Learning Science · How experience becomes usable knowledge
Organising information by meaningful relationships
Organise knowledge by relations that explain and support use, rather than by appearance alone.
Use the examples to connect this lesson with the earlier topics. No specialist equipment is needed.
Back to the chapterAfter reading, you can
- Choose an organising relationship
- Explain the meaning of a diagram link
An alphabet is one possible order
Alphabetising parts of a bicycle makes a convenient index, but it does not explain how force reaches the wheel. A functional sequence from pedal to chain to wheel organises the same terms by a different relationship. The best organisation depends on the question.
Categories, hierarchies, sequences and causal links each make certain relations visible. A category groups shared features; a sequence records order; a causal explanation proposes how one change contributes to another. Do not use one kind of link as if it automatically established another.
Build and test the structure
State the organising question before drawing. If the goal is to understand a process, identify its parts and label links with meaningful verbs. “Leads to,” “is a kind of” and “is measured by” make different claims. Check each link against the content.
A diagram can hide uncertainty by making every connection look equally certain. Mark a tentative relation or leave it as a question until checked. More connections are not always better; an accurate small structure can teach more than a dense map of unexplained lines.
| Question | Relationship | Suitable structure |
|---|---|---|
| Where can I find “chain” in a list? | Alphabetical position | Index |
| What kind of thing is a bicycle? | Category membership: a bicycle is a vehicle | Hierarchy |
| What happens at the next stop? | Order along the route | Sequence |
| How do journey options compare? | The same features across alternatives | Comparison table |
Use organisation in retrieval
Reconstruct the important structure from memory and explain it without the model. Then use it on a new case. If the learner remembers where words sat on the page but cannot explain a link, practise the relation rather than redrawing the page more neatly.
A structure can be hierarchical without being causal. A bicycle is a vehicle, but being a kind of vehicle does not explain how its brakes work. Ask the learner to name the relation before extending a map. Different organising questions may require separate small representations rather than one diagram containing every possible link.
Worked example
Organising transport choices
A learner knows bus, bicycle and walking. Why use a comparison table to choose a journey but a stop sequence to explain a bus route?
- Name the decision first. Choosing a mode requires comparing the same features across options, such as time, cost and access requirements. Give those features stable column labels in a table.
- Explaining one bus route asks a different question: in what order are the stops encountered? Use an ordered sequence, with arrows explicitly meaning “next stop”, rather than implying that one stop causes the next.
- Ask the learner to use the structure: identify which option fits the journey constraints, or explain what stop follows a named stop. If the representation cannot answer its intended question, revise the organisation.
Both structures organise transport knowledge, but they preserve different relationships. The organising question determines which structure is useful; an attractive arrangement is not universally best.
Try it yourself
Think through each question before opening the answer.
Why label an arrow in a concept map?
Show the answer and reasoning
The label states the claimed relationship, allowing it to be explained and checked rather than inferred from proximity.
A labelled arrow can be judged as true or false: “is a kind of” differs from “moves by”. Without the label, a learner may infer a causal link where only a category or order was intended.
What is wrong with treating “comes after” as “is caused by”?
Show the answer and reasoning
Temporal order alone does not establish causation; other explanations may account for the sequence.
Two events can occur in sequence because of a common schedule, a third cause or coincidence. A causal explanation needs evidence about how changes are produced, not only their order.
A map links “bicycle” to “vehicle” and “pedal” to “chain”. May both arrows be labelled “is a kind of”?
Show the answer and reasoning
No. A bicycle is a kind of vehicle; a pedal is not a kind of chain. The latter link needs a functional description.
Using the same arrow style does not make the relation the same. Ask what each link claims before expanding the map.
What to carry forward
- Choose structure for a question.
- Make relation types explicit.
- Check that organisation supports explanation and use.
References
Sources supporting the explanations and learning checks in this lesson.