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Making learning visible: The role of concept mapping in higher education
Article in Studies in Higher Education · June 2008
DOI: 10.1080/03075070802049251

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Making learning visible: the role of concept mapping in higher education
David Haya; Ian Kinchina; Simon Lygo-BakeraaKings College London, UK

To cite this Article Hay, David , Kinchin, Ian and Lygo-Baker, Simon(2008) 'Making learning visible: the role of concept

mapping in higher education', Studies in Higher Education, 33: 3, 295 — 311
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Studies in Higher Education
Vol. 33, No. 3, June 2008, 295–311

Making learning visible: the role of concept mapping in higher education
David Hay*, Ian Kinchin and Simon Lygo-Baker
Kings College London, UK

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TaylorStudies
10.1080/03075070802049251
CSHE_A_305093.sgm
0307-5079
Original
Society
30200833
david.2.hay@kcl.ac.uk
DavidHay
00000June
and
in
for
ArticleHigher(print)/1470-174X
FrancisResearch
2008 Education
into Higher(online)
Education

This article develops the concept-mapping method as a tool for enhancing teaching quality inhigher education. In particular, it describes how concept mapping can be used to transform
abstract knowledge and understanding into concrete visual representations that are amenable
to comparison and measurement. The article describes four important uses of the method: theidentification of prior knowledge (and prior-knowledge structure) among students; thepresentation of new material in ways that facilitate meaningful learning; the sharing of‘expert’ knowledge and understanding among teachers and learners; and the documentationof knowledge change to show integration of student prior knowledge and teaching. The
authors discuss the implications of their approach in the broader context of university level
teaching. It is not suggested that university teachers should abandon any of their tried andtested methods of teaching, but it is shown how the quality of what they do can besignificantly enhanced by the use of concept mapping.

Introduction
In the UK (as in many countries), higher education has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.
The numbers of students taking part in university education has risen from 500,000 in the 1960s
to 2 million today (see the Higher Education Research Opportunities website; HERO 2007). As
participation has increased, so too has the variety of entry-level qualifications and experiences,
cultures, expectations and motivations of our university students. Some aspects of the qualification process have also changed. Modular course provision has become common, and assignment
tasks tend to be richer and more varied than they previously were. Nevertheless, the basic methods of university teaching remain largely unchanged. This is despite significant increase in average class size and a considerable decline in staff to student teaching ratios. In large-classsituations, in particular, many lecturers are troubled by an apparent lack of opportunities forstudent questions, the difficulty of achieving genuine student-centred teaching and a real needfor tools with which to measure student learning quality. These issues are the concern of thisarticle. To address them we focus on just one method – concept mapping – and show how it canbe used to enhance the quality of university teaching without recourse to large-scale change inteaching methodology.
The article is presented in three parts. First, we explore what it means to learn at university
level. We develop a simple definition of learning with utility among all of the cognate disciplinesof higher education. We use this as a framework for better understanding university teachingpractice, and identifying some of the issues that must be addressed if university teaching is to be
improved. Second, we explain the concept mapping method and show how it can be deployed in
the course of teaching. We focus on the ways that lecturers can identify and respond to the needsof their students (even among large classes), and we show how students can be helped to learn*Corresponding author: Email: david.2.hay@kcl.ac.uk
ISSN 0307-5079 print/ISSN 1470-174X online© 2008 Society for Research into Higher Education
DOI: 10.1080/03075070802049251
http://www.informaworld.com

