Cmap Tools and the avoidance of mindless mapping

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Cmap Tools and the avoidance of mindless mapping
Wireless Ready 3NUCB NagoyaFebuary 20, 2009

• Lawrie Hunter
• Kochi University of Technology
• http//www.core.kochi-tech.ac.jp/hunter/

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Cmap Tools software has taken solid hold in
science education in many countries, primarily
for use in representing learner and instructor
perceptions of the interrelations between
concepts, and has a number of appealing
applications for IT based language education. The
software is crossplatform and free
(http//cmap.ihmc.us/download/). It connects the
user automatically to free online storage and
sharing. Cmaps can be exported as web pages,
graphics or pdfs.Cmap Tools is designed for the
creation of 'Novakian' maps, i.e. maps whose
nodes are necessarily connected by text-labelled
links. This apparently innocuous feature forces
articulation of perception, but it has the same
weakness as the (in)famous 'mind maps' without
some constraint imposed by the instructor or
within the task definition, learner performance
can roam widely, resulting in 'mindless
maps.'This paper first outlines the structure
issues underlying the witting use of cmaps
rhetorical structure, text structure, paragraph
structure and sentence structure. Without
incorporating these structures in the framing of
task design, the instructor/designer will not be
able to control the form of learner output.The
paper then demonstrates the use of four types of
task constraint which the author has developed
for Cmap tasks in the teaching of entry and upper
advanced EFL writing. These constraint types,
which reduce to easily manageable task design
elements, are map size allowable links
rhetorical devices and degree of abstraction.
The participant will come away with a set of
conceptual tools for the witting use of the
excellent Cmap Tools.
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What My Computer Can Do
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What My Computer Can Do What My Computer Makes
Me Think
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CALL
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CALLcomputer assisted language learning
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ESL
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ESLEnglish as a second language
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EFL
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EFLEnglish as a foreign language
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ESWoT
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ESWoTEnglish as a second way of thinking
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ESR
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ESREnglish as a second rhetoric
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TESR
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TESRtechnical English as a second rhetoric
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OUTLINE for today1. Cmap tools2. The witting
use of Cmaps -structure issues3. Four types of
task constraint for Cmap tasks in the teaching
of entry and upper advanced EFL writing. 1. map
size 2. allowable links 3. rhetorical
devices 4. degree of abstraction
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1. Cmap tools
Global tension in Hunters mapping work When is
mapping more effective/efficient than
text in task presentation/performance?  
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• Cmap tools
• Uses of mapping in EFL

• Summarizing content of a text
• 2. Analysing content of a text
• 3. Brainstorming in pre-writing
• 4. Structural planning of a writing task
• 5. Low-text display of knowledge
• 6. Visual cloze
• 7.
• 8.

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1. Cmap tools
Types of mapping systems

• Mind mapping
• Directed link maps
• Textured-link maps
• Horns argument mapping
• AusThinks argument mapping
• Rationale argument mapping
• RST maps
• Rhetorical Structure Theory

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Mind mapping á la Tony Buzan
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Mind mapping

• The links are all associations
• -i.e. zero granularity

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Directed-link maps
http//www.inspiration.com/
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Textured-link maps
graphically textured
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Textured-link maps
textually textured
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Textured-link maps (directed links)
v
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Novakian maps, with their textured link dyadic
elements, can be used to represent arguments.
The rules of operation for Novakian maps may
be defined as Rectangles (nodes) contain
concepts. Rectangles are joined by labeled lines
(propositions). Propositions are usually
uni-directional. The label in the middle of a
proposition is called a linking phrase.
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2. The witting use of Cmaps -structure issues
The structure issues underlying the witting use
of cmaps rhetorical structure text
structure paragraph structure sentence
structure.
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2. The witting use of Cmaps -structure issues
The structure issues underlying the witting use
of cmaps rhetorical structure text
structure paragraph structure sentence
structure. Without incorporating these
structures in the framing of task design, the
instructor/designer will not be able to control
the form of learner output.
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2. The witting use of Cmaps Quantum levels of
mapping
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Hunters framework for text analysis
Key content Background Persuasion
Rhetorical structure
Information organization
Information structures
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Hunters framework subsets
Rhetorical analysis
Key content Background Persuasion

