Web-based Concept Mapping Research Articles

Exploring the Effectiveness of Web-Based Concept and Mind Mapping Tools for Enhancing Teaching and Learning ESP

Exploring the Effectiveness of Web-Based Concept and Mind Mapping Tools for Enhancing Teaching and Learning ESP

Digital Visual Grammar Concept Map Facilitated EFL Holistic Grammar Comprehension

Form-focused deductive grammar learning approach is an effective way to facilitate language learners to memorize atomistic grammatical rules. However, beyond retaining isolated grammar rules, learners can benefit from using web based concept map, a visualized utility, to overlap grammar rules and achieve holistic comprehension. Therefore, this research looks into detail (total nodes, depth, and breadth) of how visual grammar concept map affects student’s examination score and aims to assist students to gain a holistic visual grammar learning through utilizing an online concept map software (CoCoing.info). One hundred and thirty-two college students were involved in this study for 18 weeks. The quantitative results revealed that students who created a more developed and holistic visual grammar concept map gained a better understanding of the grammatical rules. This was however not true for low achieving students. Therefore, more detailed analysis showed students with deeper depth and wider breadth achieved higher score. However, the high achieving students and low achieving students’ comparison study indicated that the depth of the visual grammar concept map is harder for students to construct and is a better indicator of achievement compared to breadth. The findings show that visual grammar concept map can facilitate traditional form-focused classroom.

Aligning implementation and user-centered design strategies to enhance the impact of health services: results from a concept mapping study

BackgroundInnovative approaches are needed to maximize fit between the characteristics of evidence-based practices (EBPs), implementation strategies that support EBP use, and contexts in which EBPs are implemented. Standard approaches to implementation offer few ways to address such issues of fit. We characterized the potential for collaboration with experts from a relevant complementary approach, user-centered design (UCD), to increase successful implementation.MethodUsing purposive and snowball sampling, we recruited 56 experts in implementation (n = 34) or UCD (n = 22). Participants had 5+ years of professional experience (M = 10.31), worked across many settings (e.g., healthcare, education, human services), and were mostly female (59%) and white (73%). Each participant completed a web-based concept mapping structured conceptualization task. They sorted strategies from established compilations for implementation (36 strategies) and UCD (30 strategies) into distinct clusters, then rated the importance and feasibility of each strategy.ResultsWe used multidimensional scaling techniques to examine patterns in the sorting of strategies. Based on conceptual clarity and fit with established implementation frameworks, we selected a final set of 10 clusters (i.e., groups of strategies), with five implementation-only clusters, two UCD-only clusters, and three trans-discipline clusters. The highest-priority activities (i.e., above-average importance and feasibility) were the trans-discipline clusters plus facilitate change and monitor change. Implementation and UCD experts sorted strategies into similar clusters, but each gave higher importance and feasibility ratings to strategies/clusters from their own discipline.ConclusionsIn this concept mapping study, experts in implementation and UCD had perspectives that both converged (e.g., trans-discipline clusters, which were all rated as high-priority) and diverged (e.g., in importance/feasibility ratings). The results provide a shared understanding of the alignment between implementation science and UCD, which can increase the impact and sustainability of EBP implementation efforts. Implications for improved collaboration among implementation and UCD experts are discussed.

Effects of web-based concept mapping education on students' concept mapping and critical thinking skills: A double blind, randomized, controlled study

BackgroundUsing concept maps in nurse education improves students' critical thinking skills. Offering web-based concept mapping education can increase motivation for learning in students actively using the Internet. ObjectivesTo examine the effects of web-based concept mapping education on nursing students' concept mapping and critical thinking skills. DesignThis is a double-blind, randomized, controlled, experimental study. SettingsA nursing faculty at a state university in Turkey. ParticipantsSecond-year nursing students taking the course surgical nursing in the spring term of the academic year of 2018/2019. MethodsThe experimental group (n = 201) was offered web-based concept mapping education before starting practicums. Data were collected using a students' information form, concept map evaluation keys, and the Critical Thinking Motivational Scale at the end of the practicums. A structured questionnaire was used to reveal opinions of the students about concept mapping. ResultsThere was a significant difference in concept mapping scores between the students offered web-based concept mapping education (16.45 ± 10.91) and those not receiving this education (12.70 ± 9.31) (p= .000). Also, there was a significant difference in students' scores for the subscales of Critical Thinking Motivational Scale expectancy, attainment and utility between the groups. The students reported that concept maps facilitated their learning and management of nursing processes but that they occasionally experienced difficulty. ConclusionIt can be concluded that web-based concept mapping education improves concept mapping skills and motivation for critical thinking skills. Web-based education could be utilized as a tool to enhance nursing students' concept mapping and critical thinking skills.

3345 Group Concept Mapping of Stakeholder’s Ideas to Increase the Quantity and Quality of Clinical and Translational Research in Rhode Island