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meaningfully for themselves. We end the article with a brief discussion of the wider role of theuniversity academic. Many university staff appointments require commitment to both teaching
and research. We show how research into student learning within specific subjects and disciplines can help to integrate teaching and research activities. We argue that concept mapping canfacilitate teacher–student interactions in the creation and extension of knowledge, as well as its
transmission. We suggest that the emergence of new and individually acquired meaning is agenuinely authentic definition of higher education.
Towards a common definition of university learning
It is an aim of this article that we explore and develop a common definition of university-level
learning. There are several important texts on university teaching (e.g. Prosser and Trigwell1999; Nicholls 2002; Ramsden 2002), and all of them offer significant insights into what itmeans to teach at university level. They also all agree that university teaching should be underpinned by a theory of learning, but none attempts to define a general model of university learning. Instead they draw heavily on the research into student learning approaches (e.g. Säljö 1975;
Marton and Säljö 1976, 1984; Entwistle, Meyer and Tait 1991). As a consequence, many of thesetexts emphasise issues of ‘difference’ among learners as a basis for teaching. This is not easily
reconciled with the demands that are faced by the teachers of higher education (Nicholls 2002).
The ‘learning style’ literature is also circumspect, because it lacks any underpinning theory (seeCoffield et al. 2004a, b), and often fails to distinguish between the different processes of learningand of teaching (Jarvis 2006).
Learning as change
In order to provide an alternative to the ‘learning style’ approach we start with one of the mostwidely used general models of adult learning: Kolb’s learning cycle (Kolb and Fry 1975). Thisis shown in Figure 1.
Although Kolb’s learning cycle has its origins in the literature of continuing education, there
can be little doubt that it can contribute to an understanding of learning at university level. Thisis because it takes ‘experience’ as the starting point for learning, and suggests that learning
occurs by similar and sequential processes. Thus, individuals must experience, reflect, theorise
and test new knowledge in order to learn. Kolb and Fry (1975) suggest that this is true of learners
in all situations, including the classroom experience of formal teaching. The approach subsumes
the notions of difference, since it suggests that, while different people may have different affinities for one part or other of the cycle, ultimately learning occurs only when the cycle as a wholeis complete.
A similar approach has been developed by Jarvis (e.g. Jarvis 1992, 1993). Jarvis interviewed
200 students (Jarvis 1993) and used their descriptions of learning to build general and abstract
descriptions of learning (Jarvis 1992). These were then combined to construct a single model(Figure 2).
The model has some broad similarities with Kolb’s learning cycle but it is also different.
Perhaps most significantly, Jarvis starts with ‘the person’ as the central agent in the process oflearning (Jarvis 2006). With hindsight it might be obvious that learning exists only as a personaland subjective experience, but prior to Jarvis’s work this was not so succinctly stated. Second(and related to this), Jarvis argues that learning is actually defined as personal change: if
someone is changed by an experience then they have learnt from it and the absence of change isindicative of non-learning. Thus Jarvis (1992) provides a powerful synthesis with the following
definitions and implications for pedagogy:
Kolb(1975)
describelearninga cycle.
First1975).
the person has an experience [1], then they observe and reflect upon it [2]. This is done in order to form new ways of thinking about the subject [3], so that finally what has been newly understood can be tested [4] before the phases of the cycle are repeated.
Figureand
1. FryKolb’slearning
cycle(afteras
Kolb
and Fry

Figure(1992)
Jarvis
2. Jarvis’s
states modelthat theofperson
learning[1](afteris theJarvis
most important
1992). element in any description of learning. This is because he defines learning as personal change (compare the difference from [1] to [9] and from [1] to [4]). According to Jarvis, there are nine possible outcomes of learning (or non-learning) and these can be defined by the various routes through the processes of reflection, evaluation, experimentation and memorisation.

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testing in new
situations [4]observation andreflection [2]forming abstract
concepts [3]Figure 1. Kolb’s learning cycle (after Kolb and Fry 1975).
Kolb and Fry (1975) describe learning as a cycle. First the person has an experience [1], then they observeand reflect upon it [2]. This is done in order to form new ways of thinking about the subject [3], so that
finally what has been newly understood can be tested [4] before the phases of the cycle are repeated.

Learning is personal change.
The absence of change is non-learning.
● Change must be measured to differentiate between learning and non-learning outcomes.
●●

Furthermore, Jarvis’s model has some important things to say about the causes of non-learning and the quality of change where learning occurs. First, presumption (‘I know that
already’), non-consideration (‘I don’t need to know that’) or rejection (‘I have thought about
it but it is not something I need to know’) all lead to non-learning. Second, learning (where it
does occur) can be reflective (using practice, evaluation, reasoning and memory to achievechange) or it can be non-reflective (relying on memory alone). Thus, Jarvis’s model statesthat the learner chooses (deliberately or otherwise) to adopt strategies that will affect the quality of their learning. This issue of ‘learning quality’ is the focus for much of the following
discussion.

The quality of change in learning
Some very similar conclusions to those of Jarvis were reached, independently, by Novak (e.g.
Novak 1998). Novak describes cognitive change within a single continuum that extends between
rote and meaningful learning. He defines meaningful learning in the following ways:(1) Relevant prior knowledge. That is, the learner must know some information that relates to the
new information to be learned in some nontrivial way.
(2) Meaningful material. That is, the knowledge to be learned must be relevant to other knowledge
and must contain significant concepts and propositions.

