Collaborative Concept Mapping Research Articles

Collaborative Concept Mapping: Investigating the Nature of Discourse Patterns and Features of a Concept Map

Research in science education has established the significance of collaborative concept mapping as a powerful strategy in fostering conceptual learning. During such collaboration, students talk about concept map features (i.e., concepts to include, linking words, and cross-links) in constructing a joint map. The quality of the concept map produced depends on the nature of discourses that happen in these collaborative interactions. We explored the nature of discourses between pairs of biology students collaborating on concept mapping and how these discourses contribute to the enhancement of different features of the concept maps. Six students individually constructed weekly individual maps on different topics and then came together in pairs to construct a joint concept map. Their discussions during collaboration were audio-recorded. Both the individual and joint concept maps were analyzed for knowledge of breadth, knowledge of depth, and knowledge of connectedness. To analyze the discussions and understand the nature of the discourses, both deductive and inductive coding approaches were used. The coded episodes were then categorised into the nine discourse patterns identified by Fu et al. (2016). We then matched the episodes with the concept map features that were discussed. Findings indicate that the biology students’ collaboration exhibited mostly knowledge-sharing discourses when deliberating on the three features of a concept map. In turn, the number of valid concepts and propositions improved from individual to joint maps. Although the students’ discussions of cross-links were characterized by knowledge-sharing discourses, most of the joint maps did not show improvement in terms of the number cross-links. We discuss these findings and provide implications regarding the value of understanding the intricacies of discourse patterns in collaborative concept mapping. La recherche dans le domaine de l'enseignement des sciences a établi l'importance de la cartographie conceptuelle collaborative en tant que stratégie puissante pour favoriser l'apprentissage conceptuel. Au cours de cette collaboration, les élèves discutent des caractéristiques de la carte conceptuelle (c'est-à-dire des concepts à inclure, des mots de liaison et des liens croisés) pour construire une carte commune. La qualité de la carte conceptuelle produite dépend de la nature des discours tenus lors de ces interactions collaboratives. Nous avons exploré la nature des discours entre des paires d'étudiants en biologie collaborant sur la cartographie conceptuelle et la façon dont ces discours contribuent à l'amélioration des différentes caractéristiques des cartes conceptuelles. Six étudiants ont construit individuellement des cartes hebdomadaires sur différents sujets et se sont ensuite réunis par paires pour construire une carte conceptuelle commune. Leurs discussions pendant la collaboration ont été enregistrées. Les cartes conceptuelles individuelles et communes ont été analysées du point de vue de la connaissance de l'étendue, de la connaissance de la profondeur et de la connaissance de la connexité. Pour analyser les discussions et comprendre la nature des discours, des approches de codage à la fois déductives et inductives ont été utilisées. Les épisodes codés ont ensuite été classés dans les neuf modèles de discours identifiés par Fu et al. (2016). Nous avons ensuite mis en correspondance les épisodes avec les caractéristiques de la carte conceptuelle qui ont été discutées. Les résultats indiquent que la collaboration des étudiants en biologie présentait principalement des discours de partage des connaissances lorsqu'ils délibéraient sur les trois caractéristiques d'une carte conceptuelle. Par ailleurs, le nombre de concepts et de propositions valides s'est amélioré entre les cartes individuelles et les cartes communes. Bien que les discussions des étudiants sur les liens croisés aient été caractérisées par des discours de partage des connaissances, la plupart des cartes conjointes n'ont pas montré d'amélioration en termes de nombre de liens croisés. Nous discutons de ces résultats et fournissons des implications concernant la valeur de la compréhension des subtilités des modèles de discours dans la cartographie conceptuelle collaborative.