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: We sought to solicit and synthesize stakeholders’ ideas for how the Advance-CTR program can best increase the quality and quality of clinical and translational research in Rhode Island, and to apply these findings to address barriers and strengthen research capabilities across our partner institutions. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We utilized a Group Concept Mapping approach, involving university and Institution-based researchers and administrators. The process was conducted using the web-based concept mapping application CS Global Max (Concept Systems, Inc). Respondents were asked to provide their best ideas for promoting clinical and translational research in RI. These ideas were then organized by our project team into a set of unique items for consideration by attendees of an Advance-CTR retreat. Participants were tasked with sorting these ideas by theme (cluster), and were also asked to rate each idea according its importance and feasibility. Using the online software, these clusters and ratings were analyzed to identify key themes and to explore differences among sub-groups. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The Group Concept Mapping exercise yielded 150 statements that were edited down to 78 unique ideas, and clustered into nine themes (e.g., institutional collaboration, training). Fifty-seven retreat participants completed the sorting and rating tasks of the concept mapping exercise. Overall, ideas rated as highly important and highly feasible included “providing seed grants to encourage new collaborations across basic science,” and “connecting researchers with common interests.” Top rated items varied across institutions and according to respondent demographics, allowing us to consider the unique issues relevant to particular groups. Relative rankings of clusters across groups revealed notable differences, such as higher importance placed on community engagement among administrators as compared with researchers, and differences in needs for internal support for research between universities. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Group Concept Mapping was an effective and insightful participatory approach to engage our program’s stakeholders in developing ideas and identifying challenges to enhancing clinical and translational research in Rhode Island. Our results have implications for project decision-making and initiatives to facilitate translational research in RI. Thus, results have been presented to the Advance-CTR community via webinar, as well as Advance-CTR project leadership and advisory committees.

Achieving Alignment in the Preparation of CSPAP Leaders in PETE Programs

The emergence of a research focus on comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAP) has prompted faculty within physical education teacher education (PETE) at West Virginia University to reconceptualize undergraduate, graduate and doctoral plans of study. In response to their experiences during the implementation of several multicomponent school-based interventions, researchers completed a web-based concept mapping process to inform PETE curriculum enhancement. The purpose of that study was to identify the knowledge, skills and behavioral competencies that a school leader would need to develop and sustain a CSPAP. Five themes emerged: (1) teambuilding and facilitating, (2) capacity building, (3) knowledge of instructional practice, (4) content knowledge, and (5) program development and management. This article describes the steps taken to introduce CSPAP at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels in order to facilitate the development of related competencies in beginning and advanced teacher candidates, and to meet the needs of doctoral students intending to pursue a professional position in higher education.

The journey and destination need to be intentional: Perceptions of success in community-academic research partnerships

Research partnerships between community members and academics are dynamic microsystems that aim to increase community wellbeing within complex environments. Efforts to improve health and social outcomes in communities are challenging in their own right, but even the most experienced researchers or engaged community members can have difficulty navigating the collaborative terrain of community-academic research partnerships. Proponents of participatory research models that engage community members as co-researchers are still examining how the collaborative process interacts with, and impacts, both short- and long-term outcomes. As a result, there has been a call for additional studies that employ qualitative and quantitative methods to contribute to a holistic understanding of this approach to research. This pilot study utilized the participatory tenets of co-researcher models to explore how members of community-academic research partnerships think about partnership processes and outcomes, including how they delineate between the two. Web-based concept mapping methodology was combined with individual interviews in an innovative mixed methods research study to further the field’s understanding of how community and academic members define partnership success and evaluate the impact of their work. Our findings suggest that in the early stages of a partnership members rely on informal and intuitive evaluation of success based on how the partnership is functioning. These partnership processes, which serve as intermediate outcomes, largely influence member engagement in the work, but partnerships are ultimately deemed successful if intended community-based research outcomes are achieved.Keywords: community-academic research partnerships, participatory research, concept mapping methodology, mixed methods, partnership process, outcomes

A rule-based system for automatically evaluating student concept maps

Concept maps have been heralded as an effective learning tool to help students integrate new concepts into their existing set of knowledge. They are also useful for evaluating student learning and helping to illuminate where learning has occurred and where invalid or incomplete ideas are held by the student. We have developed a web-based concept map construction and rule-based evaluation system called the Concept Mapping Tool (CMT) that is being deployed at the university level. After students use the drawing facility of CMT to construct individual concept maps for a particular topic that was presented in a course, they can then use the rule-based evaluation system to grade their concept maps against a criterion concept map created by the course instructor. Students are given immediate feedback on how to improve their concept maps, and they can use CMT iteratively to improve their understanding of the topic at hand. The rule-based evaluation or grading system is modeled in part on a manual system for the consistent scoring of concept maps. Our tests of the system show that there is a strong positive correlation (>0.80) between the scores on students’ concept maps given by the course instructor grading manually and by the CMT rule-based evaluation system.

A Comparison of Web-Based Concept Mapping Tasks for Alternative Assessment in Distance Teacher Education

Three sections of the same distance education class completed a series of Web-based concept map assessments using one of two methods. Open-ended maps applied in section 1 led students to conduct more relational thinking overall, but variance in map items was very high introducing more subjectivity in scoring. Preselected term mapping applied in sections 2—3 led students to correctly classify many concepts and express proper relationships compared to an instructor's map. Identifying expected concept sets from the instructor's maps caused students some difficulty. The high volume of readings associated with the task appeared to further this problem. Students touted many benefits of mapping, including synthesizing and connecting course material, reading more intentionally, and thinking critically.

Development of a model of the tobacco industry’s interference with tobacco control programmes

Objective: To construct a conceptual model of tobacco industry tactics to undermine tobacco control programmes for the purposes of: (1) developing measures to evaluate industry tactics, (2) improving tobacco control...

Students' use of web-based concept map testing and strategies for learning

The study reported in this paper developed and evaluated a web-based concept map testing system for science students. Thirty-eight Taiwanese high school students were involved and it was found that their performance on the system was not significantly related to their achievement as measured by traditional standard tests. Their views about the use of the system, in general, were positive. An analysis of students' future use of the system and their motivation and learning strategies revealed that those with more critical thinking metacognitive activities and an effort regulation management strategy showed more willingness to use the online testing system. Moreover, students with high test anxiety showed a preference to be tested through the system.