The program is used to compare similarities between expert and novice concept maps, as well as to identify within novice maps common misconceptions or alternative conceptions, and missed relationships. Significance of the Study Traditional methods of producing and analyzing concept maps have relied upon pencil and paper generation of concept maps, frequently basing them on clinical interviews of students. This visualization clarifies how the learner links concepts within the domain of knowledge and reveals specific changes in knowledge constructs. Concept mapping has a place in the classroom teacher's repertoire as an alternative assessment method. Typical multiple choice tests focus on rote learning and simple relationships, but cannot convey a more global understanding of the topic, while language and writing difficulties may mask accurately perceived relationships in student essay responses.
Concept mapping provides a simple and direct way to show how students link ideas.
Missing conceptions and alternative conceptions are easily recognized within concept maps, and the teacher can design further instruction accordingly. Schvaneveldt uses Pathfinder analysis and has devised a program that produces a non-hierarchical linked spatial model. An intriguing feature of Pathfinder's program is the ability to constrain the data so that links disappear, showing which are the strongest and weakest cognitive links, based on the closeness rating. The concept maps generated by Pathfinder can be compared and analyzed statistically. SemNet, developed by Kathleen Fisher and colleagues, is a fully developed computer tool for the construction of concept maps.