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the person [1]the person:
reinforced but
relatively
unchanged [4]practiceexperimentation [5]evaluation [8]memorisation [6]reasoning andreflection [7]the person:changed andmoreexperienced [9]Figure 2. Jarvis’s model of learning (after Jarvis 1992).
Jarvis (1992) states that the person [1] is the most important element in any description of learning. Thisis because he defines learning as personal change (compare the difference from [1] to [9] and from [1] to[4]). According to Jarvis, there are nine possible outcomes of learning (or non-learning) and these can be
defined by the various routes through the processes of reflection, evaluation, experimentation and memorisation.
(3) The learner must choose to learn meaningfully. That is, the learner must consciously and deliberately choose to relate new knowledge to knowledge the learner already knows in some
nontrivial way. (Novak 1998, 19)

As a ground for pedagogy, this is even more specific than the work of Jarvis. It suggests that rotelearning can be distinguished from meaningful learning by measures of integration among newly
acquired and prior knowledge (Hay 2007). Novak’s definition of meaningful learning issummarised in Figure 3.
Like Jarvis, this approach suggests that knowledge and understanding should be measured
before and after teaching, but, more than this, Novak provides an empirical framework forassessing the quality of any change that may have occurred. Novak also developed the conceptmapping method for just this purpose. This has been extended by Hay (2007) and Hay, Wells,
and Kinchin (forthcoming), and is explained in Figure 4.
Briefly, Figure 4 is a graphic summary of data reported by Hay (2007) and Hay, Wells, andKinchin (forthcoming), where concept mapping was used to track knowledge change among
university students. Where there was no change in knowledge (before and after learning), thisFigureThisconcept
3. Novak’s
map explainsconceptNovak’s
map of definition
meaningfuloflearning
meaningful(afterlearning
Novak and1998).
provides a framework for understanding how Novak understands teachers’ roles in the support of learning.

FigureHay(2007)
4. Measuresused the conceptof learning
mapping
quality.
method to compare students’ knowledge structures before and after teaching. In this summary of the data, concepts are shown as circles and the links between them are drawn as lines.

Studies in Higher Education 

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299

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Figure 3. Novak’s concept map of meaningful learning (after Novak 1998).
This concept map explains Novak’s definition of meaningful learning and provides a framework for understanding how Novak understands teachers’ roles in the support of learning.

BEFORE INTERVENTIONAFTER INTERVENTION

knowledge structure
remains unchanged

NONLEARNING

some prior-concepts
are rejected and newones are added, but no
new links are madeand the newly addedconcepts are not linked
to the prior knowledge
structure

ROTE
LEARNING

new concepts
are linked to the retained
knowledge structure and new
links are made between thoseparts of the prior knowledge
structure that are retained

MEANINGFULLEARNING

top (organising) concepts

rejected concepts

retained concepts

added concepts

Figure 4. Measures of learning quality.
Hay (2007) used the concept mapping method to compare students’ knowledge structures before and after
teaching. In this summary of the data, concepts are shown as circles and the links between them are drawn
as lines.

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was deemed non-learning (after Jarvis), and where change occurred, the degree of integration
between new material and extant parts of the prior-knowledge structure was used to classify thelearning quality. Rote (or surface) learning was observed where the new material was added
superficially without integration, and meaningful (or deep) learning occurred where new and oldmaterial were recombined to make new meanings.
The importance of prior knowledge
Together, the approaches of Jarvis and Novak define learning as change. Where knowledgechange is a consequence of the integration of new material and the prior-knowledge structure,
this satisfies the criteria of meaningful learning. Rote learning entails superficial changes inknowledge without integration. This definition can be applied in any discipline, and is just as
applicable to skills learning or to changing behaviours, but for simplicity we will focus here on
cognitive change alone. This is because change in knowledge and understanding is a feature of
all university-level learning, whereas the learning of skills and behaviours is less widelydistributed among the disciplines of higher education.
That learning is change and that change is measurable is a simple definition with wideutility. But it also necessitates that prior knowledge must be measured as the first step in documenting learning. Prior knowledge is the baseline from which learning can be calculated andits quality assessed. The definition also suggests that the quality of students’ learning will be
determined in large part by their starting positions. Students who have a good grasp of a topic
beforehand will be better equipped to make sense of the teaching they receive. This is common
sense, and it is therefore surprising that it is not more widely acknowledged in teaching andcurriculum design at university level. It is not enough to argue that selection for university
entrance ensures common standards of knowledge and understanding. Our own data show that
there can be considerable difference in the understandings of students who have achieved
similar examination results (Hay 2007; Hay et al. forthcoming; Hay, Wells, and Kinchin forthcoming). Most universities use attainment at schools level to determine access to higher education, but most teachers continue to report a wide range of pre-existing understandings among
their students.
Two articles provide empirical evidence for the role of prior knowledge in student learning(Hay et al. forthcoming; Hay, Wells, and Kinchin forthcoming). Their data suggest that, without
the active participation of teachers in the measurement of student prior knowledge, teaching is‘locked up’ in structures and in terminology that is inaccessible to students. As a consequence,‘experts’ can give ‘lessons’ that other ‘experts’ will deem to be excellent, while failing toengender understanding among their student audience. In such cases, students learn by rote (ifthey learn at all) or resort to other resources from among their wider human social interactions.
Hay et al. (forthcoming; Hay, Wells, and Kinchin forthcoming) also show that there are threedifferent dimensions to prior knowledge, all of which can affect student learning. These areconceptual richness, knowledge structure and misconceptions. The three dimensions are
explained as follows:(1) Students are obviously advantaged by a rich prior knowledge, and helped too if there isa good overlap between what they know already and at least some of the teaching thatthey experience. It is out of prior knowledge that students interpret what they are taught,
and the richer their knowledge to begin with, the greater the likelihood of subsequent
understanding.
(2) The structure of prior knowledge (the ways in which it is organised) can have an important impact on a student’s capacity for learning. Kinchin, Hay, and Adams (2000) showStudies in Higher Education