Structure analysis
Rhetorical structure
Information organization
Information structures
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. Study technical academic
writing -writing abstracts
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 1. map size 2. allowable links 3.
rhetorical devices 4. degree of abstraction
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 1. map size
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 1. map size -allowable number of
nodes
Phase 1 unconstrained associative
mapping Learners made association type concept
maps of the content of a text. To force
summarization, a limit of 10 nodes was imposed.
Performance was strongly uniform in terms of
node content. Generally the learners used the
lexical units found in the text. ppt 1
associational mapping
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 2. allowable links
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 2. allowable links
Phase 2 unconstrained Novakian mapping Learners
map the same text again, using Cmap
software. Object "try to represent the argument
in the Niiho paper," which was described in
the article. Maps were highly varied (chaotic
variation) in content and in link type. ppt 2
argument mapping
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 2. allowable links
Phase 3 Learners mapped the text a third time,
again using Cmap software, but with only
the argumentation links shown below.
Citation as subject Results as subject Claim as subject
claims (that) proposes (that) implies (that) suggests (that) infers (that) observes (that) reveals (that) demonstrates (that) indicates (that) disproves proves (that) implies (that) is supported by is contradicted by is in agreement with is in opposition to assumes (that)
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 2. allowable links
Phase 3 Learners mapped the text a third time,
again using Cmap software, but with only
the argumentation links shown below. Learner
product was quite uniform in choice of links from
the array. Map structure and content varied
relatively little.
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 3. rhetorical devices Using Cmap
Tools to create RST maps Rhetorical
Structure Theory
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The text 1) Lactose and Lactase 2) Lactose is
milk sugar 3) the enzyme lactase breaks it
down. 4) For want of lactase most adults cannot
digest milk. 5) In populations that drink milk
the adults have more lactase, perhaps through
natural selection. 6) Norman Kretchmer,
Scientific American, page 70, October 1972. RST
Analysis from the RST web site (http//www.sfu.ca/
rst) This abstract is nearly half background
information. One of the reasons that
backgrounding is not signalled by its own
distinct signal (such as a conjunction) may be
that such a signal would in effect say that the
author thought the reader would not know this
information. Some readers might find that mildly
condescending if it were made explicit. Backgroun
ding is seldom signalled explicitly.
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The text 1) Lactose and Lactase 2) Lactose is
milk sugar 3) the enzyme lactase breaks it
down. 4) For want of lactase most adults cannot
digest milk. 5) In populations that drink milk
the adults have more lactase, perhaps through
natural selection. 6) Norman Kretchmer,
Scientific American, page 70, October 1972.
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Nucleus Satellite relations The most frequent
structural pattern is that two spans of text
(virtually always adjacent, but exceptions can be
found) are related such that one of them has a
specific role relative to the other. RST says
that the nucleus is more essential to the text
than the satellite
Relation Name Nucleus Satellite
Evidence claim evidence for the claim
Background text whose understanding is being facilitated text for facilitating understanding
Elaboration basic information additional information
Preparation text to be presented text which prepares the reader to expect and interpret the text to be presented.
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Multinuclear relations There are also relations
that do not carry a definite selection of one
nucleus.
Relation Name Span a Span b
Contrast
Joint
List
Sequence
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More RST relations
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 4. degree of abstraction
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3. Four types of task constraint for Cmap tasks
in the teaching of entry and upper advanced EFL
writing. 4. degree of abstraction -number of
nodes -prescribed link content -prescribed
text types
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Future work
Embed Hunters info structure mapping in Novakian
argument mapping
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Thank you for your attention.
You can download this .ppt from http//www.lawrieh
unter.com/WR3/ It will be archived
at http//www.lawriehunter.com/presns/
Lawrie Hunter Kochi University of
Technology http//www.core.kochi-tech.ac.jp/hunter
/