Students' Conceptual Understanding and Critical Thinking: A Case for Concept Maps and Vee-Diagrams in Mathematics Problem Solving.

Traditionally, to assess students' understanding of concepts (language), students express the meanings in their own words perhaps with some illustrative examples or initiate a class discussion around the concepts. The author presents an argument for the potential use of two meta-cognitive tools, concept maps and vee-diagrams, as viable means of assessing students' conceptual understanding, fluency with the language of mathematics and critical thinking in problem solving.