301

that different people go about structuring their understanding in different ways: Hay andKinchin (2006) suggest that some of these cognitive structures are more amenable tochange (learning) than others. Figure 5 is a summary of this strand of research.
(3) Prior knowledge inevitably forms a scaffold for new learning, but where it comprises
significant misconceptions then new knowledge acquisition is impeded. Understanding
student misconception to begin with is an important part of the work of a teacher, andhas long been understood in schools-level education (see Driver et al. 1994), and moregenerally, in adult education too (see Jarvis [2006], for example).

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FigureHay
and5.Kinchin
Prior-knowledge(2006) show
structurethat someandwayslearning.
of organising and storing knowledge are more amenable to learning than others. Different knowledge structures in particular (chains, spokes and networks: Kinchin, Hay, and Adams 2000) have different utilities but they also have different propensities for change.

SPOKE

CHAIN

Hierarchy

single levelas many levels as
concepts (but often
these are unjustified)

Additionsadditions to the central
concept does notinterfere with others

cannot cope withadditions near the
beginning of thesequence

NETWORK

Structure

Deletions

Links

Generalgenerally have no effect on
the overall structure
unless the central(organising) concept isdeleted (which leads tocomplete collapse)

disrupt the sequence
below the deletionseveral justified
levelsadditions and deletions
have varying effects
as Ôother routesÕ are often
available through the map

often compound(making sense only
when the map
is read as a whole)often rich and complex
showing deep
understanding

these structuresindicate Ôlearning
readinessÕ

these structuresare ÔactiveÕ

these structuresare ÔscholarlyÕ

they are flexible
and amenable tochange in the courseof learningthey are common toenterprise or to clinicalpractice where specificsets of actions must be
carried out in sequence

they often include
alternative ÔviewpointsÕ
and even contradictoryideas

often simple

Figure 5. Prior-knowledge structure and learning.
Hay and Kinchin (2006) show that some ways of organising and storing knowledge are more amenable tolearning than others. Different knowledge structures in particular (chains, spokes and networks: Kinchin,
Hay, and Adams 2000) have different utilities but they also have different propensities for change.

