Como assim?
Questions that concern teachers
JULY/AUGUST 2025 | nº2 |
In this section, experts invited by YVIRÁ answer questions submitted by teachers who are part of the National Science Network for Education (Rede CpE) as "Friends of the Network." This time, the focus is on the use of so-called concept maps in teaching. They are based on David Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning, but were created by Joseph Novak, who proposed them as a way to visualize the changes brought about by the learning process.
More than memorizing, students learn to understand and construct their own meanings, explains Paulo Correia, professor and coordinator of the Natural Sciences undergraduate program at the University of São Paulo.
Concept maps can be valuable resources for educators and students by providing visual forms for representing and constructing knowledge. This is what Professor Liane Margarida Rockenbach Tarouco, from the Computer Science in Education Graduate Program at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and a member of the CpE Network, emphasizes. Check out the answers below.
Does a concept map work?
Concept Maps Research Group
IMAGE: ADOBESTOCK
Paulo Correia
Professor at the University of São Paulo
Coordinator of the Natural Sciences Graduate Program | LCN
Paulo Correia
Professor at the University of São Paulo
Coordinator of the Natural Sciences Graduate Program | LCN
Yes, concept maps work—and very well! They are a graphical tool that allows you to organize and visually represent knowledge. The idea is simple: from an initial concept, other concepts are linked through connecting terms, forming propositions. Each proposition is composed of an initial concept, a connecting term, and a final concept—for example: “photosynthesis depends on light.” The connecting term (“depends on”) makes the relationship between concepts clearer and more structured.
This characteristic makes concept maps more sophisticated and challenging than mind maps, which merely associate concepts without revealing the relationships between them. In concept maps, it is precisely the construction of propositions that requires greater cognitive elaboration on the part of the student—or the teacher.
It’s worth noting: concept maps are not only useful for students. Teachers also benefit from constructing their own maps during teaching planning. This practice helps them clarify important conceptual relationships, organize teaching sequences, and identify potential gaps or opportunities for further study. Some of these maps can even be strategically shared with students, as models of conceptual organization or as a starting point for discussions.
In a school context, maps can be used at the beginning of a teaching sequence to identify prior knowledge; along the way, to organize and deepen ideas; and at the end, as a review and assessment of learning. Furthermore, they foster the development of metacognitive skills by allowing students to reflect on how they think and learn. By making relationships between concepts explicit, students learn how to learn—essential in a world of constant change.
What about?
How can concept maps benefit education?
Liane Margarida Rockenbach Tarouco
Graduate Program in Computer Science in Education
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
Member of the CpE Network
Liane Margarida Rockenbach Tarouco
Graduate Program in Computer Science in Education
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
Member of the CpE Network
Concept maps are a valuable resource in the teaching-learning process, providing visual forms (diagrams) to elicit, represent, and construct knowledge. As proposed by Joseph Novak (1980), concept maps use boxes with concepts, in turn interconnected by with connecting phrases that represent relationships or logical connections. The following figure illustrates this concept.
Two theories of cognition and learning support the use of concept maps: David Ausubel’s theory of meaningful learning (1980) and Richard Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning (2021).
Ausubel’s theory of meaningful learning is the theoretical basis that underpins and justifies the use of concept maps as a pedagogical strategy. This theory argues that learning occurs more effectively when new information connects substantively to the student’s prior knowledge. In this sense, the concept map can be used as a preparatory resource for new learning. By constructing a map with what they already know about a given topic, students activate and organize what they already know. Thus, using this resource offers advantages such as helping to organize ideas, promoting the association of new knowledge with prior knowledge, and stimulating metacognition.
Throughout the teaching-learning process, the concept map can be used to continually organize concepts that are being constructed, individually or collaboratively. The collaborative discussion, argumentation, and co-authoring of concept maps encourage rich discussions, productive cognitive conflict, and the negotiation of meaning, fostering the collective construction of knowledge.
Mayer’s multimedia learning theory provides a foundation for the effective and intentional use of concept maps as a pedagogical resource involving multimedia. Mayer proposed principles, based on experimental evidence, about how students learn best using words and images, just as concept maps do, integrating text and visual representation. According to Mayer, students learn best when information is presented in multiple, complementary formats and the set of concepts is well cognitively organized, with a design aimed at reducing unnecessary cognitive overload.
Concept maps foster active processing by requiring students to select and construct the diagram with the most relevant concepts, organize these concepts hierarchically, and integrate ideas using logical connections. In this way, the use of concept maps helps reduce unnecessary cognitive load, as they involve the use of signposting (links highlighting important relationships between concepts) and segmentation, which allows for the exploration of knowledge piece by piece.
