Concept Mapping Workshops: Helping Ocean Scientists Represent and Communicate Science - 03.13.2013

A result of collaborative work among COSEE Centers (California, NOW, Ocean Systems and West) has been published in the March 2013 issue of Oceanography magazine. Titled "Concept Mapping Workshops: Helping Ocean Scientists Represent and Communicate Science" this article describes how ocean scientists can look to effective educational practices such as concept mapping to present their research in ways that can be readily connected to learners’ pre-existing knowledge while helping to facilitate new understanding.

Responding to recommendations by ocean science faculty who participated in concept-mapping workshops with pre-college educators, four Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence designed, implemented, and evaluated a series of professional development workshops for graduate students. These workshops engaged 20 faculty-level ocean scientists to help 73 graduate students depict complex scientific ideas using concept maps.

Evidence shows that operationally breaking down topics and reorganizing them into graphical formats benefited faculty and graduate students alike. Each workshop culminated with the graduate students delivering oral presentations to nonscientist audiences such as high school students. Graduate students were highly rated on their abilities to place topics within a broad societal context. In a follow-up survey, graduate students recognized the potential of concept mapping to enhance their professional skills and to organize their own research.

Read the full article here.

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