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All these issues make it important that students are helped to understand their own starting
positions. As Ausubel suggests, understanding students’ prior knowledge is a key step in teaching (Ausubel 1963, 1968; Ausubel, Novak, and Hanessan 1978): ‘The most important single
factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows; ascertain this and teach him/her
accordingly’ (Ausubel 1968, 36).
In small-group teaching and one-to-one tutorials, measures of, and responses to, student priorknowledge are an integral part of teaching. It is in large classes and in the delivery of lectures,in particular, that most university teachers fail to use student prior knowledge as a basis ofteaching. This is not a purposeful neglect of the issue, but arises from a lack of awareness of thetools with which prior knowledge can be measured in large groups. It is important, then, that
Novak’s concept-mapping method can be used to measure prior knowledge in a class of 400
students just as quickly and as easily as with a single person. This is explained below.
The concept-mapping method
Concept mapping is one of a broad family of graphic organising tools, that includes mind
mapping (Buzan and Buzan 2000) and spider diagramming (Trowbridge and Wandersee 1998).
Yet Novak’s method (Novak 1998) has some very specific rules that set it apart from other techniques. These are a consequence of the careful definition of learning (already described), andfacilitate the use of the method for the measurement of learning quality.
A concept map comprises the ‘bare bones of language’. Concept maps consist of concept
labels that identify specific ideas (concepts) and the links between them, which explain how
concepts are related to make meaning. A pair of concepts and their respective link makes a single
proposition, and a concept map is made from any number of propositions to give a personal definition of any particular idea or phenomenon (Novak 1998). Each proposition is a statement ofunderstanding and the validity of each assertion is open to scrutiny. Thus, the method is much
more stringent than mind mapping, for example, and actively differentiates between knowledge(of appropriate concept labels) and understanding (that is the product of concept linkage). It is a
powerful teaching tool since it facilitates the declaration of understanding among teachers andstudents.
The method can be taught in 10–20 minutes, and most students will find another 20–30
minutes sufficient to construct a reasonable map. This means that concept maps can be madewithin the time allocated for most university teaching sessions. Analysis of large numbers ofmaps can be time consuming (although quicker by far than the analysis of, say, individuals’
interview transcripts), but Kinchin, Hay, and Adams (2000) show that a considerable amount of
information can be gleaned very quickly indeed using structure alone as an indicator of priorknowledge. More stringent methods of analysis are described by Hay (2007) and Hay, Wells,
and Kinchin (forthcoming), and can be combined with a simple sampling strategy. Alternatively,
students themselves can be made responsible for the analysis of their prior knowledge, either ingroups or individually. This can be a particularly powerful approach when it is combined withrepeated measurement in the course of learning, so that students can see their knowledge andunderstanding change.
Concept mapping is already used in many different ways in school and university education. These are summarised in Table 1 and include lesson planning, measurement of change,organisation of group work and the sharing of knowledge and understanding. The use ofconcept mapping in the measurement of prior knowledge has already been discussed, and two
more applications of the method are described below. Above all else, however, concept
mapping can be used to make abstract knowledge and understanding visible to underpin its
utility.

Concept maps are made by students to describe the same topic over
and over again in the course of learning.
The concepts and links are compared to assess the changes that haveoccurred.

Persistent misconceptions can be shown by analysis of the
propositions used to describe individuals’ understandings
The quality of the dialogue between teachers and students can beenhanced through the use of concept mapping since the method
facilitates an exchange of individual knowledge and understanding.
Teachers can use concept maps to plan their lessons: where they map
their own understanding first and use their maps to organise theknowledge and information that they will present, second.
Concept maps can be used to test knowledge and understanding for the
purposes of both formative and summative assessment.
Concept maps have been used to show the cognitive structures thatdifferent people use to structure and organise their thinking.
Concept maps can be used to show measurable differences between
experts and novices.
Different knowledge, understanding and team roes can be managed
and integrated through the use of concept mapping.

Assessing change
In the course of learning

Identifying student
misconceptions
Teaching practiceTeam working

Identification of expertise

Cognitive typology

Assessment

Lesson planning

Explanation

Use

Table 1. Uses of the concept mapping method.

Kinchin, Hay and Adams 2000;
Hay and Kinchin 2006.
Novak and Gowin 1984;
Kinchin 2001.
Hughes and Hay 2001;
Kinchin and Hay 2005.

Edmondson 2000.

Kinchin 2003; Kinchin 2004;
Kinchin, deLeij and Hay 2005;
Kinchin and Hay, 2007.
Martin 1994; Kinchin and Alias 2005; Kinchin 2006a,b;
Kinchin and Hay 2007

Novak and Musonda 1991;
Novak and Symington 1982;
Eskilsson and Helldén 2003;
Iuli and Helldén 2004;
Hay 2007; Hay, Wells and Kinchin Forthcoming.
Kinchin 2000; 2002; Hay et al 2008.

