Symposium: Fostering the acquisition and application of domain-specific knowledge through concept mapping

This symposium centers on the concern about the acquisition and application of conceptual knowledge in the domain of business and economics, both important and yet demanding educational goals. The contributions are aimed at studying whether concept mapping can be helpful in reaching these goals. Moreover, we intend to provide preliminary guidelines for using concept maps (CMs) as a learning tool in this specific field. For this purpose, we adopt an instructional design perspective that focuses on the issues as (1) what kinds of learning tasks can be successfully promoted by using CMs, (2) what kinds of learning activities need to be stimulated in order to accomplish these learning tasks, (3) how concept mapping supports students in performing the required learning activities, and (4) which additional instructional means can be helpful to increase its effectiveness.