Individual Concept Mapping Research Articles

Using Concept Map Prewriting Strategies in Korean Writing Classes

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effect of pre-writing strategies on Korean language learners' writing performance in a college-level Korean language program context. The study expected that individual and collaborative concept mapping activities, used as a pre-writing strategy, could reduce cognitive demands on second/foreign language writers. One hundred and twenty-three undergraduates from Korean language classes in a state university were represented in both the treatment and comparison groups. Data were collected during three writing sessions: (1) pre-test of writing, (2) individual planning, and (3) collaborative planning. The treatment groups were encouraged to develop concept maps to plan their compositions in the second and third writing sessions. To analyze the findings, the study used a repeated measure, analysis of covariance on composition scores, and analysis of variance of survey responses to analyze research findings. The results showed that the treatment groups that used concept maps scored significantly higher than did the comparison groups on a composition profile at both sessions. But the student compositions were not improved by collaborative concept mapping. The survey showed that most participants were satisfied with collaborative concept mapping activities for writing. The study provided evidence that using concept mapping as a pre-writing strategy in a foreign language learning context is beneficial. Further research should consider the practical limitations challenging the use of collaborative mapping tasks in Korean writing classes.

Using Concept Map Prewriting Strategies in Korean Writing Classes

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effect of pre-writing strategies on Korean language learners' writing performance in a college-level Korean language program context. The study expected that individual and collaborative concept mapping activities, used as a pre-writing strategy, could reduce cognitive demands on second/foreign language writers. One hundred and twenty-three undergraduates from Korean language classes in a state university were represented in both the treatment and comparison groups. Data were collected during three writing sessions: (1) pre-test of writing, (2) individual planning, and (3) collaborative planning. The treatment groups were encouraged to develop concept maps to plan their compositions in the second and third writing sessions. To analyze the findings, the study used a repeated measure, analysis of covariance on composition scores, and analysis of variance of survey responses to analyze research findings. The results showed that the treatment groups that used concept maps scored significantly higher than did the comparison groups on a composition profile at both sessions. But the student compositions were not improved by collaborative concept mapping. The survey showed that most participants were satisfied with collaborative concept mapping activities for writing. The study provided evidence that using concept mapping as a pre-writing strategy in a foreign language learning context is beneficial. Further research should consider the practical limitations challenging the use of collaborative mapping tasks in Korean writing classes.

German Students' Perceptions of Bulgaria as a Tourist Destination - A Molecular Approach to Destination Image Assessment

The paper presents the results of a study of the image of Bulgaria as a tourist destination among a group of German students visiting Bulgaria for a first time. Similarly to Ivanov and Illum (2010) the paper adopts the Lederer and Hill (2001) and Silver and Hill (2002) molecular approach to branding and combines it with the John et al (2006) brand concept mapping technique. Respondents prepared individual concept maps of Bulgaria as a tourist destination which were consequently aggregated to derive a group consensus cognitive map. Results show that respondents have very narrow perceptions about Bulgaria as a tourist destination. Managerial implications of the study are also discussed.

Effects of concept mapping strategy on learning performance in business and economics statistics

A concept map (CM) is a hierarchically arranged, graphic representation of the relationships among concepts. Concept mapping (CMING) is the process of constructing a CM. This paper examines whether a CMING strategy can be useful in helping students to improve their learning performance in a business and economics statistics course. A single factor, between subjects experimental design with three participant groups (collaborative concept mapping (CCMING) versus individual concept mapping (ICMING) versus traditional textbook exercises (TTE)) was employed. The experimental results suggest that adopting a CMING strategy can significantly improve student learning achievement in statistics, compared to using TTE, and adopting a CCMING improves student achievement even more than using ICMING. Furthermore, most of the students were satisfied with using CMING to learn statistics.

Critical reflection in a TESL course: mapping conceptual change

How can teacher educators gauge what participants have learnt after taking a course in teaching English as a second language (TESL)? One method that can help both language teacher educators and their students trace conceptual changes as a result of taking a course is the use of concept maps. This paper examines the conceptual changes of a group of MA participants in Canada as a result of taking a TESL course. Pre-course and post-course concept maps were elicited from the participants who were also asked to write short descriptions of changes (and the reasons for these changes) they observed between their pre- and post-course maps. Participants were also interviewed about the contents of their individual concept map and their perceptions of the course. Results indicate that the course had some impact on the participants' prior beliefs and that a concept map may be a useful tool for tracing conceptual change.

