Concept Map Assignment Overview
Concept maps are learning tools that help you organize information and make connections between facts
and ideas. They are intended to help you identify the inter-relationships between concepts, thereby
replacing rote memorization with a more meaningful (and hopefully lasting) understanding of the material
that you are learning.
Ten percent of your overall course mark will come from a concept map that you will construct this term.
Because it reflects your own ideas and way of thinking there is no such thing as a ‘correct’ concept map. The
maps will not be judged one against another, nor will they be compared to an ideal that I have in mind. I
expect everyone’s concept maps to be very different - both in content and presentation.
Your concept map must contain the elements outlined in the following approach to get you started:
1. Select one lecture to be your focus. This could be a lecture that you found particularly interesting, or it
could be one that you are really struggling to understand and you hope that mapping it will help the
material become more clear. The date and title of the lecture you select should appear somewhere on the
page that you submit but it should not be part of the actual concept map (ie put it beside your name or as
a title for your submission).
2. Identify the central theme of that lecture. Please make this more specific than just ‘pharmacology’. For
example, it might be ‘local anesthetics’, ‘pharmaceutical development’ or ‘pharmacokinetics’. Make this
the centre point of your map.
3. Select at least 12 key concepts from your chosen lecture. These will form the basis of your map. The
concepts may be single words, definitions, ideas, phrases or even pictures. Organize these on your map in
such a way that you can use additional words or phrases to ‘link’ the concepts to each other and/or to the
central theme. Each linking word/phrase should be associated with a line or arrow.
4. Now add at least 4 concepts from another lecture (or lectures) in the course and use links to show how this
material relates to the concepts from your central lecture.
5. Finally, add at least 4 additional concepts that relate the lecture material to ‘real life’ or any practical
application that you wish. These concepts need not come from a particular lecture or even any aspect of
the course, they just need to be relevant to the topic and appropriately linked to the rest of your map.
Please use some sort of a system to distinguish the content of steps 2-5 from each other (for example,
different coloured font or different shapes around the concepts). This will facilitate marking and help you
ensure that you have included all of the required elements. The Concept Map Assignment Detail Sheet at
the end of this document must be filled in and submitted with your assignment. It will help you organize your
map and will help me grade it.
Your concept map will be marked out of 25 according to the following criteria:
All required components are present and the selected concepts are meaningful
The links between concepts are appropriate and clear
The concept map is well organized and easy to read
10
10
5
In order to allow sufficient time for lectures given later in the course to be included, your concept map will be
due at the start of the final exam (date and time to be set by the University). Only paper copies will be
accepted. You may submit your concept map anytime earlier in the term, but they will not be accepted after
the final exam has begun.
Below is a sample concept map taken from the internet. This is more detailed than yours will be and is
included simply to illustrate what a concept map looks like. Note that every link (arrow or line) is associated
with a linking word or phrase. Be sure to do the same on your map. Remember, your map will be unique. Be
creative and have fun!
Some comments from previous students about the concept map assignment:
“I was able to connect different lectures together and not think about them as separate entities”
“Great to help connect ideas & understand the big picture”
“It helped to tie various lectures together which is a great tool in a course with many different topics and lecturers”
“It made my studying better organized”
Source: https://worldofbiology.wikispaces.com/homeostasis+concept+map+solutions
PCTH 325 Concept Map Assignment Detail
(please complete this sheet and attach it to your concept map before submission)
Name:
______________________________________
Student #:
______________________
Date and title of selected primary lecture: _______________________________________________
Central theme taken from that lecture: ___________________________________________
Key concepts from that lecture:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
Key concepts from other lecture(s):
1)
2)
3)
4)
Additional application concepts:
1)
2)
3)
4)