References

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Measuring change and learning quality
We have already seen how concept mapping can be used to reveal prior knowledge. This is anecessary baseline if the method is to be used to track change. When a student maps the same
topic in the course of their study, then a comparison of two or more such ‘snapshots’ enables
measurement of learning quality (Hay 2007). Those parts of the knowledge structure that are
new can be readily differentiated from those that are old, and the degree of integration (between
new and previously existing ideas) can be measured. Figure 6 shows some of the results that canbe obtained using this approach in the course of teaching. Figure 6a is a model of rote learningand Figure 6b is an example of meaningful change. Both are based on real data, and illustrate
one of the key issues that we have argued already; that student prior knowledge is a goodpredictor of the meaning that can be constructed out of subsequent teaching.
Figure 6c shows some of the complex changes that may occur in the course of learning;changes that may cause teachers and learners considerable problems if they are not made visible.
The student in this case study began a course of learning with a simple prior-knowledge structure
and learnt, at first, by rote addition. Later, however, they found that what was new was irreconcilable with what they had understood to begin with. The result was a period of ‘disjuncture’,during which the student was less able to explain the topic than they had been before. Eventually
they achieved a new grasp of meaning, but this came after a difficult period in which they might
easily have given up. By making the learning process visible, the concept-mapping method canshow who is in most need of support and when this support should be given.
Among others, Laurillard (2002) states that there is remarkably little published work documenting cognitive change among learners at university. This is perhaps attributable to learning
having been deemed too complex and too intractable an issue to be amenable to empiricalmeasurement. The approach that we have described here suggests that this is not so. Indeed publications by Hay (2007) and Hay et al. (forthcoming) show that concept mapping can be done toachieve longitudinal measures of student learning quality in higher education. We suggest that
this should become a central strategy in the practice of higher education teaching. It is relatively
simple to achieve and can provide a research-led foundation for university teaching. The tracking
of student knowledge change should also be linked to measures of convergence on ‘expert’ understanding.

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Figure 6.mapping
Concept
Measuringcan betheusedquality
to reduceof learning.
abstract knowledge to concrete diagrammatic representation. When the same topic is mapped through time then the maps can be compared to measure change. This affords the documentation of learning quality and reduces specific ‘learning events’ to observable phenomena.

Sharing knowledge in the course of learning and teaching
Figure 7 shows how students go about the integration of new material within existing priorknowledge. If what is new is not integrated it must be acquired by rote and is likely to be quickly
forgotten. But there is a broad consensus among university lecturers that rote learning is common
in higher education (see Ramsden [2002] and Kinchin, Lygo-Baker, and Hay [2008] for a moredetailed discussion of these issues). This probably explains why most university teachers claim
to teach even some of the most basic issues again and again at higher levels of study. Ultimately,
learning can only be the responsibility of the learner. As both Jarvis and Novak point out, thelearner must choose to learn meaningfully. But such a stance does not negate the responsibilitiesof the teacher. Teachers can (and should) teach in ways that encourage student meaning making.
As we have already seen, this should begin with measurement of student prior knowledge,
almost by necessity. Concept mapping can be used to do this, but afterwards the method can also
be repeated to make the students’ new and emerging understanding visible to the teacher. Doingso provides a framework for understanding what is being understood and what is not. Our own
data show that the neglect of meaningful learning among students is often a consequence of
the ways in which new material is presented (Hay, Wells, and Kinchin forthcoming). RoteStudies in Higher Education
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Figure 6. Measuring the quality of learning.
Concept mapping can be used to reduce abstract knowledge to concrete diagrammatic representation.
When the same topic is mapped through time then the maps can be compared to measure change. Thisaffords the documentation of learning quality and reduces specific ‘learning events’ to observablephenomena.

306

D. Hay et al.

the teacher presents
new material

the student chooses

the student chooses

examinetoexamineandandevaluateevaluate
what they
already know
and what is new

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eitherthe student reverts
to alternative
an alternative
strategies
strategyorthethe studentís
student íspriorpriorknowledge structureis robust enoughto include the newmaterial inin nonnontrivial
non-trivial-trivial
ways without
recourse to
deep structural change
Change(LEARNING)
LEARNING

1awhich requiresthat they switch
to an alternative
strategy

NOT to examine the
new material in the context
of what they already know

thethenew
newknowledge
knowledge
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LEARNING)
LEARNING

causing
DISJUNCTURE before

the student forges
new knowledge
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Theirknowledge
theirknowledge
And understandingandunderstanding
LEARNING(LEARNING)

either2eitherthe student seeks
to understandwhat they havelearnt to repeatorthe student forgets
what they havelearnt to repeat

leadingto1b

Figure 7. A general model of learning quality.
Students must choose to learn meaningfully by the purposeful integration of new knowledge with existingunderstanding. Some students can grasp the meaning of new teaching quickly because their prior knowledge supports new understanding (1a); others will find new learning more difficult as a consequence of
their prior knowledge (1b). Some students will remain unchanged despite the teaching they receive andthis comprises non-learning (2). Students who first learn by rote will learn meaningfully later if they can
integrate their new learning with their prior knowledge. Otherwise they will tend to forget what they havebeen taught and revert to non-learning.

