scholarly journals Effects of Strategy Training and Elaboration vs. Retrieval Settings on Learning of Cell Biology Using Concept Mapping

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 530
Author(s):  
Lukas Bernhard Becker ◽  
Virginia Deborah Elaine Welter ◽  
Jörg Großschedl

Concept mapping (CM) can be an effective strategy to facilitate understanding-based learning of complex and abstract scientific content. In our study, we tried to answer two questions that have not yet been clarified: (1) How effective is CM if the learners do not have the textual learning material available when constructing their concept maps (retrieval setting) in contrast to when the material is available (elaboration setting)? (2) Do potential effects of the two settings depend on the intensity of a previous CM strategy training? To this end, we established a quasi-experimental four-group plan and collected data of N = 93 undergraduate students. The participants received either a detailed CM strategy training or just a short introduction and were then asked to apply CM in a retrieval or elaboration setting. The quality of constructed concept maps and content-related learning success were assessed to determine potential group differences. Overall, our results show a significantly positive but setting-independent effect of the CM strategy training on methodical CM skills. However, the different setting conditions differed neither regarding concept map quality nor content-related learning success, implying that CM in retrieval settings could be as effective as in elaboration settings.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Bernhard Becker ◽  
Virginia Deborah Elaine Welter ◽  
Ellen Aschermann ◽  
Jörg Großschedl

Concept Mapping (CM) is a learning strategy to organize and understand complex relationships, which are particularly characteristic of the natural science subjects. Previous research has already shown that constructing concept maps can promote students’ meaningful learning in terms of deeper knowledge and its more flexible use. While researchers generally agree that students need to practice using CM successfully for learning, key parameters of effective CM training (e.g., content, structure, and duration) remain controversial. This desideratum is taken up by our study, in which three different training approaches were evaluated: a CM training with scaffolding and feedback vs. a CM training without additional elements vs. a non-CM control training. In a quasi-experimental design, we assessed the learning outcome of N = 73 university students who each had participated in one of the trainings before. Our results suggest that an extensive CM training with scaffolding and feedback is most appropriate to promote both CM competence and acquisition of knowledge. From an educational perspective, it would therefore be advisable to accept the time-consuming process of intensive practice of CM in order to enable students to adequately use of the strategy and thus facilitate meaningful learning in terms of achieving sustained learning success.


Author(s):  
Sarmila Nath ◽  
Swati Bhattacharyya ◽  
Pallavi Preetinanda

Introduction: Medical Council of India (MCI) in the current competency based on the undergraduate curriculum for the Indian medical graduate has focussed on the development of critical thinking, reasoning and communicating abilities of the undergraduate students. This would enable them to apply their knowledge effectively and provide better patient care. In this context, concept mapping has proved to be a simple yet powerful tool. Aim: To assess the feasibility of implementing concept mapping module and perception of the students and faculty about use of concept mapping as complementary teaching aid in pharmacology using peer validated questionnaires and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional interventional study was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology of a tertiary hospital in Eastern India. Study duration was six months, from September 2019 to February 2020. After obtaining permission from Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC), 64 consenting students of 2nd professional MBBS, Dean of student affairs, Medical Education Unit (MEU) Co-ordinator and 10 faculties of the Department of Pharmacology were sensitised about the concept mapping. A module for implementation and assessment rubric was decided. Participating students were randomly divided into eight groups (Group A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H), each group comprising eight students. Each group had to prepare one concept map on an allotted topic from General Pharmacology. They had to submit the maps within seven days. Students could use pen and paper or they could utilise computer software to prepare the maps. After submission, faculties other than the researcher assessed and gave feedback to the students. After one month, the second set of assignments was allotted on topics from autonomic nervous system. As before, submission had to be done in seven days. This set was also assessed and feedback given. At the end of second submission, perception of the students and faculties about implementation of the module was assessed through peer validated open as well as closed ended questionnaires. A FGD was also held among participating faculties. Open ended questions were analysed using verbatim and closed ended questions were analysed as percentage using Microsoft Excel. FGD was analysed using content analysis method. Results: Among the 64 participating students, 63 (98.43%) preferred concept mapping as complementary teaching tool in addition to traditional tutorial format and 62 (96.9%) students enjoyed making the concept maps. On analysis of students’ feedback, 56 (87.5%) students opined that this module could be included in Pharmacology curriculum. Out of 12 faculties, 7 (58.33%) graded feasibility of the module as 4 out of a maximum of 5. Conclusion: This study concludes that with proper selection of topics, concept mapping may be included as complementary teaching learning tool in Pharmacology curriculum for undergraduate students.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
Nicomedes S. Lumontad ◽  
Rex Argate ◽  
Ulysses B. Aparece

