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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CONCEPT MAPPING AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL TO ENHANCE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS
Typology: Schemes and Mind Maps
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TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………….i ABSTRACT……………………………………..……………………………………….iii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Introduction…………………………………………………………………….…………. 1 Background and Significance……………………………………………..………..…….. 2 Problem Statement……………………..…………….…………………………………… 4 Purpose of the Study……………………………………...………………………………. 5 Research Question………………………………………………...……………………… 5 Conceptual Theoretical Framework………………………………………………………. Definition of Terms………...……………………………………...……………………… 6 Limitations……………………...…………………..…………………………………… 7 Assumptions…………………………………..…………………………………………. 7 Summary……………………………………..………………………………………….. 7 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction………………………………………………………..…………………….. 9 Theoretical Framework…………………………………..………..…….………………. 9 Concept Maps in the Clinical Setting……..…………………………..…………………1 2 Process of Learning and Concept Maps…………………………………..………….1 2 Critical Thinking and Concept Maps…………………………………………………2 2 Concept Maps in the Classroom Setting………………………..……………………….. Summary…………………………...…………………………………………………….4 1
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Abstract RESEARCH SUBJECT: The Effectiveness of Concept Mapping as an Educational Tool to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate Nursing Students STUDENT: Sarah B. Lawson BSN, RN DEGREE: Master of Science in Nursing COLLEGE: College of Applied Sciences and Technology DATE: May, 2012 Concept mapping is an educational tool used to diagram relationships among concepts. This idea of concept mapping used in nursing educational settings, can help foster critical thinking skills by showing students connections between ideas or concepts they are currently studying. The purpose of this study is to determine if concept mapping is an effective educational tool to enhance critical thinking skills in undergraduate nursing students. This is a replication of the study completed by Wheeler and Collins (2003). The framework is Ausubel’s assimilation theory (Ausubel, 1968). A convenience sample (n=76) will be randomly assigned to experimental (n=44) and control (n=32) groups. The experimental group will be taught concept mapping as a means of organizing patient data in preparation of clinicals. The control group will be taught to organize patient data with traditional nursing care plans. Critical thinking skills will be measured with the California Critical Thinking Skills Test, which yields six scores: an overall score and five subscales (analysis, evaluation, inference, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning).
Chapter 1 Introduction
Introduction Concept mapping is an educational tool used to diagram relationships among concepts. In the nursing educational setting, concept mapping can help foster critical thinking skills in students by showing connections between ideas or concepts they are currently studying. A concept map presents a visual representation of a patient’s plan of care. This representation allows the student to see a patient’s problems and visually connect those problems to interventions (Adema-Hannes & Parzen, 2005). Concept maps are described as a hierarchal map structure with links to form valid propositions or linking words. General concepts are placed at the top of the map, and progressively more specific concepts are placed under one another to form a hierarchy (Abel & Freeze, 2006). Major concepts are circled or boxed. Lines show relationships or links, and the direction of the thought process is indicated with arrows. Propositional links between concepts, showing the meaning of the relationship between the two concepts, are represented by connecting lines with words that describe the relationship written along the lines.
