Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps™ as Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations

by Joseph D. Novak

This fully revised and updated edition of Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge recognizes that the future of economic well being in today's knowledge and information society rests upon the effectiveness of schools and corporations to empower their people to be more effective learners and knowledge creators. Novak's pioneering theory of education presented in the first edition remains viable and useful. This new edition updates his theory for meaningful learning and autonomous knowledge building along with tools to make it operational—that is, concept maps, created with the use of CMapTools and the V diagram. The theory is easy to put into practice, since it includes resources to facilitate the process, especially concept maps, now optimised by CMapTools software. CMapTools software is highly intuitive and easy to use. People who have until now been reluctant to use the new technologies in their professional lives are will find this book particularly helpful. Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge is essential reading for educators at all levels and corporate managers who seek to enhance worker productivity.

Genres: Education

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Joseph Donald Novak (December 2, 1930 – September 22, 2023) was an American educator, and professor emeritus at the Cornell University, and senior research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition. He is known for his development of concept mapping in the 1970s. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Fred Cheyunski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concept Mapping’s Origins, Rationale, Theory, and Application - This book provides extensive context, background on concept maps, their place in learning and knowledge discovery.

It describes how concept maps emerged from educational research in the early 1970’s to make records of what children know. It relates how interviews with children and the identification of concept words and propositions led to the development of concept maps as a means of showing key ideas and their relationships via diagrammatic representation (e.g. think of bubble charts with arrows indicating how different elements are related to one another).

The book explains how concept maps are a good way for teachers to organize knowledge for instruction. It conveys ways such maps are a helpful means for students to find key concepts and principles in lectures, reading and instructional materials. This work also relates concept mapping as a useful approach for companies in representing what they do, how their product/services work, and in making enhancements.

This story unfolds through the respective chapters including (1) an overview of the book, (2) the need for a theory of education, (3) meaningful learning for empowerment, (4) construction of new meanings, (5) Ausubel’s assimilation learning theory, (6) the nature of knowledge and how humans create knowledge, (7) the effective teacher/manager, (8) the context for education/management, (9) evaluation and rewards, and (10) improving education in schools and corporations. Throughout the book, many charts, diagrams, figures and examples help inform the text. In fact, concept maps appear at various points to explain the book and it various aspects. In addition, there are appendices that offer “how to” steps.

As I read more about concept mapping, I was stuck by parallels of this approach with that of the one introduced by Peter Ramus in the 16th century. The Ramus visual learning approach went viral at that time and had a major impact on education and learning (see my review on Walter Ong’s classic book on the subject, Ramus, Method, and the Decay of Dialogue: From the Art of Discourse to the Art of Reason ). Further examination of these parallels could be most interesting and useful in understanding these methods and their effects.

Other books that seem to relate to Novak's approach include Rucker's Mind Tools: The Five Levels of Mathematical Reality , Weinberger's Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder , and Rovelli's Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity

Novak’s book gives an extensive treatment of concept mapping’s origins, rationale, related theory, with some application examples. For a summary of this background as well as more on application also see Applied Concept Mapping: Capturing, Analyzing, and Organizing Knowledge by Brian Moon, Robert Hoffman and Novak.

[Elisa Origine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Da tempo non leggevo un libro così inutile e strano!
Ho già l'abitudine di fare mappe concettuali mentre studio e sono la mia ancora di salvezza perché, avendo difficoltà di memoria e soprattutto a "verbalizzare" i concetti, le mappe sono l'unica maniera per tirar fuori le parole che mi sfuggono sempre... Ma impostate in maniera "gerarchica" mi rendono pazza e mi confondono, le parole legame mi distraggono e deconcentrano. Penso che ogni studente dovrebbe adattare le mappe concettuali in base al proprio stile di apprendimento.
Lo stile di scrittura è fastidiosamente americano, "colloquiale" e disorganizzato; gli argomenti sono esposti in maniera grossolana, imprecisa.
La spiegazione di cose tipo differenza tra proposizione e preposizione mi sembra un insulto all'intelligenza.
Ad un certo punto paragona il linguaggio alle molecole... Perfettamente logico utilizzare concetti più complicati e meno conosciuti per spiegare concetti quotidiani e semplici...!
Sarà pure un professore emerito, ma per me avrebbe fatto meglio a rimanere a occuparsi di botanica.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dizem que aprendemos quando começamos a mudar hábitos e atitudes. O que aprendi deste livro é o poder dos mapas conceituais em alinhar e organizar conceitos. Agora utilizo mapas conceituais sempre que possível para entender e estudar assuntos e também para escrever artigos.

Como menções, a referência ao Paulo Freire foi muito feliz e a história de Andrew bastante comovente.

É um livro denso e acadêmico, com muitas teorias e referências. Ao mesmo tempo é bem prazeroso de ler. Recomendo a leitura para aqueles que acreditam que qualquer organização (seja time, escola, família, empresa) deve confiar no aprendizado contínuo como um principal processo para alcançar seus propósitos.

[Maria Serafini · Rating 2 out of 5]

come tutti i libri del settore, racconta racconta ma non dà degli esempi pratici su come applicare le tecniche nelle diverse situazioni e discipline, o per la valutazione o per tutto quello che cita. E poi loda soltanto il suo metodo, racconta di studi, di ricerche ma non dà niente di concreto su cui iniziare a lavorare!

[Stuart Macalpine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good account of using concept maps to reflect structured knowledge. The book reflects much of Bruner's thinking and as such also reflects our thinking in curriculum development. Glad I read it, but really only one key message.