Interactive Conceptual Maps – a Step Towards Performance

To improve the quality of Romanian education system, the teachers’ way of thinking and work style in the classroom, crystallized in centuries of traditional education, certain changes should be made. Quoting Constantin Noica: "A nation can be educated by a man ... and even through a single word ..." we can say that education is in search for the human being and the word. Thus, in the schools where the desire for change is felt and there are those champions who can trigger and propagate the change, conceptual maps should be used. With the aid of such maps, the new ideas are linked to the existing cognitive models. This way the students organize their personal experience, establish relationships among various concepts and identify areas of their application. The use of the interactive concept maps takes into account each student's learning style: auditory, visual or practical, so as performance could be achieved much more often. This paper presents how to make and to use interactive conceptual maps in the classroom. They can be used at any time during the lesson; they can be modified and adapted to the students' requirements, desires and possibilities. It also highlights the advantages and disadvantages of using graphical organizers in physics lessons.