What is concept mapping?

Concept mapping is a way of capturing understanding of a topic on paper in a way that helps with visualization of knowledge. A concept map lets the person or group making it see whether they have understood all the parts of the topic being mapped, and the nature of the relationship between the parts. It is used as a learning tool in acquiring understanding of a well-defined subject. It is also used as a method of capturing knowledge, where a group has that knowledge in their heads but may never have defined it formally. Both types of concept map can be a great help in viewing a subject and taking it in quickly. There is more about this in our article about concept maps but as we believe in visualization, here's some help:

Who uses concept maps?

Concept maps are used in US schools and by the Knowledge Management community. Concept maps are often better for comprehension than mind maps, and for formalizing knowledge. Mind maps are claimed to be better for memorizing, though we have yet to see peer-reviewed academic studies that give solid support for this.

 

Mindmapping articles - more about this great way of getting organized

Mindmaps Directory - thumbnails and links to mind maps