand, integrate and clarify accounting concepts and also enhance their

interests in learning accounting. They also thought that concept mapping could be usefully

used in other curriculum areas.

Stephanie et al. (2012) examined the use of concept mapping for formative and

summative assessment of northeast Florida middle school students' knowledge of human

geography. The students were participants in an after school, academic, college reach -out

program that provided opportunities to test concept mapping strategies that support spatial

thinking and stimulate interest in human geography. The study documents the use

of concept mapping for assessment of seventh graders' achievement of a specific lesson and for

students' human geography achievement across all implementation

grades. Concept mapping results provided insight into aspects of the curriculum and instruction

where appropriate modifications could better facilitate meaningful learning.

Emergence of Problem:

In the present scenario when we take newspaper and reading about the results of

students in Government schools where the achievement is low day by day. Teachers are

teaching, students are learning but what are the reasons of poor academic achievements? This

question has given researcher a thinking point. Researcher found academic achievement of a

student depends upon different variable for example intelligence, in terest, understanding, study

habits, teaching method, environment etc.

In India and abroad so many new methods and techniques of teaching effectively are

used in public schools for excellent results. On the other hand Indian Government has to

shoulder the responsibility of millions of poor and deprived group students those are unable to

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/simpleSearch.jsp?_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&_urlType=action&newSearch=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22Wehry+Stephanie%22

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 61


pay even minimum fee. In this condition to improve the academic result method of teaching

should be effective, new and interesting.

Concept mapping technique of teaching seems less expensive, interesting and easy to

use where other methods are needed much technical knowledge and gazettes. These concept

maps can be utilized to teach the students with the help of blackboard and chalk. Indian

Teacher as a part of their traditional teaching use blackboard sketches as a part of their

teaching to explain different concepts. These blackboard sketches can be modified and molded

in the form of concept maps.

Most of researches had been done on teaching through concept mapping and

achievement has been done at international level. Braselton & Montiel (1980), Alvermann &

Boothby (1983) Alvermann & Boothby (1986), Armbruster et al.(1991), Decker (1994) ,

Griffin et al. (1995), DeWispelaere & Kossack (1996), Novak (2002), Askin, Novak &

Canas (2006) (2007), Chiou (2008). Most of the works been done so far at elementary Schools

on the subject of languages, Mathematics, and Social Sciences.

Objectives of the Study:

The objectives of the present study are as following:

1. To study the significant difference between elementary school students having educated

and uneducated parents on the academic achievement in social studies after teaching

through concept mapping.

2. To study the significant difference among elementary school students belonging to high

and low socio-economic status parents on the achievement of social studies after

teaching through concept mapping.

Hypotheses of the Study:

The following hypotheses are formulated keeping in view of the objectives of the

present study:

1. There exists a significant difference between elementary school students having

educated and uneducated parents on the academic achievement in social studies after


AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 62


2. There exists a significant difference among elementary school students belonging to

high and low socio-economic status parents on the achievement of social studies after


Research Methodology:

The experimental method is selected for the study in which the one-Group Pre-test Post-

test design was used for the study. The sample selected for the study consists of 40 students from

Govt. Senior Secondary schools, Uplana, Karnal from class - VIII. The class has been selected

through the simple randomizations of clusters from Karnal district.

Tools Used:

Keeping in mind these criteria like validity, reliability, practicability etc. the researcher

decided the following tools used to collect data.

1. Socio-Economic Status Scale (SESS-US) by Sunil Kumar Upadhyay and Alka Saxena.

2. Concept Maps on different topics in Social Studies for Class VIII prepared by the investigator.

3. Achievement Test on selected topics of Social Studies developed by the investigator (Pre-test and

Post-test).

Design of Experimental Study:

The Experimental design can be diagrammed as below:

The one-Group Pre-test Post-test Design

Pre-test Treatment Post-test

O1 X O2

Here: O1 and O2 Stands for Pre-test and Post-test respectively.

X for experimental treatment

Treatment:

1st Day and 2

nd Day Introductory session by researcher and supervisor

3rd

Day Lecture was delivered on effective communication Skill

4th Day Pre-test administered

5th Day to

49th

Day

Treatment was given (Teaching through Concept Mapping)

50th Day Post-test administered

51st Day Thanking Party/Tea Party was given to School Teaching Staff and Students

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 63


Data Collection and Scoring:

At the end of the treatment period, the achievement test administered and data was collected. The

scoring key were prepared by the investigator for marking the answer of each tests (Pre-test and Post-

test), one mark was awarded for each correct response and zero mark was awarded for each wrong

response. The achievement test contained only Multiple Choice Questions. The answer keys were

prepared separately.

Statistical Techniques Used:

It has been used descriptive statistics such as Mean and Standard Deviation. The t-ratio was

used to find out the difference between mean scores of pre-test and post-tests.

Table-1: Significance difference between post-tests in Social Studies achievement among

Elementary School Students having educated and uneducated Parents

Edu. Level of Parents Tests N M t-ratio Level of significance

Educated Parents Post-test 20 21 12.60 .01

Uneducated Parents Post-test 20 14.95

It is revealed from the table no. 1 that the t- ratio came out from this table is 12.60,

which is significant at 0.01 level of significance. Further it indicates that teaching through

concept mapping has significant effect on the achievement in social studies.

Thus hypothesis (H1-1) No. states, ‘there exists a significant difference between

elementary school students having educated and uneducated parents on the academic

achievement in social studies after teaching through concept mapping’, is accepted.

