This is a really wonderful book. I bought this book strictly because I was fascinated by the work of one of the authors, Dr James Wandersee, even though biology is not my cup of tea. By chance, I "strayed" into his web-site, aptly called The 15 Degree Laboratory, while surfing the internet one day. (If you are curious to find out more, go to his web-site.) When I learnt, also by chance, that he had co-authored a book, I ordered it immediately from Amazon.com. Wow! What a great book!

As a strategic explorer of knowledge and a very active practitioner in visual tools, I am always looking for other and better ways (or learning tools to be more precise) to build understanding, simplify complexity, map ideas and construct knowledge.

Out of the book's table of contents, the following chapters (out of ten) attracted me the most at first glance:

Chapter 1: overview of knowledge mapping; Chapter 5: meaningful and mindful learning; Chapter 7: using concept !circle diagramming as a knowledge mapping tool; Chapter 8: using concept mapping as a knowledge mapping tool; (the rest pertains to biology stuff)

and I must say, I have learnt a lot from the authors.

The above first two chapters give an excellent foundation to the book, and also examine the issue of meaning-making and meaning-building (the starting point of learning and understanding anything) from multiple perspectives. Kudos to the authors!

The authors have very masterfully spin together an excellent exposition on knowledge mapping, with the proposition and application of two powerful visual tools, among many others in the book. I have deliberately picked these two tools because of my own personal and professional interests.

One is concept circle diagramming, which to me is a terrific enhancement of the innocuous Venn Diagram (or its predecessor, the Euler Circle, if you are familiar with mathematics).

The other is concept mapping, origi!nally made famous by Dr Joseph Novak, who wrote two excellent books on it - 'Learning How to Learn' and 'Learning, Creating & Using Knowledge.'

Surprisingly, as academics, the authors write pretty well - crisp, succinct, and most of all, not boring.

Although the authors have expounded them in the context of biology i.e. in the educational setting, I personally feel that the visual tools as propounded are very relevant to the corporate world. This is because, in understanding and simplifying complexity in a knowledge-based economy, the visual tools can serve as a powerful support system for the mind, create an arena in which we can make our knowledge explicit, reflect on its organisation and polish its edges. They are also useful for building and assessing our content and cognitive skills.

I wish I have learnt these tools while I was in school or college. Learning would have been fun! And, life through the years would have been easier.

For some reade!rs who think mind-mapping as created by Tony Buzan is great stuff, wait till you read this book and use the tools. If you are already familiar with mind-mapping, I would strongly recommend you to learn these visual tools, as a valuable supplement of your skill repertoire.

It is my fervent hope that the authors of this book would sit down one day to re-write the book for the corporate world. - without the biology stuff, of course. That would be really great!!!

Kathleen Fisher, Jim Wandersee and David Moody have put together a very important contribution to our knowledge about knowledge in biology. Their book summarizes some of the most significant work of the past 25 years in science education and cognitive science; work that promises substantial improvement in science teaching and learning at all levels, K-16.

Mapping Biology Knowledge, as the name suggests, focuses on the use of graphic organizers and metacognitive tools. The book combines theory, research and practical advice for teachers, curriculum designers, and others who have a commitment to reform in science education. In so doing, the authors direct our attention toward the most important theme of the reform effort....the need to encourage meaningful learning and conceptual understanding.

Among the tools and techniques they recommend are: SemNet software, concept maps and concept circles. The authors provide step-by-step directions for implementing these tools in classrooms, multiple examples of ways they can be useful, and insightful suggestions for teachers, students and others.

For those interested in research on cognition and learning in biology, this book provides some of the essential "tools of the trade." Graduate students and faculty who are looking for advice will find some of the wisest, most thoughtful and generative ideas anywhere. I recommend this book heartily!

In over 20 years as a Christian, this is the best devotional I have ever read. It is thought provoking yet keeps the subject simple. Each day gives you something to ponder and the chronological order also puts a different approach on the gospels and Jesus' life. I would recommend it to anyone. In fact, I am buying several more as gifts for friends and family.

This is a great book for family devotionals. As a Christian it is all too easy to forget that others of whome have not yet given their lives to Christ don't really understand the 'Good News'. ONE YEAR with Jesus, is a compilation of the teachings and actions of Jesus. It is a concentrated form of the Gospel. It can effectively demonstrate to those that might be on the fence, the perfect love of Jesus, which is is the only thing that I think wins converts.

