Background Information

Concept maps can be used in many different fields of study, on the job, and in everyday life to give the “big picture view” of a situation or body of knowledge. Concept maps can be used to represent relationships between concepts, terms, facts, events, dates, people, etc. They can also help you to identify central concepts, organize information in meaningful and relevant ways, and review or summarize the information in a large lesson or unit.

Go to The Discovery System Online at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign web site http://classes.aces.uiuc.edu/ACES100/. Click on “Mind Module”, and then click on “Concept Maps” to learn more about the definition, purpose, and use of concept maps. Also be sure to view examples of the various types of concept maps, and read about how to construct your own concept maps.

Concept Map Activity

Now that you’ve learned about concept maps, lets apply them to the area of diabetes.

Read about diabetes, including its causes, consequences and treatments, by accessing and reviewing the following two websites:

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/pubs/dmover/dmover.htm#what

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/pubs/type1-2/lowglucose.htm

Using the information in these websites, construct a concept map that shows the etiology (suspected causes or contributing factors) of type I and type II diabetes as well as the similarities and differences in the short and longterm consequences and the treatment for each type of diabetes. Make your concept map using the instructions and examples in the web page listed under “background material” and then add a few words to describe each connection or link depicted. An example of this with cancer might be the following:

Your concept map should have specific information about diabetes and should clearly show the relationships between the above factors, emphasizing the similarities and differences among these two forms of diabetes.