Quantifying Learning Through The Use Of Mind Maps And Concept Maps
- Conference
- Location
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Austin, Texas
- Publication Date
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June 14, 2009
- Start Date
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June 14, 2009
- End Date
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June 17, 2009
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Educational Research and Methods
- Page Count
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14
- Page Numbers
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14.1000.1 - 14.1000.14
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--4982
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/4982
- Download Count
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1107
Paper Authors
Gloria Starns Iowa State University
Gloria Starns is a Senior Lecturer at Iowa State University. Dr. Starns earned her Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1996. Her research interests include synthesis of planar mechanisms using optimization methods. In the area of engineering education Dr. Starns is researching the ways in which to quantify learning.
Mathew Hagge Iowa State University
Mathew Hagge is a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Iowa State University. For his Ph.D., Dr Hagge developed a CFD model for biomass pyrolysis. He specializes in the area of thermodynamics, and his teaching efforts have focused on developing a concept-based teaching method for his students.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Quantifying Learning Through the use of Mind Maps and Concept Maps
Concept Maps, Learning, Cognitive Science
Abstract In this work mind maps and concept maps will be used to facilitate the process of learning by quantifying the ability of students to connect existing memories to new concepts. Research from cognitive and neural science indicates that learning occurs through the repeated process of storing, retrieving, and connecting information. Aligning instruction with the way in which students learn is difficult. Instruction is often delivered using a topic-by-topic presentation of material because the instructor’s expertise in a field, coupled with repeated application of concepts, facilitates this approach. Instructors are able to quickly and easily retrieve information because they have a vast network of neural paths developed through repeated use. Students, on the other hand, are faced with both establishing the connection of stored information to new concepts and strengthening the connection with repeated use. If the connection between retrieved information and the new concept is made, learning will occur—otherwise it will not. This research explores the use of mind maps and concept maps as quantitative tools to measure the learning process of students and to identify important missing connections between concepts.
Introduction The questions which this paper attempts to answer are: how can mind maps, or concept maps, be used to assess the level of student conceptual understanding, and how can the information obtained through the evaluation of students be made use of to improve student learning and instructional methods?
Mind maps and concept maps, while similar in that they are both graphical representations of cognitive processes, are different in their structures and functionality. Mind maps consist of clusters of ideas emanating from a central topic using branching. Concept maps are graphical representations of knowledge using a combination of directed arcs and labels which link related information. Mind maps better facilitate spontaneity and creativity while concept maps better facilitate identification of relationships between constituents of a body of knowledge. Particularly important is the distinction that concept maps rely on the creator’s ability to connect related information; mind maps do not require linking of any information.
Mind maps have been used to help students create visual representations of their thinking 1 2 3 patterns in sociology , economics , and psychology classes , and they have been used as 4 5 assessment tools in chemistry classes and biology classes . Engineering educators have likewise 6,7 examined the use of concept maps in assessment .
Starns, G., & Hagge, M. (2009, June), Quantifying Learning Through The Use Of Mind Maps And Concept Maps Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--4982
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