I collect unix books, close to 300. This is the best book for beginners in unix, it actually shows a beginner how to install (the only beginner book that does this) 2 flavors of unix, sun solaris and sco's unix. the chapters are short and to the point. errors are nearly non-existent. If you are serious about learning solaris, then start with this one and go straight to answer2book, the solaris documentation set that comes with the operating system. You can easily multi-boot solaris with all the windows flavors as well as ms-dos. Mark Sobell's book is also an excellent source.

Steve Moritsugu and DTR Business Systems' Practical UNIX is recommended for UNIX programmers who seek a reference book of solutions for common UNIX problems. From modifying and compressing files to determining how to extract fields and using networking capabilities, this expands upon the UNIX platform of knowledge.

This is an excellent book for anyone who makes presentations of any kind. I have been so pleased with the material presented in this book, I have purchased a dozen additional copies for friends in the business. If you are a beginner or advanced, this text is one of the best.

Do you give Trainings or Presentations for a living? This book will give you an edge over any competition you may have thought you had. To get the results you imagine, you DO need to make a commitment. Are you ready for that? It does help to have a basic awareness of NLP, but it is not totally necessary. If you can practice with some peers, LOOK OUT.

This book is absolutely a must read for anyone who wants to succeed in tomorrow's totally-electronic trading environment. Like it or not, technology is the future of trading and the sooner you learn about it the better.

I found this book to be very helpful - and plan to buy a copy for everyone in our trading group. A soup to nuts guide to the business and technical aspects of the electronic trading arena. Whether you are a seasoned trading professional, new to the area or looking to implement an Electronic Trading System, there is something new for you to learn in this book and much to help gain a competitive edge - before the others catch on.

Dalton's poetry is intense, and exudes revolution in every verse. Knowing a history of the poet's life and struggle, you get a greater feel and appreciation for all his work. His pain, love, and hate all mixed together delivers the most powerful poetry I've ever read. I enjoyed this book immensely, and recommend it to all of those that are a rebel at heart.

In Dalton's words you can hear his pain, loss and anger; but it's his love and romantic vision that you take away. I tresure this book and it stands as my most read book.

Simply Brilliant. The two detail-oriented authors paint an accurate picture of middle America in the 1980's. They describe the lengths Battle Creek goes to, to bring a large employer into the city. A great study that should be read by all business majors.

This book chronicles how a progressive, forward thinking community (Battle Creek, Michigan) went about attracting one of Japan's largest automotive suppliers, Nippondenso. It outlines the community's economic and political history and all the forces that went into landing this economic entitiy.

For fans of the horror genre in literature this book in question, i.e., St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers (1st Ed) by David Pringle (Editor), is a must have. In this book one will find short descriptors of horror writers and their works. The index is very well done and the preface is written in a scholarly yet not stuffy or overbearing (for that matter) fashion.The font is easy on the eye and this makes the book a joy to read/study or examine. The price is a bit high. However, conecerning the wealth/plethora of information included in this one volume guide; One could say that it was a bargain indeed. Highly Recommended.

My local branch library has this book, and I've spent a lot of time reading through it. However, it is so encompassing that it would take a year to read all of it--but that's a good thing, because the horror genre is much deeper than just a handful of writers. There's so much to explore out there. If you're an aspiring horror novelist like me, begin with this book. Or if you're a horror "junkie" (also, like me) and you've exhausted King and Koontz, and are looking for another "fix", you'll find it here.

What a great idea: to write the story of one imaginary class as it moves from grades K through 5 encountering different (but always reflective and hard working) teachers. It's a practical look at powerful literacy instruction in action. The teachers' "monthly logs" give the reader a peek inside their heads as they plan and evaluate their programs. This is a good read for brand new teachers (they will surely identify with "Miss Nouveau" in second grade!) and all those who strive to improve their instructional practice.

This is a great book and goes right along with the Four Blocks Literacy Program. It really explains how to implement the program in a sequential manner. After teaching Four Blocks this year I am excited to read this book. It really makes sense and I know will be a big help next year.

My son is 4 and this is his favorite book. I have read it to him over and over and he is never tired of it. The pictures of the monsters are cute, not scary.

This is a great book for kids who have just started not using a nite light. I read it with my nephew and this book taught him that there is nothing to be afraid of. This is a good bed time story book. Youll be surprised at the ending.