Adapted from Teaching Information Literacy Reframed: 50+ Framework-Based Exercises for Creating Information-Literate Learners by Joanna M. Burkhardt (2016). Available in Dayna’s office!
Learning outcomes:
- Students will identify the main idea and subtopics of their research topic.
- Students will brainstorm questions related to their research topics and subtopics.
- Students may refine and change their research topic as they complete the concept map.
Resources needed:
- Individual whiteboards in Rm 124 classroom
- Whiteboard markers
- Alternatively, students can create an online concept map using brainstorming site Bubbl.us
- Sample topic to model concept mapping
Time needed:
- 8-10 minutes
Activities:
Note: Model a concept map using a sample topic with the whole class before students create one of their own. Doc camera is useful for this!
In the middle of the whiteboard or Bubbl.us, write down a word or short phrase to describe your research topic.
Around that center topic, write as many subtopics as you can think of. You can draw or organize this in whatever way makes sense to you.
Now, draw lines between any of these sub-topics that connect to each other in any way. For example, if your main topic is Recycling on college campuses, and two of your subtopics are plastics and dining halls, you’d connect them because dining halls can generate a lot of plastic waste.
Look at these connecting lines, and think of at least two questions you can ask about these connections. For the recycling example, you could ask: What things have college dining halls tried to cut down on plastic waste? or What ways have college campuses tried to encourage recycling in the dining hall?
Do you already know the answers to your questions? Is there one question that stands out that you really want to investigate?
Potential extension activity:
The topics and subtopics on the concept maps are ideal for using as keywords when students begin searching for their sources.
Assessment:
Measure the activity’s effectiveness by observing how many students have completed the map and generated research questions. You can take photos of the whiteboards once students are done concept-mapping for evidence (ask students for permission first!).