Table-2: Significance of difference between post-test in Social Studies achievement among

Elementary School Students belonging to High and Low Socio- Economic Status Parents

Variables Tests N M t-ratio Level of

significance

High SES Parents Post-test 20 19.70 5.52 0.01

Low SES Parents Post-test 20 16.55

It is revealed from the table no. 2 that the t- ratio came out from the groups is 5.52,

which is significant at 0.01 level of significance. This means there is significant difference

between post-tests among elementary school students belonging to high and low socio -

economic status parents on the achievement in social studies after teaching through concept

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 64


mapping.

Thus the formulated hypothesis(H1-2) states, ‘there exists a significant difference

among elementary school students belonging to high and low socio -economic status parents on

the achievement in social studies after teaching through concept mapping, is accepted.

Findings and Conclusions:

The main findings of the study are based on the following: -

1. The result revealed that mean scores of post-tests of elementary school students having

educated parents is higher than those having uneducated parents, it indicates that

teaching through concept mapping has significant effect on the achievement in social

studies.

2. This means there is significant difference between post-tests among elementary school

students belonging to high and low socio-economic status parents on the achievement in

social studies after teaching through concept mapping.

Discussion and Conclusion:

Thus the results of the present study show that there is a significant difference in academic

achievement in social studies among elementary school students taught using concept mapping teaching

technique. Further researches suggest that a well-designed concept map integrated learning system

demonstrates very promising potential for enhancing both the gifted and average students (belonging to

educated and uneducated parents having high and low SES). The system developed in this study could be

a useful resource for elementary school outdoor learning design. It is found that the innovative approach

can be significantly beneficial to promote learning achievements as well as the learning attitudes of

students. This study has yielded similar results in favor of concept mapping (Stephanie et al, 2012, Hung

et al, 2012, Wu Po-Han et al, 2012, BouJaoude, Saouma & Attieh, 2008). Therefore, Concept mapping

meets the assumed assumptions as an effective teaching technique.

Educational Implication:

The present study demands effective educational planning for this area in order

to frame the curriculum, how to teach, how to present the concept in the class using

concept mapping, to deliver the content mat ter in small units to the students so that

they can output in maximum. It can significantly use for faculty working independently or

collaboratively, can redesign course syllabi or an entire curriculum. The hierarchical organization of

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 65


concept mapping suggests more optimal sequencing of instructional material and helps students to make

the instruction more “conceptually transparent”.

References:

Askin Asan, (2007). Concept Mapping in Science Class: A Case Study of fifth grade students.

Educational Technology & Society, Volume 10 (1), pp 186-195.

Askin (2007). Concept Mapping in Science Class: A Case Study of Fifth Grade Students, Educational

Technology & Society, volume 10 no. 1, pp 186-195.

Alenka (2012). Children’s Reasoning about Spatial Relational Similarity: The Effect of Alignment and

Relational Complexity, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, volume 111 no. 3, pp 490-

500.

Best, J. W. & Kahn, J.V. (1992). Research in Education. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd.

BouJaoude, Saouma & Attieh, (2008). The Effect of Using Concept Maps as Study Tools

on Achievement in Chemistry, EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology

Education, volume 4 no. 3, pp 233-246.

Colley, Binta M.(2012).Teaching Social Studies through the Performing Arts, Educational Forum,

volume 76 no. 1, pp 4-12.

Dictionary of Psychology (2001). Great Clarendon Street. Oxford University Press.

Encyclopedia of Psychology (2000). Great Clarendon Street, Oxford University Press, Inc. 4, P-198.

Fisher, R.A. (1936). Statist ical Methods for Research, Edinburg, Oliver and Boyd.

Gambrell, L. & Bales, R. (1987). Visual Imagery: A Strategy for Enhancing Listening, Reading and

Writing. Australian Journal of Reading. Volume 10 no. 3, pp 147-153.

Garrett , H.E. & R.S. Woodworth (1966).Statist ics in Psychology and Education.

Bombay: Vakeels Feiffer’s and Simons Pvt. Ltd., pp. 233&491.

Koul, Lokesh (1984). Methodology of Educational Research. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt.

Ltd.

Lawson, M.J. (1994). Concept Mapping. In the International Encyclopedia of Education. (2nd

edition,

Volume 2, pp.1026-1031). Tarrytown, New York: Elsevier Science. Pvt. Ltd.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/simpleSearch.jsp?_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&_urlType=action&newSearch=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22BouJaoude+Saouma%22

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/simpleSearch.jsp?_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&_urlType=action&newSearch=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22Attieh+May%22

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/simpleSearch.jsp?_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&_urlType=action&newSearch=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=au&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22Colley+Binta+M.%22

AVR-ISSN: 2249-72 66


Novak, J. D. (2002). Meaningful Learning: The Essential Factor for Conceptual Change in Limited or

Appropriate Propositional Hierarchies Leading to Empowerment of Learners. Science Education,

volume 86 no. 4, pp 548-571.

Novak, J.D., Gowin, R.B., & Johansen, G.T. (1983). The use of Concept Mapping and Knowledge of

Mapping with Junior High School Science Students, Science Education. Volume 67 no. 5, pp

625-45.

Regis, A., Albertazzi, P. G., & Roletto, E., (1998). Concept Maps in Chemistry Education. Journal of

Chemistry Education, volume 73 No. 11, pp 1084 – 1088.

Sharma, R.A. (1985). Fundamental of Educational Research, Meerut: Loyal Book

Depot.

Streeter et al. (2011). Concept Mapping: An Approach for Evaluating a Public Alternative School

Program Children & Schools, volume 33 no. 4, pp 197-214.

Concept Mapping in Social Studies

Documents

Transcript of Concept Mapping in Social Studies