Concept Maps as a Constructive Tool for Student Learning and Knowledge Evaluation

Author(s):

EGLE KATILIUTEBrigita StanikunieneVioleta Karenauskaite

Conference:

ECER 2008

Network:

27. Didactics - Learning and Teaching

Format:

Paper

Session Information

27 SES 02A, Instructional Approaches/ Classroom Environments

Paper Session

Time:

2008-09-10

11:15-12:45

Room:

B3 316

Chair:

Sigmund Ongstad

Contribution

A knowledge society experiencing transformation and aiming for sustainable development places particular importance on ecological and social considerations. Their integration creates a secure and favourable living environment for mankind. In this context, the knowledge of natural sciences, biomedicine and technology, and their application in fields such as environmental protection, the health-care, industry and energy are essential. (Fensham, 1985; Rogoff, 1990; Appelquist, 2001; Boeker, 2003; Hobson, 2003; Piskarskas, 2003; Rudzikas, 2003; Tamulaitis ir Vaitkus, 2003; Zhaoyao, 2002). A large part of university study programmes is related to these fields. The specialised knowledge they contain contributes to the growth of the technical and production spheres, stimulates the development of other sciences and their contribution to economic development, and helps to formulate the fundamentals of scientific reasoning and practice. These programmes prepare highly qualified specialists endowed with systemic thinking and an integrated attitude to societal problems. Together with an increasing need for a knowledge of physics in different spheres of society, the influence of physics on various academic study programmes has been increasing. However, despite this trend, there is a lot of problems in physics teaching and learning. The motivation for students to study physics has been decreasing for a number of reasons: a reduction in the time allocated to physics in different study programmes, an emerging difficulty in integrating the “depth” and “width” of physics content, and the increasing gap between the university and the general education school. In addition, students perceive that physics is not directly applied, nor useful, in their future professional activity. These problems are particularly evident when teaching physics to students of other professions (medicine, biology, etc.). There is thus a need to find new physics teaching strategies that will improve the quality of physics studies. An innovative method based on the constructivist approach and learning paradigm - concept maps – has been used in physics studies with medical students. Concept maps reveal the human understanding of events and phenomena as well as the respondent's knowledge structure. In the concept map a person arranges the knowledge in the order he/she perceives it. The visual representation in an integrated, hierarchical manner of one's own understanding shows how the learner relates concepts in a certain knowledge domain, what is still unknown to him/her or what is understood improperly. Therefore, concept maps are an excellent diagnostic tool that helps the teacher to identify the learner's knowledge and the conceptual changes in his/her understanding over a period of time (Novak, Gowin, 1984; Marchand et al, 2002, West at al, 2002). Consequently, concept map use in studies can be both instructional (as a learning tool) and diagnostic (as an assessment technique) (Taber, 1994). The major research questions of the study are: Is the students’ understanding of target physics concepts improved by concept-mapping techniques? How do students evaluate the use of concept mapping in the physics course? The research focus is concept mapping as a learning tool for the development of university students’ knowledge, collaborative learning and assessment techniques in the physics course for medical students. The research aim is to assess the effectiveness of concept maps as a tool for evaluating physics knowledge and students’ learning.

Method

The research methods were the literature review, educational quasi-experiment, questioning survey, qualitative content analysis.

Expected Outcomes

1. This study indicates that concept mapping might serve as a potentially useful tool in physics studies with medical students by helping them better understand the underlying physics concepts. Though the difference between the intervention and comparison groups did not achieve strong statistical significance, but the intervention groups’ mean grades for the final test with theoretical and problem-solving questions to assess their conceptual understanding of key concepts were higher than those of the comparison groups. 2. The use of concept mapping in the physics course is evaluated positively by students. This is confirmed by the results of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Quantitative analysis revealed that almost all students in the intervention groups emphasized that concept mapping: stimulates understanding of the concept; enables systematic repetition of concepts; permits the separation of more important elements of the concept/theme to better understand their meaning; enables recognition of causal links between different concepts; facilitates and stimulates independent learning; helps to assess one’s own conceptual understanding and helps clarify gaps in one’s own understanding. Qualitative analysis of students’ answers to the open-type question highlighted that concept mapping helped students: systematize their physic knowledge, develop their conceptual understanding of the nature and structure of physics concepts, and develop their understanding through collaborative learning. 3. The research results confirm that concept maps are an effective tool for evaluating student learning and physics knowledge acquisition. In addition, they improve students’ conceptual understanding. However, specific factors can be identified which interfere with the effective use of concept maps as a learning technique: institutional level – the dominant tradition in study programmes (especially with teaching methods) is that of the passive student listener rather than the active participant in the learning process; student level - there is a prevailing lack of will to pursue learning in depth and to devote more time and effort to master new learning techniques.

References

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Author Information

EGLE KATILIUTE

Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education

Department of Recreation, Tourism and Sport Management

Kaunas

126

Brigita Stanikuniene

Kaunas University of Technology, Panevezys Institute, Lithuania

Violeta Karenauskaite

Vilnius University, Lithuania

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