Crafting Compelling Argumentative Writing for Undergraduates: Exploring the Nexus of Digital Annotations, Conversational Agents, and Collaborative Concept Maps

Argumentative writing is a fundamental aspect of undergraduate students’ academic and scientific writing related to critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, previous studies have shown that students face various difficulties with argumentative writing, such as unclear and illogical ideas, less-structured arguments, and unbalanced interpretation of issues, data, and evidence. This study aims to improve the argumentative writing skills of undergraduate students by integrating computer-supported argumentative writing tools, such as annotation, conversational agents (CAs), and collaborative concept maps, into an online learning management system. Since the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, these tools can support meaningful learning activities and investigation in argumentative writing. The researchers divided sixty participants into the experimental group ( N = 30) and the control group ( N = 30). The results showed that the experimental group’s writing achievements outperformed the control group, and the three tools effectively improved the five elements of argumentative writing, including claims, grounds, warrants, backings, and rebuttal. Furthermore, a deep analysis found that the number of annotations, valid CAs’ responses, and argument nodes on collaborative concept maps can significantly predict students’ argumentative writing development. Moreover, students perceived that the incorporated tools could effectively improve their argumentative writing skills.

La carte conceptuelle : un soutien au transfert des apprentissages métalinguistiques

The Concept Map: A Support for Learning Transfer
 Based on the concept mapping technique, our research endeavors to experimentally address the challenges encountered by candidates taking the Baccalaureate exam, specifically related to their ability to employ interdisciplinary knowledge while inferentially processing texts in French as a foreign language (FLE). The study intersects two disciplines: French as a Foreign Language (FLE) and History courses in the first language (L1). Employing a three-phase action research approach—commencing with a pre-test involving a text recall task, followed by collaborative concept map design using the PREP technique (Langer, 1982-1984) as a metacognitive experience, and concluding with a post-test to validate our approach—we aim to surpass the limited capacity of working memory and facilitate in-depth processing of textual information. By incorporating the concept map into our experimental approach, we aim to simulate "reflection on cognition," aligning with the training in internal monitoring—a central goal in any educational institution. Our initiative addresses linguistic challenges arising from the mental transition between the first language (L1) and the second language (L2), with a particular focus on challenges associated with mental translation. Situated within a plurilingual context involving Classical Arabic (L1) and the second language, French (FLF), we seek to visualize the linguistic interactions occurring during information processing through schematic organization and hierarchization. Resulted revealed that the use of concept maps substantially supports strategies related to analogical reasoning and high-level text processing. This approach significantly enhances learners' lexical repertoire by shaping organizational strategies and facilitating the storage of conceptual knowledge, streamlining retrieval processes. While concept maps undeniably bolster language skills, our research goes beyond this acknowledgement. It not only highlights the positive impact of integrating concept maps for language skill improvement but also emphasizes the untapped potential for even greater significance and promise. The instructional intervention has shed light on specific elements educators should consider to optimize outcomes. As a tool for facilitating transfer learning, the concept map has proven significant, albeit not without some negative transfers. Adjusting teaching strategies based on individual student needs and characteristics is essential to harness the full potential of this approach.

Promoting collaboration through resource interdependence to enhance collaborative concept mapping

Promoting collaboration through resource interdependence to enhance collaborative concept mapping

An integrated approach for knowledge extraction and analysis in collaborative knowledge construction

Collaborative knowledge construction (CKC) involved students’ sharing of information, improvement of ideas, and construction of collective knowledge. In this process, knowledge extraction and analysis can provide valuable insights into students’ knowledge capacities, depths, and levels in order to improve the CKC quality. However, existing studies tended to extract and analyze knowledge from a single perspective (e.g., the number of certain knowledge types and knowledge structures), which failed to demonstrate the complexity and dynamics of knowledge construction and advancement. To fill this gap, this research designed a series of computer-supported collaborative concept mapping (CSCCM) activities to facilitate students’ CKC process and then used an integrated approach (i.e., semantic knowledge analysis combined with learning analytics) to extract, analyze, and understand students’ knowledge characteristics and evolutionary trends. Results demonstrated that compared to the low-performing pairs, the high-performing pairs mainly discussed knowledge related to the course content, and their knowledge evolution trend was relatively stable. Based on the results, this research provided analytical implications to extract, analyze, and understand students’ knowledge and pedagogical implications to promote students’ knowledge construction and advancement.

A visual ethnographic study on nurse lecturers' enactment of compassionate care within the adult pre-registration nursing curriculum

BackgroundNurse lecturers make a valuable contribution to developing the future nursing workforce. However, how this is nurtured within nurse education requires further exploration. There is limited research exploring the experiences of nurse lecturers providing compassionate care within the adult pre-registration nursing curriculum. ObjectivesThis study explores how nurse lecturers enact compassionate care within the adult pre-registration nursing curriculum. To elicit shared patterns of behaviours and use creative methods to promote a critical dialogue. MethodA visual ethnographic approach was used to explore nurse lecturers' experiences at a University in England. Using purposive sampling, nine auto-driven photo-elicitation interviews took place, and five participants attended a focus group to develop individual and collaborative concept maps. A thematic approach to data analysis was employed. FindingsFive themes were identified, illustrating compassionate care as the human condition involving appropriate behaviours and competent action. Compassionate care is threaded through the curriculum using different teaching and learning approaches, requiring a culture of shared human relationships. The combination of photographs, maps and descriptions provide a unique perspective of how nurse lecturers nurture and role model compassionate care to their students. ConclusionThere are many ways compassionate care is experienced, enacted and enhanced by nurse lecturers within the adult pre-registration nurse curriculum. The five main themes act as a framework to guide nursing education and nursing practice. Future research should aim to understand better how compassionate care can be nurtured within different fields of nursing.

Embedding Prompts to Facilitate Small Groups’ Computer-Supported Collaborative Concept Mapping

Collaborative knowledge construction (CKC) engages students work in small groups to complete specific tasks that are often open-ended, ill-structured, and beyond the knowledge and skills of the individual students in the group. Computer-supported collaborative concept mapping (CSCCM) with the support of prompts can be used to facilitate a high quality of CKC. However, previous empirical research showed complicated effects of prompts on the quality of CKC in the CSCCM environment. In this research, we developed a CSCCM platform customized with three CKC conditions (i.e., no prompt, agreement prompt, and disagreement prompt) to examine the effects of different prompts on CKC performance, process, and student perception. Results showed that the embedded disagreement prompt had the best effect on improving the quality of CKC among three conditions, regarding the peer interaction, cognitive engagement, behavioral contribution and group performance. Based on the results, this research provided theoretical implication related to transactivity, pedagogical strategy of considering advantages and disadvantages of agreement and disagreement prompts, as well as analytical implication of collecting and analyzing multi-source data with mixed methods for future research and practice.

Collaborative Concept Mapping: A Study of Group Work Satisfaction in Vocational Higher Education


 
 
 
 
 
 Collaboration is gaining traction in today's educational environment. Thus, teachers' primary concern is assisting students in experiencing group knowledge collaboration. As online education continues to grow in popularity, there is an increasing need to promote and understand collaborative learning processes. Its success is contingent upon implementing online collaborative learning strategies that foster critical thinking abilities while also providing meaningful collaborative learning opportunities. Collaborative concept mapping is one tool that could be used to foster student collaboration. Rather than creating and visualizing ideas individually, collaborative concept mapping involves two or more students working collaboratively to create one or more concept maps. In collaborative learning, interactions between learners are critical sources of idea generation. The purpose of this study is to examine students’ satisfaction with implementing the strategy in Second Language Reading class. The recent study advances our understanding of how to effectively use collaborative teaching tools in the classroom and improve student learning through group collaboration. The study's findings indicate that students demonstrated positive attitudes toward group collaboration, as evidenced by collaborative concept mapping. In addition, the collaborative learning processes embedded in concept mapping learning platforms support and facilitate reading comprehension achievement, resulting in successful foreign language learning for higher education students. The interaction in collaborative concept mapping, lacking in individual concept mapping, has facilitated individual and group knowledge building. As a result, implementing this strategy may benefit both group and individual learning. 
 
 
 
 
 

Students’ attitude and motivation towards concept mapping-based prewriting strategies

Abstract This study proposes two collaborative concept mapping-based prewriting strategies to help Chinese EFL learners with a reading-to-write task—reading an unfinished story and then writing its ending. Collaborative concept mapping enables students to visualize the storyline with the help of peer scaffolding. The two proposed strategies used collaborative fill-in-the-blanks concept maps (CFCM) and collaboratively constructed concept maps (CCCM). Classes 1 (N = 48) and 2 (N = 47) participated in the experiment and respectively learned the strategies of CFCM and CCCM. The collected data included students’ concept maps, reading-to-write products, responses to questionnaires on attitudes and motivation, and learning journals, which were analyzed by t tests, path analysis, and qualitative coding. The results indicated that students using CCCM showed more positive attitudes and higher motivation than those using CFCM; however, the two strategies shared similar effectiveness in developing students’ reading-to-write abilities. Students found the proposed strategies effective in helping them write the story ending.

The Effects of Three Instructor Participatory Roles on a Small Group’s Collaborative Concept Mapping

Collaborative concept mapping, as one of the widely used computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) modes, has been used to foster students’ meaning making, problem solving, and knowledge construction. Previous empirical research has used varied instructional scaffoldings and has reported different effects of those scaffoldings on collaboration. To further examine the effects of instructional scaffoldings, this research implements three different instructor participatory roles (i.e., cognitive contributor, group regulator, and social supporter) to support online collaborative concept mapping (CCM). We use multiple learning analytics methods to examine the group’s CCM processes from the social, cognitive, and metacognitive dimensions, supplemented with assessments of the concept maps. The research reveals different effects of three instructor participatory roles on the group’s collaborative behaviors, discourses, and performances. When the instructor engaged as a cognitive contributor, the student group achieved a lowly-interactive, low-level metacognitive engagement and behavior-oriented knowledge construction; when the instructor engaged as a group regulator, the student group achieved a socially-balanced, high-level metacognitive engagement and behavior-communication-interrelated knowledge construction; and when the instructor engaged as a social supporter, the student group achieved a highly-interactive, medium-level metacognitive engagement and communication-oriented knowledge construction. Based on the results, this research proposed pedagogical, analytical, and theoretical implications for future empirical research of CSCL.

In-service teachers’ knowledge building during face-to-face collaborative learning

Teaching is inherently a knowledge-building (KB) endeavor. This research engaged groups of in-service teachers in collaborative concept mapping activities to foster their KB and used a multi-method approach to empirically investigate KB. Four teacher groups were identified: two high-performing, collectively oriented groups engaging in argumentation (Group 2) and agreement (Group 3); and two low-performing, individually oriented groups engaging in questioning (Group 4) and disagreement (Group 1). The differences between the groups resulted from three key factors: group argumentation, sense of collective responsibility, and engagement in metacognition. This research proposed instructional strategies and analytical implications for teachers’ KB practices.

Demystifying the Role of Language in representing students’ understanding of Science concepts

Aims: To explore the role of language in the representation of students’ understanding of concepts in the oral as well as the written form through collaborative concept mapping (CCM). The study attempts to identify the nature of difficulties faced by students in the same. Method: A descriptive research design was used for the study. A school was selected purposely of which all the 28 students of a section of class IX were taken as the sample to represent their understanding of selected science concepts through collaborative concept mapping. Students formed 9 groups to draw the concept maps collaboratively. The whole process of CCM by each group was observed to identify the students’ actual understanding of the science concepts. The concept maps made by each group were examined qualitatively to compare the representation of students’ knowledge in the written form with their actual understanding. Findings: In the study language was found to play an important role in the concrete representation of knowledge in the form of a graphic organizer like a concept map also. Some concepts were identified in the study which were discussed among the group members but not included in the map due to their inability to select appropriate linking words. It was also found that technical terms and labels in science posed a challenge for students. But, in some cases CCmaps provided them a tool through which the correct comprehension of the concepts can be given a concrete form despite having the limited knowledge of language. Novelty: The study provides an insight into the application of CCM as an assessment technique by teachers to compare the students’ cognitive structures and their overt representation on paper. It has also identified a specific form of concept map by which students can represent their understanding with the limited knowledge of language. Keywords: Role of language; Collaborative Concept mapping; understanding of concepts; representation of knowledge; Science

Computer-supported collaborative concept mapping: the impact of students’ perceptions of collaboration on their knowledge understanding and behavioral patterns

ABSTRACT Computer-supported collaborative concept mapping (CSCCM) integrates technology and concept mapping to support students’ knowledge understanding, and much research on the behavioral patterns involved in CSCCM activities has been conducted. However, there is limited understanding of the differences in knowledge understanding and behavioral patterns between students with different levels of collaboration perception. This study examined the impact of students’ perceptions of collaboration on their knowledge understanding and behavioral patterns in the CSCCM activity. A total of 36 individuals from the same university participated in this study. The findings suggested that compared with students with a low level of collaborative perception, students with a high level of collaborative perception could obtain better conceptual knowledge understanding. However, there was no significant difference in factual knowledge understanding between students with different levels of collaboration perception. For behavioral patterns, students with a high level of collaboration perception demonstrated more diverse behavioral transition sequences, students with a middle level of collaboration perception demonstrated more repetitive behavioral sequences, and students with a low level of collaboration perception demonstrated less behavioral transition sequences. The findings of this research can provide a reference for teachers to design CSCCM activities in the classroom.

Quality indicators for science communication: results from a collaborative concept mapping exercise

Although the need to improve quality of science communication is often mentioned in public discussions, the science communication literature offers few conceptualizations of quality. We used a concept mapping approach, involving representatives of various science communication stakeholder groups working collaboratively, to propose a framework of quality. The framework organizes individual elements of quality into twelve indicators arranged into three dimensions: trustworthiness and scientific rigour, presentation and style, and connection with society. The framework supports science communicators in reflecting on their current practices and designing new activities, potentially improving communication effectiveness.

Use of collaborative concept mapping in team diagnosis

AbstractTeamwork is necessary to accomplish challenging and information‐rich tasks in complex industrial systems, such as fault diagnosis in nuclear power plants. To improve team performance, assistive visualization tools are used to promote communication and reduce cognitive conflicts. As a shared visualization technology, collaborative concept mapping can effectively externalize one's thoughts into a visualized structure, thereby improving the efficiency of communication and information processing. This study accordingly investigates the effects of collaborative concept mapping on team diagnosis in two fault situations with different complexity levels in a simulated nuclear power plant: one caused by a single initiating event, and the other triggered by two initiating events. The dependent variables included fault analysis score, diagnostic result score, diagnosis time, workload, score of concept map content, and fixation time on a teammate's concept map. The findings revealed that collaborative concept mapping significantly improved the diagnostic result score and shortened diagnosis time, and marginally but significantly increased the fault analysis score. However, under the more complex fault situation triggered by two initiating events, this tool also significantly increased participants’ physical load and frustration level. Future work should focus on how collaborative concept mapping can improve operator performance while causing as little extra workload as possible, as well as explore its effects on experienced operators.

Supporting interdisciplinary collaborative concept mapping with individual preparation phase

Concept mapping facilitates the externalisation and internalisation of knowledge by individuals during collaborative knowledge construction. However, not much is known about the individual and collaborative learning processes during collaborative concept mapping (CCM) in interdisciplinary knowledge construction. Premised on literature on collaboration scripts to scaffold the collaboration process, this study investigates the effect of an individual preparation phase prior to collaborative work on the epistemic and social processes of knowledge co-construction, as well as the degree of interdisciplinary knowledge integration in collaborative concept mapping. A total of N = 42 third year university students were put into one of the two experimental conditions: with individual preparation phase (WIP) and without individual preparation phase (WOIP). Students worked on a collaborative assignment to integrate interdisciplinary knowledge in collaborative concept mapping. Data for analysis was derived from audio recordings of the collaborative discourse in both experimental conditions. Chi-square test was conducted to investigate if there were significant differences between the effects of WIP and WOIP on the epistemological and social dimension. Findings showed that groups in the WIP condition showed significantly more verification, clarification and positioning statements in the epistemic dimension and also significantly more integration-oriented and conflict-oriented consensus building in the social dimension as compared to groups in the WOIP condition. On the degree of interdisciplinary knowledge integration, independent sample t-tests showed that there was no significant difference for concepts, domains and cross-links between the two experimental conditions. However, there was significant difference in types of cross-links for the CCMs in the WIP condition.

How ‘Networked’ are Online Collaborative Concept-Maps? Introducing Metrics for Quantifying and Comparing the ‘Networkedness’ of Collaboratively Constructed Content

With the growing role of online multi-participant collaborations in shaping the academic, professional, and civic spheres, incorporating collaborative online practices in educational settings has become imperative. As more educators include such practices in their curricula, they are faced with new challenges. Assessment of collaborations, especially in larger groups, is particularly challenging. Assessing the quality of the collaborative “thought process” and its product is essential for both pedagogical and evaluative purposes. While traditional quantitative quality measures were designed for individual work or the aggregated work of individuals, capturing the complexity and the integrative nature of high-quality collaborative learning requires novel methodologies. Network analysis provides methods and tools that can identify, describe, and quantify non-linear and complex phenomena. This paper applies network analysis to the content created by students through large-scale online collaborative concept-mapping and explores how these can be applied for the assessment of the quality of a collective product. Quantitative network structure measures are introduced for this purpose. The application and the affordances of these metrics are demonstrated on data from six large-group online collaborative discussions from academic settings. The metrics presented here address the organization and the integration of the content and enable a comparison of collaborative discussions.

Collaborative concept mapping with reciprocal kit-build: a practical use in linear algebra course

The design of interactions among peers plays a key role in collaborative learning. Various strategies have been applied to assist learners in collaborating and creating a continuous effort to construct and maintain shared knowledge, such as utilizing a concept map as a representational tool during discourse. Some previous studies have revealed its positive effect on both the learning achievements and the attitudes of the students. A strategy for improving the quality of explanation of the students during collaborative concept mapping is to enable them to externalize their thinking in their private spaces beforehand. However, students may face difficulties when they need to integrate their individual propositions with the group concept map. This study employs the reciprocal kit-build (RKB) approach to help students externalize their ideas, understand and clarify their partners’ perspectives, integrating with their comprehension, hoping they can construct a high-quality collaborative product. The study is conducted in a linear algebra class in an Indonesian university. The effect of the RKB as learning activities on the group outcomes is evaluated. How students change their propositions, from the individual to the collaborative phase, following the visualization of the difference map provided by the RKB system is also presented. Perceptions of the students during these activities are examined to measure the effectiveness of the approach from the viewpoints of the participants. The findings convey that the RKB is promising for learning in a collaborative context despite some limitations in the practical classroom experimental settings.

Analysis of The Similarity of Individual Knowledge and The Comprehension of Partner's Representation during Collaborative Concept Mapping with Reciprocal Kit Build Approach

Analysis of The Similarity of Individual Knowledge and The Comprehension of Partner's Representation during Collaborative Concept Mapping with Reciprocal Kit Build Approach

The effect of differences in group composition on knowledge transfer, group achievement, and learners\u2019 affective responses during reciprocal concept mapping with the Kit-Build Approach

Collaborative learning requires a structured and open environment where individuals can actively exchange and elaborate their ideas to achieve a high-quality problem-solving solution. The use of concept map has been extensively implemented to facilitate idea generation and maintain shared focus during discussion. This study employs the Reciprocal Kit-Build (RKB) approach as a designed activity to support collaborative concept mapping. Though previous studies show the RKB is promising to promote productive discussion and achieve high-quality group products, they have not investigated how individual knowledge differences may potentially influence the effectiveness of collaboration. This study aims to identify the effect of group composition on learning effectiveness at the level of interaction between individual and group and at the level of the group as a whole. At the interaction level, we investigate the amount of knowledge transfer from shared and unshared individual knowledge to group solutions, while at the group level, the quality of collaborative maps is evaluated. Moreover, we explore the affective responses of learners during designated activities. A single group design is applied to illustrate the learning activities in a practical classroom settings where all students receive the same treatment. Our findings show that the transfer of individual shared and unshared knowledge is considerably high in all group conditions. Group composition does not significantly affect knowledge transfer and final group-outcome products; however, it may induce learners to experience different affective states. The results are essential for practitioners who intend to apply the RKB in their classroom to determine the appropriate group settings.