Digital Cognitive Maps for Scientific Knowledge Construction in Initial Teacher Education

Abstract

Interactive technology offers new opportunities to design dialogic learning spaces and scaffolds with the aid of visual icons. These technological environments can support the construction of open-ended visual cognitive digital maps, which portray an external representation of scientific knowledge that could foster the meaningful resolution of socio-scientific challenges. In this context, this research aims to study the impact of digital cognitive maps on: a) meaningful learning of scientific concepts and b) complex representation of scientific concepts in teacher education. A case study with multi-method analysis was designed. The cognitive maps of 47 teacher education students are analysed, both quantitatively and qualitatively, and before-after their participation in an educational experience that enhances the collaborative construction of digital cognitive maps in order to solve a socio-scientific challenge. The results show that the overall educational experience and, specifically, the scientific inquiry visual scaffolds embedded into the technological environment have a positive impact on learning scientific knowledge and inquiry skills. Furthermore, outcomes also indicate that the experience enriches the students’ representation strategies of complex scientific knowledge and that the construction of cognitive maps with a network architecture increases after the educational experience. Finally, educational implications on the use of interactive technology and cognitive maps for promoting significant learning of content knowledge in pre-service teachers are discussed.