Concept Mapping and Moving Forward as a Community of Learners

Abstract

This paper describes some examples of how a group of teachers came together as a community of learners to plan for the implementation of an innovative teaching and learning strategy. Concept mapping was the strategy and none of the teachers had prior experience in its classroom application. During a twelve-month project the teachers, who taught both primary and secondary students, completed professional development activities to become familiar with the technique. These included a variety of mapping tasks that enabled teachers to reflect on their practice and to share ideas before introducing the strategy as part of their teaching. A review of teachers' feedback indicated that the professional development activities undertaken provided quality support for the introduction of an innovative teaching and learning strategy.