Concept webbing may begin with a concept presented in the middle of a page. From that concept, a group of students may brainstorm all related concepts that they feel are relevant or that flow from that initial concept. Concepts will multiply as more and more concepts are generated and presented on paper. Each individual within the group may build upon the concepts of others. This technique is particularly useful for generating ideas.
Concept mapping is designed to show meaningful relationships between concepts.
Webbing is more free flowing and does not need to be hierarchical. Mapping can make clear to students the key ideas to focus on. Concept formation involves the recognition that some objects or events belong together while others do not. Students are provided with data about a particular concept and are encouraged to classify or group the data. Once the objects have been grouped according to a particular categorization scheme, the grouping is given a label.