Fuzzy cognitive mapping: Applications in education

Abstract

Fostering conceptual and cognitive change in learners can be difficult. Students often come to a learning situation with robust, implicit understandings of the material under study. One explanation for the implicit nature of these understandings is a lack of metaknowledge about the knowledge to be acquired. Helping learners create metaknowledge may free paths to conceptual change. This paper proposes the use of fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) as a tool for creating metaknowledge and exploring hidden implications of a learner's understanding. Two specific educational applications of FCMs are explored in detail and recommendations are included for further investigations within educational contexts. ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Linking stakeholders and modellers in scenario studies: The use of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps as a communication and learning tool

“…Despite the broad use of FCMs in a large number of disciplines, there is a lack of (documented) applications in this field. Cole and Persichitte [38] have tried FCM in a group setting. They used FCMs as a tool to investigate the perceptions of faculty members on the use of distance education.…”

“…It can be expected that this type of stakeholders are more familiar with the use of flow diagrams. Previous research shows that conceptual models and FCMs are useful tools for this type of stakeholders (e.g., [24,38,39]). Because SCENES also aims at involving experienced stakeholders, we assume that they will be able to work with conceptual models and semi-quantitative methods.…”

Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for Identifying Critical Path in Strategic Domains

“…The application of fuzzy inference rules in expert domains is a common knowledge and FCM has been applied to a wide variety of strategic domains [8][9][10][11] . In this illustration, fuzzy inference and cognitive systems have been presented in interconnected perspective to trace the critical path of a research organisation.…”

The potential of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for semi-quantitative scenario development, with an example from Brazil

“…In the field of environmental sciences the number of applications is much smaller but equally diverse. Worth mentioning are group decision support (Khan and Quaddus, 2004); lake ecosystems (Ö zesmi and Ö zesmi, 2003, 2004); forest fire propagation (Carvalho and Tome, 2004); and education (Cole and Perichitte, 2000). A few key research themes are emerging, namely combining multiple Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (e.g.…”