Program Details
Michelle Harper
Graduate Student, Universal of Central Florida
Concept Mapping
Michelle will discuss what concept mapping is, historical uses of concept mapping as a learning and assessment technique, and the distinction between concept mapping and other networking techniques. Michelle will show how to create a concept map, discuss different methods used to analyze a concept map, and will look at the applications for concept maps in learning, assessment, and interface design.
From Michelle Harper's webpage
My research interest lies in assessing an individual's knowledge in order to predict their performance. In my research I assert that knowledge is stored relationally in memory and assessing the structure of an individual's knowledge may be just as important as knowing how much knowledge the person possess. For this reason, I have focused my research on knowledge elicitation methods that attempt to elicit structural knowledge. Two methods that have been the main focus of my research are card sorting and concept mapping. Both of these tools are referred to as conceptual knowledge elicitation techniques and are a direct method of measuring the structure of knowledge. Because these methods are often impractical to implement into training regimens, I have worked with a team of researchers on creating a product that makes card sorting and concept mapping more practical to implement. In addition, through empirical research, I have discovered that simple ways of scoring these methods, particularly concept mapping, can provide just as much information as more complex methods of scoring.
Currently, my researcher efforts are aimed at determining if structural knowledge elicitation methods are capable of predicting a trainee's performance when operating in an automated environment. Further, because different assessment methods may provide varying information about an individual's knowledge, I have been investigating the interaction between various methods of assessment in predicting performance. The goal of the research is to determine which methods should be used to provide an overall "picture" of a trainee's knowledge for the purpose of making a judgment about the trainee's ability to adequately perform in context.