Concept Mapping as an Instructional Strategy for High School Biology

In this study, concept mapping was assessed as an instructional strategy for use by high school students in learning biology concepts. Concept mapping, which requires learners to plot concepts and their interrelations in a meaningful organizational network, was compared with an established curriculum approach and tested in an interaction with learners of varying verbal ability. The design emphasized external validity. As hypothesized, concept mapping facilitated low-ability learners’ performance, but only on higher level, relational knowledge. The usefulness of the technique was discussed in terms of its ability to individualize and raise the quality of learning with little extra effort or resource costs to the instructional system.