learning is often attributable to the teaching that students receive, and to the ways in which
students come to perceive the assessment of their learning at university (Kinchin, Lygo-Baker,
and Hay 2008).
Kinchin and Hay (2007) show how conventional teaching, and large-class lectures in particular, can act to promote rote learning (Figure 8). This is because lecturing requires that teachers
convert complex scholarly networks of knowledge to simple and linear narrative chains. These
chains are disclosed in lecturing, but the underlying understanding from which they were first
constructed is rarely made clear to students. This is compounded by so much lecture-style delivery being accompanied by a linear sequence of bullet points in PowerPoint (Kinchin 2006a, b).
The overall effect is not conducive to meaningful learning. It emphasises linearity (rather thanthe connectivity out of which genuine understanding arises) and suggests to students that there
is a single right answer to be memorised (Kinchin and Hay 2007). That which is learned bymemory alone is easily forgotten, and non-learning in higher education is a common
consequence (Kinchin, Lygo-Baker, and Hay 2008).
FigureStudentsrote
will7.learn
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A general
meaningfully
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to learnlater
ofmeaningfully
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prior knowledge.
with existing
Otherwise
understanding.
they will tend
Sometostudents
forget what
can theygrasphavethe meaning
been taughtof newand teaching
revert to quickly
non-learning.
because their prior knowledge supports new understanding (1a); others will find new learning more difficult as a consequence of their prior knowledge (1b). Some students will remain unchanged despite the teaching they receive and this comprises non-learning (2). Students who first learn by

Studies in Higher Education307)*  '$(
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Figure 8. A model of teaching and learning.
University teachers tend to use lectures to present simple narrative sequences [1] to their students. These
are actually constructed out of complex underlying knowledge networks [2], but rarely is this richness ofunderstanding disclosed to their students. As a consequence students often choose to memorise the taught
material [3], rather than engaging in a process of new-knowledge construction [4]. Nevertheless, teachersand students can use concept mapping to promote meaningful student learning [5].

Concept mapping offers a means by which these concerns can be addressed. Where teachers
map their understandings of a topic, this can be used to give students access to the complexity
and richness of the knowledge that belies their simple narrative explanations. Where students
map the same topic as their teachers, comparing their maps can help to show the ways in which
students can (or cannot) construct meaning from the new material they encounter. If this is done
through time, it can reveal the learning process itself, by helping teachers and students to understand which new concepts need further explanation to facilitate meaningful learning. The
approach will also indicate the order in which new material must be introduced if it is to beunderstood. We suggest that a simple exercise involving students directly in the construction of
new understanding should probably be a part of all university-level teaching. Students can be
asked to map their prior knowledge, and all of the concepts that they use can be written on Postit Notes (or other movable labels). Then some of the new concept labels that their teachers hope
to introduce can be disbursed, and new mapping can be done by the students to show whether or
not the new material can be linked to prior knowledge. Such an approach actively promotes theprocess of meaningful learning among students, but it is also important because it involves teachers in the research of their students learning. It is a practical exercise in new-knowledge creation

Figure 8. teachers
University
meaningfulAstudent
modellearningtend
of teaching
to use[5].lecturesand learning.
to present simple narrative sequences [1] to their students. These are actually constructed out of complex underlying knowledge networks [2], but rarely is this richness of understanding disclosed to their students. As a consequence students often choose to memorise the taught material [3], rather than engaging in a process of new-knowledge construction [4]. Nevertheless, teachers and students can use concept mapping to promote

