One of the biggest challenges in teaching science isn't explaining the content. It's helping students organize everything they're trying to learn. Every unit introduces a new set of vocabulary words, diagrams, cycles, processes, and scientific relationships. Before long, students are surrounded by pages of notes, textbook readings, and diagrams that all seem to blend together.
Some students may be struggling, but it is not always because they are not capable or are not working hard enough. They struggle because no one has ever shown them how to organize the information.
Many students resort to memorization to get by. They might remember it long enough to pass the test, but a week later much of it has disappeared. Instead of helping students become independent learners, we have unintentionally taught them to memorize and forget.
That is one of the reasons I spend time teaching concept mapping during the first few weeks of school. I know it feels strange to slow down during those first few weeks of school when everyone else seems to be racing through the curriculum. But I've found that teaching this one skill actually saves time later because students become much more independent learners.
Concept mapping has been around for a long time, but I don't think it gets used nearly as often as it should. Once students understand how to organize information into smaller, connected pieces, new concepts become much less intimidating. More importantly, they develop a study strategy they can use in biology, chemistry, environmental science, physical science, and virtually any other subject.
Rather than simply telling students to “study harder,” I would much rather teach them how to study smarter.
What Is Concept Mapping?
A concept map is a visual way of organizing information by showing the relationships between ideas. Instead of writing pages of linear notes, students identify the most important concepts and connect them in a logical way.
One of the biggest misconceptions about concept mapping is that every graphic organizer looks the same. In reality, different types of information require different types of organizers. A scientific process is organized differently than a classification system, and a repeating cycle is organized differently than a sequence of events.
That is why I don't teach just one type of graphic organizer. I teach students how to recognize the structure of the information first and then choose the organizer that best fits what they are learning.
For example, when students are reading about the nitrogen cycle, a cycle map makes perfect sense because the events repeat continuously. A passage describing the movement of water through a plant is much easier to understand as an event chain (flow chart). Information describing the characteristics of the states of matter is often best organized as a concept map because students can see the relationships among the major ideas.
Once students begin recognizing these patterns, they are more easily able to order information in a way that makes sense.
Three Types of Science Graphic Organizers
One of the biggest mistakes I see students make is trying to organize every science topic exactly the same way. Different types of information require different organizational strategies. Before my students ever begin constructing their own graphic organizers, we spend time learning which organizer works best for the type of information they are reading.
Teaching students to choose the correct organizer is just as important as teaching them how to draw one.
A concept map is best when students need to organize vocabulary, classifications, definitions, or relationships among ideas. It helps them break a large topic into smaller, connected pieces that are much easier to understand and remember.
An event chain, often called a flow chart, is best used when students are describing a sequence of events or the steps in a process. Whether they are tracing the movement of water through a plant or following the steps of cellular respiration, a flow chart helps students visualize what happens first, next, and last.
A cycle map is ideal for topics that repeat over and over again. Life cycles, the nitrogen cycle, the water cycle, and many other recurring biological and environmental processes are much easier for students to understand when they see that the final step connects back to the beginning.
Once students understand the purpose of each organizer, they quickly begin recognizing which one will help them make the most sense of the information they are studying.
How I Teach Concept Mapping
I've learned that simply handing students a blank concept map doesn't work very well. Like any other science skill, concept mapping has to be modeled, practiced, and revisited throughout the year.
I begin with a step-by-step lesson that introduces the three different types of graphic organizers. We talk about when each organizer should be used, why one organizer might work better than another, and how organizing information into smaller pieces makes science much less overwhelming.
As we work through examples together, students begin seeing that there is rarely just one "correct" way to organize information. The goal is not to create identical concept maps. The goal is to organize information in a way that makes sense to the learner.
That is a powerful lesson because it encourages students to think about the information rather than simply copying notes from the board.
Guided Practice Builds Student Confidence
Once my students understand the purpose of each type of graphic organizer, we begin working through several examples together. During this guided practice, students complete a set of guided notes while we build concept maps, event chains, and cycle maps as a class.
By the time we finish the lesson, students aren't nearly as intimidated as they were when we started. Instead of wondering where to begin, they learn to identify the main ideas, determine how the information is organized, and then select the graphic organizer that best represents the concepts.
One of the first things I tell students is that there isn't one "perfect" concept map. Students quickly discover that there is often more than one logical way to organize the same information. As long as the relationships among the concepts are accurate and easy to follow, the organizer has done its job.
This is usually the point where I know they've "got it." Instead of asking me which organizer they should use, students begin making that decision for themselves.
Applying Concept Mapping to Science Reading
Guided practice is only the beginning. The real learning occurs when students begin applying these skills to new science topics on their own.
Rather than giving students blank graphic organizers to complete, I provide short informational reading passages covering a variety of biology and environmental science topics. Students must first read the passage carefully, determine which type of graphic organizer best fits the information, and then construct their own organizer.
This is usually the point where I know students have become independent thinkers. They are no longer following my example. Instead, they are making decisions based on the structure of the information they are reading.
This lesson also fits naturally with teaching students how to read science. Scientific reading is much different than reading a novel or magazine article. Students must slow down, identify important vocabulary, recognize relationships among ideas, and decide what information is most important. Concept mapping provides an excellent framework for accomplishing all of these goals.
If you're looking for additional ideas to help students become stronger science readers, be sure to read my blog post, Teaching Students to Read Science. The strategies in that article pair perfectly with concept mapping and other graphic organizers.
A Skill Students Will Use All Year Long
If I could go back and give my first-year teacher self one piece of advice, it would be this: Don't just teach science. Teach students how to learn science.
We spend countless hours teaching biology, chemistry, and environmental science content. Taking the time to teach students how to organize, categorize, and study that content makes every unit that follows more productive. Students become more confident because they have a strategy they can use whenever they encounter unfamiliar vocabulary or complex scientific concepts.
I've watched students who once struggled with science become much more confident simply because they finally had a system for organizing what they were learning. Instead of staring at pages of notes wondering where to begin, they had a plan. They knew how to break a large topic into smaller, manageable pieces, and that confidence carried over into every unit we studied.
By the end of this lesson, students have learned much more than how to draw concept maps. They have learned a study strategy they can continue using throughout the school year whenever they encounter new vocabulary, unfamiliar concepts, or challenging reading assignments. It is one of those skills that continues paying dividends long after the lesson is over.
Students often think successful science students are simply "good at science." In reality, many successful students have simply learned better ways to organize and study information. Concept mapping gives every student the opportunity to develop those same habits.
If you're looking for a ready-to-use lesson that teaches concept mapping from start to finish, my Science Concept Maps and Graphic Organizers resource includes everything you need to teach the skill with confidence. The lesson includes an editable teaching PowerPoint, guided student notes, teacher lecture notes, practice activities, and answer keys. Students learn to create concept maps, event chains, and cycle maps while applying these skills to authentic science reading passages.
Once students understand how to organize information, you'll find they become less intimidated by large amounts of content and more willing to tackle challenging science concepts. Instead of memorizing disconnected facts, they begin making connections between ideas—and that is exactly what we want successful science students to do.
More Science Skills You'll Love
If you're looking for additional ways to help students become stronger science learners, you may also enjoy these articles:
Teaching students how to organize information is just as important as teaching the information itself. When students understand how ideas fit together, science becomes less overwhelming, learning becomes more meaningful, and studying becomes much more effective. Concept mapping is one of the simplest ways I've found to help students build those skills, and it continues to be one of my favorite lessons to teach every year.