Implementing Concept-based Learning in a Large Undergraduate Classroom

An experiment explicitly introducing learning strategies to a large, first-year undergraduate cell biology course was undertaken to see whether awareness and use of strategies had a measurable impact on student performance. The construction of concept maps was selected as the strategy to be introduced because of an inherent coherence with a course structured by concepts. Data were collected over three different semesters of an introductory cell biology course, all teaching similar course material with the same professor and all evaluated using similar examinations. The first group, used as a control, did not construct concept maps, the second group constructed individual concept maps, and the third group first constructed individual maps then validated their maps in small teams to provide peer feedback about the individual maps. Assessment of the experiment involved student performance on the final exam, anonymous polls of student perceptions, failure rate, and retention of information at the start of the following year. The main conclusion drawn is that concept maps without feedback have no significant effect on student performance, whereas concept maps with feedback produced a measurable increase in student problem-solving performance and a decrease in failure rates.

Information Literacy Skills: Teacher and Student Viewpoints

Information Literacy Skills: Teacher and Student Viewpoints

Effects of Concept Mapping Strategy on Business and Economics Statistics Learning Performance

Concept mapping is a learning strategy that emphasizes the meaningful relationships among concepts. It can help students clearly relate and distinguish differential statistical concepts. This strategy is also an example of an active and collaborative learning tool that instructors can use to move beyond chalk and talk. The author examined whether concept mapping strategy can be useful in helping students improve their learning performance in a business and economics statistics course. A single-factor, between subjects experimental design with three participant groups (collaborative concept mapping vs. individual concept mapping vs. traditional exercises) was employed. The experimental results suggested that adopting concept mapping strategy can significantly improve students' statistics learning achievement compared to using traditional exercises method, and adopting collaborative concept mapping can better improve students' achievement than using individual concept mapping. Furthermore, most of the students were satisfied with using concept mapping to learn statistics.

Construction of concept maps as tool for Biochemistry learning

The use of concept maps on the teaching of sciences has been object of worldwide research with different purposes: to detect the previous knowledge of the students on certain topics or to evaluate learning, among others. Based on Ausubel´s cognitive psychology, concept maps assume that the learning is accomplished by assimilation of new concepts and propositions to the students´ cognitive structure, contributing to establish links between the previous and new knowledge. It is especially interesting on the approach of interdisciplinary issues, as many studied in Biochemistry.The relevance of the use of concept maps on biochemistry learning was evaluated on a thirty-hour undergraduation optional course, with interdisciplinary topics, which are not usually included on introductory Biochemistry courses. The course Biochemistry of Animal Venoms was structured in seven module where the biochemical action mechanisms of the venoms of Crotalus sp (south american rattlesnake), Bothrops sp (jararaca), Loxosceles sp (brown spider), Tityus sp (yellow scorpion), Phoneutria sp (armed spider), Apis mellifera (honey bee) and Latrodectus sp (black widow)were discussed. The students worked in small groups and, at each module, there were (1) an oriented study, guided by questions, texts and schemes, supervised by the teachers, (2) the construction of individual concept maps, where the local and systemic effects of the venoms should be predicted by their biochemical composition and (3) the construction of a new map by the group, incorporating the information of the individual maps. The difficulty level of these tasks was gradually increased throughout the course, with lesser time to carry out the tasks, lesser assistance during the oriented study and even lesser information on the venom effects.The course assessment was given by the number, quality and correction of the concepts relationship present in the concept maps, through a questionnaire and by the teachers’ observation. The concept maps produced exceeded the expectation, being gradually more complex at each module. The answers to the questionnaire, in a 1 to 5 scale, showed that the course answered the students’ expectations (4,3), that the topics chosen were satisfactory (4,4) and that the students recommend the course to colleagues (4,6). Besides, the majority agreed that the concept maps improved the learning of the course content (4,5) and that this methodology should be adopted in other courses and disciplines.

