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Blending Concept Maps with Online Labs for STEM Learning
Article in Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing · January 2015
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-11218-3_14

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Blending Concept Maps with Online Labsfor STEM Learning
Raghu Raman, Mithun Haridas, and Prema Nedungadi

Abstract. In this paper we describe the architecture of an e-learning environmentthat blends concept maps with Online Labs (OLabs) to enhance student
performance in biology. In the Indian context, a secondary school student’s
conceptual understanding of hard topics in biology is at risk because of a lack ofqualified teachers and necessary equipments in labs to conduct experiments.
Concept map provides a visual framework which allows students to get an
overview of a concept, its various sub concepts and their relationships andlinkages. OLabs with its animations, videos and simulations is an interactive,
immersive approach for practicing science experiments. The blended e-learning
environment was tested by systematically developing a concept map for theconcept “Photosynthesis” and by successfully integrating it into the OLabs
environment. Our blended approach to concept understanding has interesting
implications for the teacher who is engaged in training programs.
Keywords: Concept Map, OLabs, Biology, Photosynthesis, simulations,animations, online labs, virtual labs.

1

Introduction

Concept maps are now popularly used as a tool in K 12 education where they areused as linkages in science standards and concept growth dynamics. It is seen that
often students get confused between the relationship of various subjects to eachother [1] and one of the major educational challenges of modern times is toprovide a framework where subjects can be linked to each other. Educators use
concept maps as an assisted tool for providing accurate instructions, learning
objectives and evaluator criteria. Because of their multi –usability, concept
maps have evolved to become an effective productivity booster and a quick
accomplisher [2]. Concept maps are actually founded on the principle that it’s
Raghu Raman · Mithun Haridas · Prema Nedungadi
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, India© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
El-Sayed M. El-Alfy et al. (eds.), Advances in Intelligent Informatics,
Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 320, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-11218-3_14

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R. Raman, M. Haridas, and P. Nedungadi

easier to make sense of new information when it’s presented in a visual way.
Novak first categorized concept maps in his cutting edge article and gave them apurpose and nomenclature [3]. These maps are great for summarizing informationand presenting them as a holistic linked unit. When a student uses concept maps toderive relationships between apparently unlinked subjects, the higher order
thinking skills are being utilized. A concept map is an educational tool that
follows the idea of meaningful learning. Concept maps are graphical tools fororganizing and representing knowledge and they include concepts, usuallyenclosed in circles or boxes of some type, and relationships between concepts
indicated by a connecting line linking two concepts [3]. Blooms taxonomy
actually classifies these skills as synthesis and evaluation [5]. Concepts aredefined as perceived regularity in events, objects and the sequential flow isrepresented by symbolic aids like + or % [6]. When multiple concepts are linked
together they form a proposition or a semantic map. Stakeholders in education
have begun to realize the importance of addressing student difficulties incomprehending the linkages between different subjects [7]. Interestingly concept
maps are now integrated into teacher training programs which help incorporate theprinciples of modern educational culture. Many educational practitioners believethat K 12 education concept maps can be used to strengthen the academic
understanding of students and teachers at least in the field of biology [8].
Biology is a core science subject which deals with all the biological process inthe biosphere. Considering its fundamental characteristics and importance, biology
is today a standard subject of instruction at all levels of our educational systems.
From our literature survey we believe that most of the students show poor
performance in biological science because of the lack of meaningful learning, andlack of equipment in labs to do experiments. The research done by Tekkaya [9]on high school students found that the students have misconceptions in various
areas of biology like osmosis, diffusion etc. The findings of Ajaja [10] suggestthat concept mapping when efficiently used as a study skill could enhance post
achievement test scores and retention of biology knowledge well over other study
skills used by students. In our traditional method we are teaching students in alinguistic way. Research suggests that information is processed and stored inmemory in both linguistic and visual forms. Research in both educational theory
and cognitive psychology tells us that visual learning is among the very best
methods for teaching and learning. If students start learning using visual ways
then they are forced to draw the ideas that they have learnt like how the different
concepts are connected to each other, relationships between the concepts andorganize their knowledge in a graphical way.
We have online labs (OLabs) for science experiments to perform biologicallab experiments that are available to students who have no access to physical labs
or where equipment is not available. OLabs comes with detailed theory,interactive simulations, animations and lab videos. We enhance OLabs to improve
the students learning skills by incorporating tools to create concept maps and theprocess of designing concept maps to create a more effective virtual learning
environment.