The main intent of this study was to find-out the effectiveness of the use of concept mapping in improving the reading comprehension skills of students, at Asian College of Technology. Based on the findings, a reading enhancement plan was proposed. The study utilized the Quasi-Experimental Method, with reading comprehension questions and concept maps. The research subjects were the forty education students. They were divided into two groups. One group served as the experimental group while the other group served as the control group. The researchers made reading comprehension questions on the three reading texts and concept maps to the two groups of respondents. Appropriate statistical tool was used to analyze the data collected and gathered. Concept mapping is proven to be helpful in improving the reading comprehension skills of the students. Through concept mapping, the students’ analytical, structural, and creative skills would be gradually enhanced making them better readers. A syllabus enrichment was proposed to utilize concept mapping as one of the essential teaching and reading strategies in developing the students’ reading comprehension skills.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. e19-e24
Author(s):  
Huthaifah Khrais ◽  
Ali M. Saleh

AimThe aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of concept maps in improving the critical thinking of nursing students.MethodThis quasi-experimental study was conducted using a pretest–posttest design among two groups of a total of 115 nursing students. Participants were either exposed to concept mapping sessions or taught with traditional lecturing; the assessment tool was a test of critical thinking completed before and after the intervention.ResultsThe mean scores for critical thinking were higher in the group that engaged in mapping sessions compared to the traditional lecture group.ConclusionThis study supports the usefulness of concept maps as a teaching strategy to promote development of nursing students' critical thinking abilities. These findings could provide valuable evidence for establishing concept mapping as a promising teaching strategy for nursing students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Faruk Islim

This article explores how the use of concept mapping, with and without technology support, assists students in learning complex concepts to which they may have had limited previous exposure. Students were engaged in a group-based concept mapping activity, wherein they created two concept maps over the course of several weeks in a large lecture class. A quasi-experimental design was used in which students were randomly assigned to groups of three, and groups were randomly assigned to concept mapping condition: (a) using pencil/paper followed by using an iPad application or (b) using an iPad app followed by using pencil/paper. Concept maps were scored for complexity (correctness and elaborateness), and scores were compared within group and between groups across conditions (pencil/paper vs. iPad app). Results showed that concept maps did not differ in quality between conditions or across time. Moreover, there was no significant difference between examination scores of the students. Finally, content analysis was conducted on students’ written evaluations of the pros and cons of concept mapping using pencil/paper and using the iPad app. Student evaluations indicated both pros and cons for each concept mapping condition.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 756-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana G. Aguiar ◽  
Paulo R. M. Correia

In this paper, we explore the use of concept maps (Cmaps) as instructional materials prepared by teachers, to foster the understanding of chemistry. We choose fireworks as a macroscopic event to teach basic chemical principles related to the Bohr atomic model and matter–energy interaction. During teachers' Cmap navigation, students can experience a sense of disorientation, which is detrimental to the learning process. Two graphical cues were tested as Cmap navigation guidance: (1) colour-coded concepts, to group similar content and (2) numbered propositions to offer a reading sequence. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design combined with mental effort was utilized to measure the efficiency of Cmaps in learning. First-year undergraduate students (n= 85) were randomly assigned to study one of four possible Cmaps. The results showed that all students were able to increase their level of factual knowledge, despite the Cmap being used as an instructional material. The lack of cues impaired conceptual understanding. Signalling similar content using colours was critical to reduce the invested mental effort and foster understanding about chemical concepts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-101
Author(s):  
Larisa Norik ◽  
Irina Lebedeva

