Developing Child’s Thinking Skills by Semantic Mapping Strategies

Saule Raiziene, Bronislava Grigaite

Vytautas Magnus University

Abstract. Semantic mapping may be defined as a strategy in which information is categorically structured in a graphic/visual form. According to Lim et al. (2003) semantic mapping/webbing can be used for promoting teachers’ and school principals’ reflective and critical thinking skills. The present paper examines cognitive outcomes, stimulated by the teachers’ use of semantic mapping as a strategy for accelerating two cognitive operations, classification and seriation, in a child’s seventh year. Fifty-seven children at the age of six took part in the research. The members of the experimental group participated in the training that lasted for four months. During the training thought operations of classification and seriation were stimulated by a semantic mapping method. The changes in classification and seriation capabilities were assessed in experimental and control groups using tasks presented by Piaget and Inhelder.

Keywords: semantic mapping training, cognitive development, classification, seriation