Abstract:

Concept map has been proved to be a graphical tools for effectively organizing,representing and communicating knowledge.It has distinct characteristics.The potential theoretical foundations of constructing concept maps include psychological foundation and epistemological foundation.The author describes discovery learning and reception learing,plusing rote learning and meaningful learning,and especially explains the meaningful learning.Finally,the author briefly introduces the functions of constructing concept maps,it can be used as a tool for learning and evaluating,for planning,and for capturing and sharing experts knowledge even can be used in any fields of social life.

Key words: Concept map, Characteristics, Theory foundation, Function