USE OF CONCEPT MAPPING FOR TEACHING ECONOMICS

Abstract

Economics which is a social science, studies certain activities of the people living in the society. To make economics teaching practical and to awaken the sense of responsibility, it is necessary that the school should give students theoretical as well as practical knowledge, which may be linked to their day to day life. Many writers and economists lay stress on the practical aspect of economics teaching. The famous economist Marshall has written, “ The aims of study of economics are to gain knowledge for its own sake and to obtain guidance in the practical conduct of life and specially in social life.” Binning and Binning have written about the aims of economics teaching, “The aim of secondary school economics should be to teach modern economics principles by observation and through an understanding of current practices.” They further have written, “Pupils should be trained to apply sound economics theory to everyday life.” So, the teachers should adopt effective teaching strategies to improve the competency of students in the application of theory in the social setting. Concept mapping is one method of teaching that encourage students’ meaningful learning. By the time of the First International Conference on Concept Mapping in 2004, the application of concept mapping had been empirically evaluated for efficiency and effectiveness as a knowledge elicitation method ( Hoffman et al., 2002) and a method to solve problems in the workplace ( Freeman, 2004). This paper presents the theoretical framework and origin of concept maps and a sample lesson plan on “Organization of Production”.