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135

Online Labs (OLabs) for Science Experiments

With all the advances in communicative technology that came into prominence
during the last few decades, there evolved a simulation based eLearning called
online labs [11]. Students may conduct virtual experiments that mimic the featuresof real life experiments. There are several advantages of using virtual environment
such as OLabs. There is a relaxation on time constraints as each student has
sufficient time in the lab and the geographical constraints are eliminated. There isan increased economy of scale as the cost of setting up a sophisticated learning
environment is reduced. Enhanced safety and security is another big advantage ofthe simulated environment as per [12].

Fig. 1 OLabs Concept Map for Photosynthesis

A concept map typically contains concepts which are represented using circles
or boxes. Each related concept can be connected by using lines, and labels on theselines define the relationship between the two concepts. If two or more concepts areconnected using linking words and forms a meaningful statement then it known asa preposition. If there is any relationship between concepts in one domain to aconcept in another domain then we can connect these concepts using an arrow withlinking words. This type of relationship is known as crosslink’s. Fig. 2 is an
example of a concept map that shows the above characteristics.
In Fig. 2, "Biology", "Animals", “Plants", “living organism” etc. are examples
of concepts, and “can be”, “made up of”, “are capable” etc. are examples oflinking words. The relationship between concepts "Plants", “sunlight” and"photosynthesis" is expressed through the linking words "use the energy from"and “to carry out” for forming the proposition "Plants use energy from sunlight tocarry out photosynthesis". In Fig. 2, the concept “Animals” and “Plants" are two
separate domains and are connected to each other to forms a crosslink.

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Fig. 2 A concept map about Biology

There are different kinds of concept maps such as hierarchical, linear, circularspider and so on, which helps to facilitate meaningful learning and improvestudent achievement. The study carried out by Bamidele and Oloyede [13]indicates that “there was no significant difference in the performances of thestudents with respect to the kind of concept map used and it implies that theconcept mapping strategies were not all that different in their superiority”.
Concept map applications or educational innovation may benefit immensely fromproper usage of interactive table top technology [15]. Mostly students in sciencelab collaborate because there is lack of space and facilities in the laboratory.

3

Making Concept Map for OLabs Biology Experiment

Constructing concept maps is a structured process which is based on a specifictopic, revision and re-positioning of the concepts, thus helping to construct a goodconcept map having a pictorial view of the topic. It helps the students to thinkefficiently and to reduce complexity of the study. Teachers can take feedback
from the students after they finish each step of making the concept map. Concept
mapping is also a valuable theory of learning that teachers can use to evaluate astudent’s level of understanding. This will help to reduce the mistakes of students
and to understand each part of the concept map and their reasoning behind theconcepts and connections they made.
A. Constructing a good focus question
Novak and Cañas [3] suggested that a helpful way to determine the context ofyour concept map is to choose a focus question, that is a question that clearlyspecifies the problem or issue the concept map should help to resolve. Fig. 5 wasconstructed from the focus question “What is Photosynthesis?” and described all
the main concepts related to photosynthesis. Derbenseva et.al [16] found that thestructure of the map influences not only the focus question but also the type of
relationships that are likely to be constructed in a proposition that links twoconcepts together. So for constructing good concept map we need specific focus
questions and proper concepts.

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B. Choose relevant concepts
The next step is to identify the relevant concepts that relate to our main idea or thefocus question. Make a list of all the relevant concepts, usually 10 to 25 concepts
is sufficient. In Fig. 3(A) it shows that all the main concepts that are related to the
topic photosynthesis. From the list, give rank for each concept and place each
important concept at the top of the page and arrange all other concepts in ahierarchy underneath that one. Fig. 3(B) shows the ranked list of concepts.

Fig. 3 (A). Focus question and relevant concepts. (B) An example image for arranging
important concept at the top and less important below that concept.