The purpose of the article is to analyze the impact of concept mapping on the level and quality of assimilation of learning material in higher mathematics in the process of independent study. Methodology. Based on a review of the main provisions of modern theory of learning and generalization of research results presented in scientific papers on the scope of application of concept maps in the learning process, such a training experiment was conducted. For students of the two experimental groups on a certain topic of the discipline “Higher Mathematics” were offered to build conceptual maps in addition to the common teaching methods. It considered as an independent creative task. In the other two groups, which were under control, students had to study the same topic of the discipline, using traditional methods. Results. It was determined that the results of the colloquium composed of students of experimental groups were significantly higher than those of students of control groups who did not use mapping as a method of learning during independent work. The average score obtained by students of experimental groups for the colloquium was almost 80 points, while for students of control groups it was only 72 points. Using Student’s test, the significance of the difference between the values of the sample averages of these indicators proved. If we compare the average scores for different types of tasks, the most significant was the difference in the performance of heuristic tasks, which reflect the ability to apply the acquired knowledge to solve practical problems of economic content. Conclusions. The positive influence of the use of concept mapping in independent work of students established, which proves the thesis about the feasibility of using concept mapping as a learning tool. Further introduction of concept maps in the educational process should be based on the development of complex theoretical and practical, as well as competency-oriented tasks.


Author(s):  
Paulo Rogério Miranda Correia ◽  
Joana Aguiar ◽  
Brian Moon

Concept maps (Cmaps) have been successfully used to make knowledge structures visible. During Cmap task elaboration, novice students are likely to suffer cognitive overload, and they might avoid coping with difficult contents staying in his semantic safe territory. The authors have developed an innovative approach using Cmaps with embedded errors applied on Sero! – a cloud-based knowledge assessment platform. This chapter presents a case study involving the current use of Cmaps with errors as an assessment task capable of identifying misconceptions about the advances of molecular biology. Undergraduate students (n=86) were asked to find the errors hidden into the propositional network. The results confirmed the task challenged the students to go beyond their safe semantic territory. Misconceptions were readily identified from the students' answers providing good insights for the development of a bespoke feedback. The current data available is enough to foresee a broad range of research opportunities to readers interested in concept mapping, instruction and learning analytics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonios Bakolis ◽  
Dimitrios Stamovlasis ◽  
Georgios Tsaparlis

Abstract A crucial step in problem solving is the retrieval of already learned schemata from long-term memory, a process which may be facilitated by categorization of the problem. The way knowledge is organized affects its availability, and, at the same time, it constitutes the important difference between experts and novices. The present study employed concept maps in a novel way, as a categorization tool for chemical equilibrium problems. The objective was to determine whether providing specific practice in problem categorization improves student achievement in problem solving and in conceptual understanding. Two groups of eleventh-grade students from two special private seminars in Corfu island, Greece, were used: the treatment group (N = 19) and the control group (N = 21). Results showed that the categorization helped students to improve their achievement, but the improvement was not always statistically significant. Students at lower (Piagetian) developmental level (in our sample, students at the transitional stage) had a larger improvement, which was statistically significant with a high effect size. Finally, Nakhleh’s categorization scheme, distinguishing algorithmic versus conceptual subproblems in the solution process, was studied. Dependency of problem solving on an organized knowledge base and the significance of concept mapping on student achievement were the conclusion.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 32694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genesis Souza Barbosa ◽  
Caio Guilherme Silva Bias ◽  
Lorene Soares Agostinho ◽  
Luciana Maria Capurro de Queiroz Oberg ◽  
Rafael Oliveira Pitta Lopes ◽  
...  

AIMS: To verify the effectiveness of the simulation in the self-confidence of nursing students for extra-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation. METHODS: A quasi-experimental, before and after, single-group study, was performed with nursing undergraduate students. The sample was recruited among university students who were in the second or third year of graduation and accepted to participate in the research. The intervention protocol consisted of individual participation in a emergency simulated clinical scenario. The simulated scenario adopted consisted of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in extra-hospital cardiorespiratory arrest, using the Mini Anne Plus® low fidelity manikin. In addition to the sociodemographic variables, students' self-confidence for emergency action was analyzed, evaluated by the Self-Confidence Scale, before and after each simulation. Marginal and homogeneous Wilcoxon homogeneity tests were applied, and the accepted significance level was 5%.RESULTS: Thirteen two undergraduate students in nursing between the ages of 18 and 38 participated in the study. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed in the answers of all the questions of the Self-confidence Scale when compared before and after the simulation. There was also a statistically significant increase (p < 0.001) in cardiological, respiratory and neurological scores after simulation.CONCLUSIONS: The simulation proved to be an effective educational strategy in increasing the self-confidence of nursing students to perform extra-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation.


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