A New Approach to Concept Mapping : Using the "Jibun" Label to Indicate Personal Sides of Concepts

Abstract

Concept mapping is used for vanous purposes m science education and environmental education, and its validity has been demonstrated in various studies. In this report, we proposed that the use of the "Jibun" (I, me, or myself) label in concept mapping can help identify the personal side of concepts. This method has a further advantage in the study of living things: noticing the association between the contents studied and the observer makes learning relevant. It becomes an opportunity not only for the construction of the "Jibun" concept in the taxonomy of living things but also for the construction of the "Jibun" concept involved in a social activity in a familiar environment. The following are the results of our research: ・Using the "Jibun" label and "Ikimono" (living things) label in concept maps about the "next generation of living things," students in the first grade of lower secondary school projected the concept of the "reproduction of Medaka" into the concept of "reproduction of human and/ or other living things." ・Making a concept map at the end of the study about the "growth of Medaka," fifth grade elementary school students used the "Jibun" label to indicate the concepts of "Jibun as a living thing" and "Jibun as an individual person." ・Fifth grade elementary school students constructed a "Jibun" concept including not only the cognitive side but also the personal side of concepts about environmental problems in a concept map at the end of their study of "the environment for living things." These results indicate that concept mapping using the "Jibun" label is an effective method in science education and environmental education.