Thinking with Technology

Activity 7.2

Digging Deeper into Cause and Effect

Step 1: Understanding Causal Maps

As we saw on the Ecology Explorers project, the Seeing Reason Tool helps learners create causal maps that have one specific purpose: to visually represent specific, measurable, or verifiable factors that influence or impact a problem or system. Through causal mapping, learners describe how, and to what degree, factors affect one another. Mapping helps learners represent their understanding as they investigate the nature of a problem that requires thinking about cause and effect. The example below investigates how hurricanes affect people, land, and businesses.

Hurricane map

A causal map has the visual elements of a concept map but places explicit meaning on each element in the map. Boxes contain factors with linked arrows. Links between the factors depict causal relationships and show an increase or decrease in the intensity of the effect by the thickness and color of the connecting lines. This is very important to causal mapping because it means learners can interpret the map due to its visual structure.

Next: Proceed to Step 2 of Activity 7.2

Thinking with Technology Module 7 - Using the Seeing Reason Tool to Target Thinking Skills

	Activity 7.2 Digging Deeper into Cause and Effect Step 1: Understanding Causal Maps As we saw on the Ecology Explorers project, the Seeing Reason Tool helps learners create causal maps that have one specific purpose: to visually represent specific, measurable, or verifiable factors that influence or impact a problem or system. Through causal mapping, learners describe how, and to what degree, factors affect one another. Mapping helps learners represent their understanding as they investigate the nature of a problem that requires thinking about cause and effect. The example below investigates how hurricanes affect people, land, and businesses. A causal map has the visual elements of a concept map but places explicit meaning on each element in the map. Boxes contain factors with linked arrows. Links between the factors depict causal relationships and show an increase or decrease in the intensity of the effect by the thickness and color of the connecting lines. This is very important to causal mapping because it means learners can interpret the map due to its visual structure. Next: Proceed to Step 2 of Activity 7.2