ChaotiCosmos

While reading the present brief post which is constructed via excerpts from a paper of Novak and Cañas on “Concept Maps”, refer also to our preceding post, http://relatedone.blogspot.com/2008/05/mapping-new-virtual-relational-world.html

FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2008
Mapping the NEW (VIRTUAL RELATIONAL) WORLD: Formal/Theoretical Sketches Initially Focused on SynMIND {Re:SYN7-Maps}

Introduction

Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. They include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships between concepts indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts. Words on the line, referred to as linking words or linking phrases, specify the relationship between the two concepts. We define concept as a perceived regularity in events or objects, or records of events or objects, designated by a label. The label for most concepts is a word, although sometimes we use symbols such as + or %, and sometimes more than one word is used. Propositions are statements about some object or event in the universe, either naturally occurring or constructed. Propositions contain two or more concepts connected using linking words or phrases to form a meaningful statement. Sometimes these are called semantic units, or units of meaning. Figure 1 shows an example of a concept map that describes the structure of concept maps and illustrates the above characteristics.

Fig 1

Revised January 22, 2008. Cite as: “Novak, J. D. & A. J. Cañas, The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to Construct and Use Them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008, Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, 2008, available at:

http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

The intent hereof is to initiate a diablog regarding Relational Education respecting the introduction by way of the preceding post http://relatedone.blogspot.com/2007/02/minding-humanity.html identified by

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2007
MINDing HUMANITY

and emphasizing the following definition therein:

• Definition: Teaching/Learning, taken as a semiotic act, is most simplistically a sign communication between a Teacher-Mind and a Learner-Mind intended to increase (evolve) the potential of the Learner-Mind to act and to increase (evolve) the concomitant potential value of said act to that Learner-Mind, and, as an imperative corollary, to the Collective (Common) Other-Mind.

CHARLES SANDERS PEIRCE (and other pragmatists)
See Phyllis Chiasson on Relational Teaching

JEAN PIAGET
Structuralism; Genetic Epistemology

HENRI BORTOFT
The Wholeness of Nature: Goethe’s Way toward a Science of Conscious Participation in Nature

MARIA MONTESSORI
The Montessori Method

PAULO FREIRE
Pedagogy of the Oppressed; Ecopedagogy

and the following from a coming post entitled “Mapping the NEW (VIRTUAL RELATIONAL) WORLD: Concept Maps {Re:SYN1-Maps}”