---
key: mechanic/education--concept-mapping
type: mechanic
id: education--concept-mapping
lang: en
title: Concept maps and relationships
summary: >-
  The learner connects concepts with labeled relationships. Each link expresses
  a checkable claim, and the map helps explain the topic.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--concept-mapping/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--concept-mapping.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--concept-mapping.md
aliases:
  - Concept maps
tags:
  - Educational games
  - Applied learning and evidence work
sourceIds:
  - source-98070579c52e7aa4
sources:
  - id: source-98070579c52e7aa4
    title: CmapTools
    url: 'https://cmap.ihmc.us/support/help/ihmccmaptools-help.pdf#page=25'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: education
    id: concept-mapping
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#concept-mapping'
    categoryIds:
      - applied-learning
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Concept maps
    description: >-
      The learner connects concepts with labeled relationships. Each link
      expresses a checkable claim, and the map helps explain the topic.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/learning-cmap-proposition.webp
      width: 375
      height: 362
      game: CmapTools
      sourceUrl: 'https://cmap.ihmc.us/support/help/ihmccmaptools-help.pdf#page=25'
      originalUrl: 'https://cmap.ihmc.us/support/help/ihmccmaptools-help.pdf'
      credit: Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition
      rights: >-
        © Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Screenshot from
        CmapTools Help, printed page 25. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT
        and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: 'CmapTools: Plants have Roots forms a proposition'
      alt: 'CmapTools: Plants have Roots forms a proposition'
      markers:
        - x: 48
          'y': 58
          label: The word have defines the relationship between concepts
    tips:
      - >-
        Check the meaning of a labeled relationship, not just the line between
        nodes.
    examples:
      - title: CmapTools
        url: 'https://cmap.ihmc.us/support/help/ihmccmaptools-help.pdf#page=25'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the
  original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated
  2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire
  classification or its effectiveness.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/education
---
# Concept maps and relationships

id: education--concept-mapping
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/education--concept-mapping
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--concept-mapping/

The learner connects concepts with labeled relationships. Each link expresses a checkable claim, and the map helps explain the topic.

## At a glance

![CmapTools: Plants have Roots forms a proposition](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/learning-cmap-proposition.webp)

[CmapTools](https://cmap.ihmc.us/support/help/ihmccmaptools-help.pdf#page=25) · © Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. Screenshot from CmapTools Help, printed page 25. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. The word have defines the relationship between concepts

- Check the meaning of a labeled relationship, not just the line between nodes.

- [CmapTools](https://cmap.ihmc.us/support/help/ihmccmaptools-help.pdf#page=25)

## How it works

Knowledge is represented as a concept network; players construct and check labeled relationships.

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="concept-mapping-variants"></a>

- Connect concepts with a labeled relationship <a id="concept-mapping-1"></a>
- Choose the direction of a meaningful link <a id="concept-mapping-2"></a>
- Add an intermediate concept to a chain <a id="concept-mapping-3"></a>
- Distinguish a concept example from its property <a id="concept-mapping-4"></a>
- Find an incorrect relationship in a provided map <a id="concept-mapping-5"></a>
- Connect a new concept to an existing one <a id="concept-mapping-6"></a>
- Compare two maps of the same topic <a id="concept-mapping-7"></a>
- Explain a path between distant concepts <a id="concept-mapping-8"></a>

## Design example

Hypothetical energy atlas: connect sources, transformations and losses while explaining each link.

## Context and limits

A mechanic map for games with explicit learning goals, from first encounters with a topic to professional practice. It covers children, teenagers and adults; choose subject, difficulty, context and controls for the learner. Player actions, subject content, instructional support and assessment are distinct layers. Scores and game completion alone do not establish mastery or skill transfer.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire classification or its effectiveness.

- [CmapTools](https://cmap.ihmc.us/support/help/ihmccmaptools-help.pdf#page=25) (id: source-98070579c52e7aa4)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors