COGNITIVE MAP

 COGNITIVE MAP

INTRODUCTION

The idea of cognitive map originates from the work of the psychologist Edward Tolman, who is famous for his studies of how rats learned to navigate mazes. In psychology, it has a strong spatial connotation- cognitive maps usually refer to the representation of a space (e.g., a maze) in the brain. Cognitive maps have since been used in a range of fields; Colin Eden, an operations researcher, used the term in a broader sense to refer to a mental model representation of any type of process or concept (whether spatial or not).

Cognitive maps can be defined as mental images and concepts that are built to visualize and assimilate information. They are also referred to as mental maps, mind maps, schemata, and frames of reference. They act as tools for strategists to move beyond the constraints of short-term memory and to process information spanning long periods of time. The mind creates spatial concepts in order to make sense of incoming information.

Advantages

• The process organizes complex information into manageable portions.

• It simplifies knowledge, increases memory, and improves cognition where cognition is understood to be the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired, including perception, intuition, and reasoning.

• As a fundamental mental process, it acts as a coping mechanism under conditions of uncertainty.

• It is also essential in environments where strategic decisions are made in rapidly shifting economic environments.

• The method is applied equally effectively for nonvisual tasks, such as memorizing lists, code, names, and other textual information.

Preparation of Cognitive Map

Topic Selected : plant kingdom and strategies for enrichment in food production.

                           I took the unit ' plant kingdom ' from plus one. The main heading was plant kingdom and algae, fungi, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperm, and angiosperm are the branches. Each of the branches contains its specialities.

                 Then I took the unit 'strategies for enrichment of food production ' some plus two. The map contains 4 branches they areplant Breeding, animal breeding, single cellprotein, tissue culture.

Method Adopted:

                The cognitive mapping of the two units' biological classification' and ' Conservation of biodiversity' were done by using the application ’mimind’ . This is one of the top related application for preparing cognitive maps. The steps implimented during the preparation of cognitive maps are ;

• Download Mimind application from Google Play Store.

• Select the kind of cognitive map after analysing the chapter.

• Add the main concept at the central body.

• Gave various colours for its sub concepts.

• Add sub chains and siblings if needed

• Format the style, colour, size, etc of the contents.

• Links were helped to identify the concept easily.

Conclusion:

              A cognitive map is a representative expression of an individual’scognitive map knowledge ie an individual’s knowledge about the spatial and environmental relation of a specific aspect. It gives a brief description about a very large content and easy to know what a chapter deals with in shortly. The concept maps of'plant kingdom' and ' strategies for enrichment in food production ' were prepared using Mimind in a simple and effective way. It creates a visual impact and can help the learners to understand the concept easily. It makes the learning effective.

References

• Crandall, B., Klein, G. and Hoffman, R.R. (2006) Working Minds: A practitioner’s Guide to Cognitive Task Analysis, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

• Plus one biology NCERT, Text Book

• Plus two biology NCERT, Text Book