Concept Map-Assisted Learning: An Effective Strategy for Building Knowledge Structures

Concepts are generally understood as fundamental building blocks underlying principles, thoughts, and beliefs (Goguen, 2005), playing a central role in all facets of cognition. For students, conceptual understanding is the foundation of the development of disciplinary knowledge. Thorough comprehension of core concepts is critical to the mastery of relevant knowledge and skills and their practical applications (Wang & Miao, 2023). From teachers’ point of view, successful conceptual instruction can significantly increase teaching efficacy and aid students in developing legitimate knowledge structures. Through in-depth analysis of concepts, teachers guide students to discover the relations between knowledge, fostering their learning interest and thinking ability (Yan, 2022). In order for students to grasp core concepts more efficaciously, educators have experimented with a wide variety of teaching methods, including cooperative learning, project-based learning, concept mapping, and more (Wang, 2016). Among them, concept mapping is recognized as an effective device for students mastering major concepts and developing connections between new and prior knowledge.