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.

Now that you’ve learned about concept maps, lets apply them to the area of cancer biology. Go to "Science Behind the News" at the National Cancer Institute web site http://newscenter.cancer.gov/sciencebehind/ and read the two articles titled: "Understanding Cancer" and "Understanding Cancer Genome Anatomy Project".

Based upon your understanding of these articles, construct two concept maps. Each concept map should contain nodes (circles containing the major concept, category, or term) and labeled links (lines with words that explain the relationship between two nodes), as in the above two examples.

The first concept map should fully explain the relationship(s) between the following terms: cancer, cells, DNA, genes, genetic testing, mutation, proteins, tumors. Keep in mind that each concept (node) may have links to more than one other concept (node).

The second concept map should be used to organize information about a) the causes of cancer, b) the different types of tests employed in cancer diagnosis and detection, and c) steps that you can take to prevent or minimize your chances of developing cancer.

You can create a concept map by a variety of means. First, you can use good old-fashioned paper and pencil to draw a concept map. You can also construct an electronic concept map by using the drawing features in Microsoft Word and Power Point, as well as the software at http://www.inspiration.com.