Downloaded By: [JISC Collections Subscription Services] At: 08:11 1 October 2010

308

D. Hay et al.

(at least for the students concerned), and it incurs negligible costs (of equipment or staff time).
It is tenable with very large student groups, and affords immediate benefits to both students andteachers. Students are helped to understand the topic and also to learn what is expected of themin higher education (i.e. the grasp of understanding and the construction of meaning). Teachers
are able to find out whether or not their teaching facilitates meaningful learning, and, if not, whatneeds to be changed so that it does.
Concept mapping activities like this allow teachers to identify the new concepts that students
find troublesome or difficult to acquire. There is now a rich literature on ‘troublesome knowledge’ (e.g. Perkins 1999) and threshold concept acquisition (e.g. Meyer and Land 2003; 2005).
Nevertheless, higher education still lacks the empirical data that show where, when and how new
knowledge and understanding is acquired. The learning trajectories of all students are likely to
be different as a consequence of their different prior knowledge and experience. But understanding the ways in which people go about the construction of meaning is also likely to afford theextraction of general principles for the enhancement of teaching and learning. As we have said
already, student learning in higher education is under-researched, but using concept mapping in
the course of teaching can embed the research of student learning in university teaching. Theseissues are further explored below.
Concept mapping and the role of the university teacher
Figure 9 shows a general model of university teaching that is developed out of the arguments
presented in this article. It implies that responsible university teaching will include four distinct
practices, all of which can be achieved through concept mapping. These are:(1) measures of student prior knowledge;(2) the deliberate presentation of new material in the context of a known student knowledge
base;(3) active engagement in the development of new student meaning making through the
purposeful disclosure of underlying knowledge and understanding;(4) measurement of change among the student population so that learning (where it occurs)
is identified and the causes of non-learning are addressed.
It is difficult to envisage any cogent arguments against these aims excepting, of course, that they
are difficult to achieve, particularly among large classes unless specific methods are developed
to achieve them in the normal course of university teaching. We hope, therefore, that we haveshown how the concept-mapping method can do just this. Our own research (in collaboration
with other teachers in higher education) attests to the utility of the method even where classes
are very large indeed (e.g. Hay and Kinchin forthcoming) where the method is described for use
among student groups of 250 and more).

theFigureAuthentic
quality
9. teachingof
A learningmodelatofuniversity
anduniversity
teaching.
level
teachingThis
comprises
ispractice.
a richmeasuressource ofofempirical
student priordata knowledge;that might eventually
meaningfulleadpresentation
to a research-ledof newteachingmaterial;practiceactive engagementin each of thein disciplines
the developmentof higherof new
education.
student meaning-making; and measurement of change among the student population. All of these can be facilitated by the use of concept mapping. In using concept mapping to these ends, teachers engender meaningful learning among their students, but also accumulate important research data about

Conclusions
This article has shown how the use of the concept-mapping method can add significantly to thequality of university teaching. Concept mapping is a teaching tool and a method of measurementof learning quality. There might be other means of achieving both of these functions (of teachingpractice and the measurement of learning). Interviewing is an obvious example, but it is time
consuming and impractical with all but the smallest student groups. Thus, concept mapping islikely to have an important role in the future development of higher education and its research.
We do not suggest that concept mapping should replace the conventional methods of teaching inStudies in Higher Education309

is about the facilitation of student

involves

involves
presentation ofidentificationof student

defines how

can be grasped only when it is sufficiently

teachers should

related to the existing

go about

Downloaded By: [JISC Collections Subscription Services] At: 08:11 1 October 2010   
arisesarisesout ofout of      is combined in

is combined in

the process ofthe process of
can bemeasuredusing  

produces

can becan sometimes

measured using

require 
    
is aduringcan beperiods ofmade visible

significant

part ofbyis about the support of students

during periods ofFigure 9. A model of university teaching practice.
Authentic teaching at university level comprises measures of student prior knowledge; meaningful presentation of new material; active engagement in the development of new student meaning-making; and measurement of change among the student population. All of these can be facilitated by the use of concept
mapping. In using concept mapping to these ends, teachers engender meaningful learning among their students, but also accumulate important research data about the quality of learning and teaching. This is a richsource of empirical data that might eventually lead to a research-led teaching practice in each of the disciplines of higher education.

higher education (lectures, tutorials, seminars, practicals, clinical experience, etc.). Nevertheless,the quality of conventional university teaching can be considerably improved by its use. In
particular, concept mapping enables the engagement of teachers and learners in the processes of
discovery. Higher education is about more than the transmission of knowledge; it entails theextension and creation of knowledge as well.
Concept mapping makes learning visible. It is a lens through which the quality of learning
can be determined. Teachers can use it to promote meaningful learning among their students,

310

D. Hay et al.

but, wherever and whenever they do, they will be collecting valuable data about the teaching thatis appropriate to their subjects and disciplines. This can provide a documented research basefrom which teaching can be developed. It is an empirical methodology out of which a science ofteaching may eventually arise.
Acknowledgements
The work reported here was funded by a grant for the research of pedagogy from the Society for
Educational Studies.

Downloaded By: [JISC Collections Subscription Services] At: 08:11 1 October 2010

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