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2013 Annual Conference

November 5–8, 2013

Lexington, KY

It is time to review the schedule for the placement of your session in the AAACE Agenda. This is the final draft of the Schedule. When you look up your name, use the detail listing to check what days/times you asked to be placed. This is a huge program and we can accommodate necessary changes in day and time now, but may not be able to do so after September 1, 2013 except in emergencies. Please carefully check your placement and send any requests to Ginger Phillips, AAACE Conference Planner with AAACE Session Change Request in the subject line. We will respond to your email, but it may take us up to a week to do so. Thanks for your help in "fine tuning" this agenda!

A New Model for Urban Adult Literacy Education: Technology-Based Concept Mapping in GED Preparation

Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 9:00 AM–9:45 AM EST
TB2
Type of Presentation

Shared

Session Abstract

The promise of a “New Model” of urban literacy education is presented based on the integrated use of technology-based concept maps, expert knowledge maps, skeleton scaffolding maps, and students’ knowledge maps.

Target Audience

Many urban GED test preparation classes are unprepared for the challenges to their students posed by the more rigorous demands of the 2014 version of the GED tests. However, several recent developments (i.e., the evolving development of CMap Tools to facilitate use of the Internet and other resources, students’ increased ability to access and use technology-based concept maps, and our knowledge of how learners access and process knowledge and information) suggest a New Model for literacy education can be created which has the potential to demonstrates more promise than the existing approach. The use of technology-based concept maps allows the possibility for the creation of expert knowledge maps and the creation of teacher-based “skeleton concept” maps of the 2014 GED tests to scaffold student’s learning. The expert knowledge maps and scaffold maps can serve as the comparative base against which individual and group student-based concept can be compared and evaluated. Feedback can then be provided by teachers on the appropriateness of concepts and linking words, how they are subsumed, and the extent and degree of progressive differentiation, and integrative reconciliation.

Learning Outcomes

Participants will learn how to access and use the CMap Tools software, explore the Theory of Meaningful Learning that informs the concept mapping process, review current research that demonstrates the power of concept mapping as an intervention in urban adult literacy programs, and consider research and literature on the proposed New Model of literacy education.

Session Description

The convergence of several important trends suggests an opportunity to rethink the instructional approaches to the provision of urban adult literacy education. The development of innovative technology (i.e., free access to CMap Tools software), access to Internet connected computers provided by many GED test-preparation program providers suggest that GED students can now learn how to use concept maps to improve their learning efforts. Recent research on the learning and cognition, and an increased understanding of how humans acquire and process knowledge suggest meaningful learning approaches are more powerful and enduring for learners than the rote learning approaches being used in many GED preparation programs. Recent research by this author on the use concept maps to prepare urban learners for the GED tests has found evidence that concept mapping significantly improves students’ academic achievement. This session will explore the ability of literacy educators to effectively integrate concept mapping into their teaching in ways that benefit the academic achievement of learners via a New Model of literacy education.

Efforts are made to try to schedule sessions on the day preferred by the Primary Presenter, though this cannot be guaranteed. Please check your preference.

Thursday November 7

Primary Presenter

Dr. Larry G. Martin, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Work Title

Professor and Chair

Additional Presenters: Enters In Order.

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