Using Concept Maps to Promote Student Teachers' Growth and Success

Concept maps provide an outstanding avenue to promote the growth and success of student teachers. These visual maps provide a unique pictorial representation of an individual's understanding of concepts and ideas, and promote communication and success throughout the entire student teaching process. They serve as a direct measure of an individual's understanding of a problem or idea. Concept maps provide an avenue for student teachers to demonstrate proficiency in their performance as well as areas for improvement in all facets of being a teacher. In addition, concept maps can be effectively incorporated into the conferencing and goal setting areas of the student teaching experience. They provide an outstanding avenue to promote effective communication and to resolve contested areas between student teachers and cooperating teachers.