Customer Reviews

Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge: Concept Maps(tm) As Facilitative Tools in Schools and Corporations

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Marking the culmination of Novak's 40-year career in science education, learning theory and epistemology, this book offers a remarkably insightful, theoretically powerful, and eminently readable volume on knowledge making in schools, corporations and healthcare agencies. The focus of Novak's work is on ways of empowering people to take charge of their own learning and knowledge creation. In this effort he succeeds most powerfully in integrating current ideas from the cognitive sciences, philosophy, psychology, neurophysiology, and educational practice.

But this book is not simply for professors and other members of the "intellectual elite." It is first and foremost a helpful guide to teachers, students, business managers and healthcare workers who want to succeed in the competitive arena of the "knowledge age."

Perhaps the most important contribution Novak makes is his careful description [and multiple examples] of concept mapping and V diagramming as tools for facilitating learning, understanding and knowledge creation. Unlike many "recipes" and "panaceas" offered by others, Novak cites numerous studies that provide very strong support for the use of these powerful "metacognitive" tools.

This book is an extraordinarily important contribution to efforts that seek to empower people to become meaningful learners and knowledge makers. It should be read by every college student, every teacher, and by all those charged with managing knowledge professionals.

I'm not so sold on concept mapping and v-diagrams (everyone's got their own angle) but Novak's analysis of the shortcomings of education this century is excellent. There have been enormous and important innovations in educational theory this century, but very little of it has been put into practice because of the nature of the institutions.
Never mind - if you read this book, you're bound to gather some really important insights into the nature of learning, creating and using knowledge, and if you're in education or training, you'll come away not only with a higher awareness of learning theory, but some exciting ideas to try in your own practice.

Although originally created and consistently lauded for helping kids learn science facts this book has proven valuable many times in helping adult professionals overcome the Will Rogers syndrome 'It's not what you don't know that hurts, it is what you do know --- that ain't so!' Time and again professional adults have been quite certain about their understanding of a situation only to founder in a matter of minutes when attempting to express themselves in the concept map discipline. More importantly when two or more people agree to communicate with concept maps dialogue occurs!

The combination of the CMap software and the book's usage rationale and examples creates a learning environment that has served many situations quite well.

My only disappointment is that the author did not choose the title Learning, Using and Creating Knowledge so that it could truly bring LUCK to all who read it.