E-SPeak Mapping: List, Group, Compare, and Share
Concept Mapping
No.
Concept mapping sounds like a method, e.g. flash cards and retrieval practice are methods.
Concept mapping seems like a method, e.g. The final product gives the appearance of having just done something repetitive like building with Lego blocks.
However, it's not a method but a sequence of methods. Thus, it can be done correctly or incorrectly. If done incorrectly, it is as useless as sitting and reading. If done by the ESPeak method, it is one of the most powerful learning tools available. This is because it obeys our biology just as diet and exercise obey our biology.
The effectiveness of E-SPeak is due to its exact sequence of methods. This sequence is designed to help you use your brain better and to gain thinking skills automatically.
The term E-SPeak is an amalgamation of "ESP," and “speaking.” Speaking your map is the last and most critical step in the process.
Every resource that teaches about concept maps has neglected to recognize that concept maps are not just tools that represent learning – they are tools for creating learning!
E-SPeak has evolved from over 30 years of trial-and-error specifically with medical students who wanted to create their own learning. It is optimized to take effective and efficient use of time into account and it is organized to produce the maximum long-term integrated memory.
E-SPeak also takes into account:
- different learning styles,
- deliberate practice needed for the best skill development , and
- brain and sleep research on how learning occurs.
Ordinary concept mapping overlooks these critical concepts and that is why ordinary concept mapping doesn't work for busy medical students. However, it's OK to be ordinary if you aren't in medical school!
Every student who uses E-SPeak concept mapping properly will tell you that they save time.
Think of your time as a bank account that is refilled every day to be spent as you choose:
- You have a limited amount of time to spend and when it is spent up, the next day begins... and on one of those days the exam begins.
- You expect to get something in return for how you spend your time. Good intentions and hard work are rarely enough - smart work gets the job done!
- You learn from experience how to spend your time, but you must spend time just to get experience. So, it helps when you listen to the best experience - specifically the experience of medical students that formed the basis of the ESP.
- Listing the most general concepts
- Grouping detailed concepts into the general topics
- Comparing groups to find relationships that reveal similarities, differences, and cause-and-effect.
- Speaking your map out loud to create a narrative (hence, "e-speak")
The E-SPeak directions can be applied to any topic from any resource.
The Complete Directions for E-SPeak are best for beginners because they provide examples and more complete teaching of the method.
The Condensed Directions for E-SPeak are best for users who want a refresher.
There are several videos that provide information on concept mapping with the ESP method (the E-SPeak method). Note: E-SPeak is introduced here as a new term to connote the mapping process better and it is not mentioned by name in the current videos listed below.