Concept Maps

One of your tasks is to understand a concept well-enough to be able to explain it to someone else.

This graphic shows how you need to know a lot more about a topic than you actually plan to talk about:

A concept map can help you see areas where you need to learn more about a subject.

One way to use a concept map is to combine it with the 6 main “question words“. These are who, what, where, when, why and how.

You should use a different bubble for the answer to each question that you come up with. Some question words may not apply, while others may help you develop multiple questions.

You should then think of questions that are related to each of the new bubbles. This will expand your knowledge of the topic.

For instance, imagine your topic is circles. At first, you may not think there is much to say about circles. If you go through the questions words, you will find that who, when, and where don’t really apply. However, there are lots of “what” questions that can be asked.

You should work to learn at least 2 steps away from the center topic. However, it can be overwhelming if you carry this too far. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. It is important to realize when you should limit that amount of information as well.