Use of concept mapping to integrate the different perspectives of designers and other stakeholders in the development of e‐learning materials

Multi‐disciplinary teams and stakeholders are involved in the production of e‐learning materials and all have differing and valuable perspectives. A range of factors such as availability of new learning technologies, pedagogy or the learning market, may direct the design process. This article argues that a constructivist methodology for course design enables a project manager to build on all contributors' perspectives in a “bottom up” rather than a “top down” approach and be aware of any weaknesses and undesirable dominating influences. Concept mapping provided the basis for an e‐learning development project at the University of Surrey to develop such a constructivist methodology. The design team and wider stakeholders each produced individual concept maps and were analysed to identify both commonalties and unique contributions that might influence design. The project manager then integrated the individual maps to produce an overall map of the project and found the process valuable for a more critical and holistic approach to directing the project.

The influence of learner differences on the construction of hypermedia concepts: a case study

This study employed the case study methodology, focusing on three students engaged in a group task. The students were grouped together based on their learning style and cognitive control differences: one student was an Assimilator/Field-Independent; another, a Converger/Field-Mixed; and the third, an Accommodator/Field-Dependent. The group task was to develop a concept map on hypermedia-related concepts. Our research focus was to determine how each of three students influenced the construction of the group concept map with their learning styles and cognitive controls framing our analyses. The data sources used were (1) their individual concept maps which they used during the group task, (2) the group concept map, (3) the transcriptions of the dialogue that took place when completing the group task, (4) their hypermedia knowledge, (5) their hypermedia experience, (6) features they identified as comprising a hypermedia environment, and (7) hypermedia insights. We found that the Assimilator/Field-Independent student was the most influential by having (1) the greatest similarity between her individual concept map and the group map, (2) the highest number of concepts added and the fewest number of concepts omitted, (3) the highest number of hypermedia features that were also included in the group concept map, and (4) the most complex links between concepts. The next influential was the Converger/Field-Mixed. The least influential was the Accommodator/Field-Dependent. Explanations are given from the learning style/cognitive control perspective. ©

The concept map as a tool for the collaborative construction of knowledge: A microanalysis of high school physics students

AbstractAlthough concept mapping has been shown to help students in meaningful learning, particularly when done as a collaborative activity, little has been done to understand the microprocesses during the activity itself. However, in order to be able to improve the activity as a teaching and learning heuristic, we have to know more about the microprocesses that constitute concept mapping as process and as product. This study was designed to investigate concept mapping as a means of assessing the quality of student understanding from two perspectives: the analysis of the process of constructing meaning and the analysis of the products of this cognitive activity. An interpretive research methodology was adopted for the construction of meaning from the data. Twenty‐nine students from two sections of a senior level high school physics course participated in the study. The data sources included videotapes, their transcripts, and all concept maps produced. Students worked in collaborative groups during all of the concept mapping sessions. Individual concept mapping was assessed twice, once delayed by a week, another time delayed by 6 weeks. To assess what happened to the cognitive achievement as the context of concept mapping changed from collaborative to individual activity, we used a tracer. A tracer is some bit of knowledge, procedure, or action that allows the researcher to follow a task through various settings. The concept maps as products differed in their hierarchical organization, the number of links, and the benefit to the individual students. Three major processes emerged, which students used to arrive at suitable propositions. Students mediated propositions verbally and nonverbally, they took adversarial positions and appealed to authority, and they formed temporary alliances based on presumed expertise. Both product and process hold promise but also show some limitations. On the positive side, concept mapping led to sustained discourse on the topic and improved the declarative knowledge of several students both in terms of the hierarchical organization and “local” configuration of the concepts. In contrast, concept mapping also let unintended and scientifically incorrect notions become ingrained and go unchallenged. On the basis of the outcomes of our study we formulated specific recommendations for the use of concept maps in the classroom. These include continued instruction in establishing proper hierarchies and cross‐links to increase the quality of the concept maps' structure and the number of high quality links. Then, instruction should facilitate students' attempts to reflect on the nature of the relationships expressed in their maps. And finally, specific roles could be assigned to individual students to improve the overall quality of the process of constructing the map and, thus, of the final product.