Thinking about CONCEPT MAPPING:
What if I used the templates in SMART IDEAS (lesson templates and others) to organize a lesson and then gave my 1P's and 3C's - who seem to have some difficulty pulling it all together - the map (maybe filled; maybe not . . .)? If they had that schema would they be a little more successful? It seems they have difficulty making those connections. What is implicit to us as teachers seems to have to be made explicit for them - not just in terms of content and skills but also in terms of delivery.

I was thinking concept maps could be used for 2 didactic purposes, primarily - to consolidate and to generate. I've tended to use them mostly to consolidate - after a unit, or lesson. Now I want to see how much more powerful concept mapping can be than webbing or mind mapping for generating ideas. The power would lie in the linking words and in the building of clusters.

I tried having my 3C's make a concept map on media. At first it wasn't going so well - a lot of "MEDIA is . . . . radio, TV, etc." After a few days it hit me: "What happens when you change 'is' to 'influences' or 'reflects'?" The change in the students' level of thought was astounding. This is in the Beyond Monet book but - ya know . . . - I just wasn't ready to 'see it' before!