Effectiveness of Concept Mapping and Mind Mapping in Science Teaching

In recent years, constructivist theory has received considerable attention in education scholarship, practitioner preparation, and policy formation. The constructivist epistemology assumes that students construct their own knowledge on the basis of interaction with their world and communication with their teachers. Significant amongst such teaching strategies are the use of: concept and mind mapping techniques. There is empirical support for the use of mapping in enhancing, retaining and improving knowledge. Evidence from the cognitive sciences shows that visual displays do enhance the learning. Concept mapping is often confused with mind mapping. So, this paper attempts to compare the two strategies and also throws light upon the researches conducted to study their effectiveness in science teaching.