Concept mapping

Concept mapping helps students organise complex topics and better understand the relationships between ideas. Rather than memorising individual definitions, students learn to identify connections, conceptual hierarchies, and cause-and-effect relationships. The method supports deeper learning, helps students connect new content with prior knowledge, and quickly reveals misunderstandings or gaps in understanding. It works well when introducing a new topic, consolidating knowledge after a class, or preparing for project work. In this method, students create a visual knowledge map around a selected problem or question. The main issue is placed at the centre of the map, with related concepts and ideas arranged around it. Students connect these elements with lines to show relationships and justify the links they create. They may work individually or in small teams and discuss the meaning of concepts and the relationships between them. As they work, simplifications, ambiguities, and gaps in understanding quickly become visible and can be addressed immediately. The teacher’s role is mainly to ask questions, clarify concepts, and support students in building a more coherent understanding of the topic.

Course: Fundamentals of Management
Topic: Understanding the Business Model of an Organisation
Students analyse a real-life example of a clothing company that has moved production to countries with low labour costs. The aim is to show that business decisions have economic, social and ethical consequences.

Context (5 min)
Students analyse the business model of a medium-sized service company operating in the European market. They work in small teams. The aim of the session is to understand the relationships between customers, value propositions, resources, and revenue streams.

Warm-Up (5 min)
The teacher asks: What makes a company profitable? Students individually write down five concepts they associate with a business model.

Students Building the Concept Map (20–25 min)
Students place the phrase “Business Model of a Service Company” at the centre of the map. They then add key concepts such as customers, value, costs, revenue, resources, relationships, and channels. Teams decide which elements are overarching and which are dependent, and draw connections between them. Each connection must be justified with a brief explanation.

Comparison and Revision (10–15 min)
Teams present their maps. The teacher asks probing questions, such as: What would happen if this element disappeared? or Why is this relationship one-directional? Students revise their maps based on the discussion.

Reflection (5–15 min)
Each team identifies one concept that was unclear at the beginning but became clearer through working with the concept map.

• At the beginning of a new topic or module, when students need to develop a shared understanding of key concepts.
• Before projects or analyses that require systems thinking.
• When students have fragmented knowledge and find it difficult to connect ideas.

• For simple topics in which the relationships between concepts are already obvious.
• When the aim of the class is to master a step-by-step procedure or algorithm quickly.

• Students may create lists of concepts without showing relationships → require them to justify each connection.
• One person may dominate the group → ask students to take turns moderating the map.

Easier → Provide a list of key concepts and examples of possible relationships.
More Challenging → Ask students to compare two concept maps representing the same problem from different perspectives.

• Always start with one clearly formulated central question.
• Encourage students to use verbs to describe relationships, rather than simply drawing arrows.
• Ask students to work with drafts; do not expect perfect maps.
• Photograph or save successive versions of the map.
• Return to the map after a few weeks and update it together with the students.

Formative Assessment
Observe how students justify the relationships between concepts and participate in the discussion. Ask them to write a short reflection: Which connection was the most difficult for you to justify, and why?

Summative Assessment
Assess an individual or group concept map, together with a brief commentary describing the key relationships and conclusions.