Concept map: put a relationship on the connecting line

For this entry, the distinguishing detail is the labeled relationship. Placing several words in boxes does not yet explain what the boxes have to do with one another. A line labeled “contains” makes a different statement from a line labeled “describes,” even when it joins the same pair of words.

This is terminology and an original illustration of that structure. It is not a claim about learning styles or a promise that mapping produces better learning than another format.

A collection, its objects, and its catalog

Imagine a small neighborhood history display made from invented materials. The organizers use three concepts: collection, object, and catalog. One volunteer draws lines between all three but leaves them unnamed. Another asks whether the catalog physically contains the objects or contains descriptions of them.

They revise the map to show what they mean in this display. The collection contains objects; the catalog describes objects; the catalog records information about the collection. Those are three statements, not three items on a to-do list.

The map does not show who should print the labels or which job must happen first. The volunteers can keep those tasks on a separate plan. They also avoid treating their little map as a universal account of how every museum or archive works.

A text version you can adapt

You can sketch boxes and arrows or begin with relationship lines like these. This original text example needs no particular mapping application.

Question: How do the parts of our invented display relate?
Collection — contains → Object
Catalog — describes → Object
Catalog — records information about → Collection
Unresolved connection: Where should a donor's note appear?
Wording to confirm with the group: What do we mean by “object” here?

Read a proposed line as a sentence. If “catalog contains object” says something different from the intended relationship, revise the label or the connected concepts. Mark an uncertain relationship as a question instead of drawing a confident arrow and forgetting the uncertainty.

Keep the map’s question nearby. A map about who owns the objects would need different relationships from this map about how a display is organized. A tidy diagram is not evidence that every statement in it is correct.

Room for another interpretation

In a school task, a student may have a reason for choosing a connection that an adult does not immediately see. Ask, “What does this line say in a sentence?” before rearranging their work. If the assignment has a required format, check the actual directions rather than imposing this example.

A family member can also help write down an unresolved connection without deciding it. The map is allowed to show the limit of the current explanation. It does not have to become a polished wall of boxes to be worth discussing.

A map is not every kind of organizer

The emphasis here is on named relationships, not merely visual arrangement or a linear sequence of headings. Choose whatever format the actual task calls for. No claim is made that a particular learner needs a visual format or that this diagram measures what they know.

Source

[1] Alberto J. Cañas and Joseph D. Novak, Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. What is a Concept Map?. Last updated September 28, 2009; accessed September 6, 2026. Introductory description supports [1]. Source diagrams and examples are not reproduced.

Related guides

• Outline
• Annotation
• Learning objective
• Clarifying question