Conceptual Mapping Facilitates Coherence and Critical Thinking in the Science Education System

In this case, the authors propose a pathway of visual mapping through which the science education system from professional educators who produce representations of national and state standards to curriculum coordinators at the school district level to individual teachers and students in the classroom could be aligned in order to promote meaningful learning of a connected set of concepts. Conceptual mapping is demonstrated to be a tool that promotes critical thinking, cohesion, and meaningful learning in opposition to the learning of arbitrary facts and rote memorization. The authors offer many examples of conceptual maps that have been produced to externalize thinking at each level. This chapter provides a “synthesis case” demonstrating that not only does it require critical thinking to create conceptual maps, but, equally salient, these visual representations of our thinking catalyze further critical thinking and coherence within the science education system. BACKGROUND: CRITICAL THINKING, MEANINGFUL LEARNING, CONCEPTUAL MAPS, AND THE SCIENCE EDUCATION SYSTEM Critical Thinking and Concept Mapping A host of researchers have linked constructing concept maps (cmaps) with critical thinking (Jonassen et al., 1998; von der Heidt, 2011; Fonseca & Extremina, 2008.) As the chapters in this book will make abundantly clear, “critical thinking” has been defined different ways by different authors. Further, Krathwohl (2002) recognized the terms ‘critical thinking’ and ‘problem solving’ lacked clarity of meaning in popular usage and advised that “one must determine the specific meaning of ‘problem solving’ and ‘critical thinking’ from the context in which they are being used.” A clear articulation of the relationship between cmapping James Gorman Northbridge High School, USA Jane Heinze-Fry Museum Institute for Teaching Science, USA