Rote learning is often emphasized in educational settings, and consists of simple memorization of information, without concern for relationships among concepts. In contrast, meaningful learning results from linking new information to relevant, preexisting concepts or propositions in the cognitive structure of an individual. Ausubel believes that the most important factor for learning is what the learners already know. Concept maps are designed to tap into a person's cognitive structure, and to externalize concepts and propositions. We can define the concepts in concept maps to be patterns of 'regularities' in events or objects.
Events can be 'happenings', while objects can be abstract or real 'things' in our environment.
Typically, names, symbols or signs of our language denote concepts. We use these concepts when we observe or interpret events and objects. Thus, concepts help us to describe and explain the way the world looks. When concepts are linked together with action words, they can form propositions that express the relationship between the concepts. By proposition, we mean a simple sentence that the individual asserts to be true.