Fig. 4 A preliminary concept map about “Photosynthesis”

C. Construct a preliminary concept map
After choosing relevant concepts we can start making a draft copy of concept map.
This will give an overall idea of how the concept map looks. After making a

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preliminary concept map, a review is essential to improve the map. We can also
add, rearrange or remove the concept from the preliminary concept map. In Fig. 4
we can see a preliminary concept map.
D. Choose linking words to connect concepts
Using the appropriate linking words to clearly express the relationship between
two concepts is possibly the most difficult task during the construction of concept
maps. Linking words usually contains 1-3 words appropriate for relationship of
the two concepts. In Fig. 5 it shows that the linking phrase “takes place in” isused to connect the concept “Photosynthesis” and “Leaves” for making ameaningful relationship.
E. Finding cross-links
One of the important features of concept map is the usage of cross links. Cross
links helps students to identify that all concepts are in some way related to one
another. According to Novak and Cañas [3] there are two features of concept mapsthat are important in the facilitation of creative thinking: the hierarchical structurethat is represented in a good map and the ability to search for and characterize new
cross-links. In Fig. 5 we observe how the concept "Chemical energy" is linked to"Glucose"; both are separate sub domains of the concept map, forming cross-links.
F. Use colors to group concepts
Colors help to structure the concept map by separating groups of concepts thereby
helping to recall the content of the map after a long time. The left cerebral
hemisphere is specialized for linguistic and cognitive processes, whereas the rightcerebral hemisphere is specialized for visuospatial processing [17]. If we are using
different colors for each group of concepts, together with text then it will help
both cerebral hemispheres to work together and place the information in long term
memory. In Fig. 5 we grouped the “factors effecting photosynthesis” using one
color and “needs for photosynthesis” using another color. Research shows thatcolor coded concept maps improve the performance of students [18].

Fig. 5 A Completed concept map about “Photosynthesis”

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G. Usage of images, website links, other concept and explanatory notes
Adding images or examples to the map can clarify the meaning of concepts
and help to remember the information. We can click on the icon below theconcepts to open the images. In Fig. 6 it shows the image of chloroplast inside
the concept map. For getting more information about each main concept we also
added website links for important concepts. We gave two sample resourcesfrom “Amrita” (OLabs) and “Arizona University” for the main concept“Photosynthesis” shown in the Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 A Concept map representing “Photosynthesis” with some of the resources

Fig. 7 OLabs simulation for “Importance of Light in Photosynthesis”

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We also added sub concept maps for important concepts like “Photosynthesis”
and “Chloroplast” as shown in Fig. 6 thus providing further details about the topic.
Explanatory notes are used to explain some important concepts in the map. The
explanatory notes for the concept “water” is shown in Fig. 6. To integrate concept
maps and OLabs simulation we have some of the links in concepts that will
directly lead to the OLabs simulation environment. Hagemans et.al [18]suggesting that concept map-based learning is relevant for improving student
learning in simulation based environments. The completed concept map in Fig. 5
gives overall idea of how different colors like green, blue and red affect the rate ofphotosynthesis. To experimentally check how different colors are affecting therate of photosynthesis, students can click on the link below the concept “Greenlight” to view the OLabs simulation page as shown in the Fig. 7.

4

Conclusion

The paper discusses the theoretical background for concept maps and describes
the step by step process in designing a concept map for biology in OLabs. Concept
mapping is an effective tool to provide a global picture; as it divides a subject into
various branches while showing the connectivity between their subparts, thereby
enhancing students’ comprehension. Our framework captures all the necessary
elements for the concept map to make it more interactive and integrated with theOLabs simulation environment. Students can use the OLabs concept map as thecentral element and go to the other resources and get information related to aparticular topic. Our framework allows other resources such as videos,
simulations, images, website links, and sub concept maps and so on to be elementsof the OLabs concept map thus providing a complete reference of the subject. The
color coded concept map helps students to remember information about aparticular subject for longer terms. We thus provide an easy to use system foreducators to design concept maps and publish them using the rich media OLabs
resources. We are conducting controlled surveys using the concept enriched
OLabs pedagogy in enhancing the understanding of students’ comprehension, easeof learning, and knowledge on subject matter and attitudes.

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