linear, conceptually flat, and have limited effectiveness for developing critical thinking skills (Kathol, Geiger, & Hartig, 1998). Nursing educators have recognized that the past way of educating by rote memorization is not promoting meaningful learning in nursing students. Due to increased patient acuity and advanced technology in the clinical setting, nursing education needs to develop and foster connections between new information and past learning. In a fast- paced healthcare setting, students must make an educational shift from learning to thinking (Abel & Freeze, 2006). This requires that educators also must include a shift in their methods of how to teach. Nursing education has begun to include concept mapping as a clinical learning activity to promote meaningful learning. Novak developed the concept map in 1972 to promote the learning of new content by creating hierarchical arrangements of concepts and subconcepts and identifying the relationships between them (Wheeler & Collins, 2003). Concept maps range from highly structured flow charts to creative graphic or pictorial arrangement of concepts. Many disciplines, including medicine, science, and psychology have used concept mapping effectively in the classroom and clinical settings, as both teaching strategies and an outcome measure for critical thinking skills. Concept mapping has also been used as a tool for clinical preparation, evaluation, and research (Daley, Shaw, Balistrieri, Glasenapp, & Piancentine, 1999). Concept maps use a metacognitive approach to develop cognitive skills in learners, promote pattern recognition, and stimulate retained learning on prior experiences (Novak & Gowin, 1984). Ausubel (1968) developed the assimilation theory which explains why the concept mapping teaching strategy might be more effective than traditional nursing care
plans (Wheeler & Collins, 2003). Ausubel described a difference between acquiring knowledge through reception and discovery versus through rote and meaningful learning. Reception learning is described as being presented to the learner in a formal setting such as a lecture and is then internalized by either rote or meaningful learning. Discovery learning occurs when the learner discovers content such as in the clinical setting and internalizes it through rote or meaningful learning. Rote learning means to memorize content without processing; therefore, it can be easily lost without repetition. Meaningful learning involves building new concepts and ideas on the learner’s prior experiences. Meaningful learning is required to develop knowledge, critical thinking, and problem- solving skills. Concept mapping promotes meaningful learning by allowing students to visualize and organize patient data and connect concepts such as a patient’s problem to an intervention to that problem. Problem Statement The problems faced by patients in today’s healthcare environment are becoming increasingly more complex. Patient stay in the hospital is much shorter than it was in previous years and decades, resulting in a larger number of patients being acutely ill while hospitalized. These problems require nurses to not only be organized in patient care, but to also have excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Nursing educators are faced with the task of teaching these vital skills to nursing students. Concept maps provide educators with the ability to help students learn how to organize data, prioritize patient care needs, and see connections between diagnoses and interventions.
Ausubel's (1962) views of retention were linked to his larger theory of subsumption. Subsumers, anchoring ideas, help to facilitate learning and retention. In reception learning content is presented in its final form, as in a classroom lecture, where it can be retained by either rote or meaningful learning. Meaningful learning is necessary for the development of knowledge, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Definition of Terms Conceptual. Critical thinking (CT) is defined by the American Philosophical Association’s Delphi study (Facione, 1990). We understand critical thinking to be purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based. CT is essential as a tool of inquiry. As such, CT is a liberating force in education and a powerful resource in one's personal and civic life. While not synonymous with good thinking, CT is a pervasive and self-rectifying human phenomenon. The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fairminded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit. Thus, educating good critical
thinkers means working toward this ideal. It combines developing CT skills with nurturing those dispositions which consistently yield useful insights and which are the basis of a rational and democratic society (Facione, 1990, pp. 2). Operational. Critical thinking will be measure by The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). The CCTST yields six scores: an overall score and five subscale scores (analysis, evaluation, inference, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning). Limitations The sample size that will be used in this study is relatively small. Using a larger sample size could be valuable in determining the efficacy of concept mapping in promoting critical thinking in nursing students. The level of improvement of various skills that are being measured in this study may require more than one semester to be determined. Assumptions Critical thinking is a required skill needed by nursing students to become successful nurses. In order to teach this essential skill, nurse educators have a responsibility to use learning methods that enhance the development of critical thinking skills. Summary This chapter has discussed the problem, purpose, theoretical framework, definition of terms, limitations, and assumptions on concept mapping. A background on the significance of this topic reveals that concept mapping may be an effective teaching
Chapter 2 Review of Literature
Introduction Concept mapping is a teaching strategy that is used to encourage students to learn the valuable and needed tools of critical thinking and problem-solving. This chapter is a literature review of research studies on the use of concept mapping. This chapter is organized into two sections: concept maps in the clinical setting and concept maps in the classroom setting. Concept maps in the clinical setting contains eight article reviews and is further divided into two categories: process of learning and concept maps and critical thinking and concept maps. Concept maps in the classroom setting contains four article reviews. Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework for this study is Ausubel’s (1962) Assimilation Theory. Subsumption is the central idea running through the whole of Ausubel's learning theory. According to Ausubel’s theory, The big boxes in the mental pyramid subsume the small boxes. Subsumers constitute the general categories around which we organize our thinking. Subsumption allows us to absorb new information into our cognitive structures.
Teaching and learning, therefore, are largely matters of erecting cognitive structures (scaffolding) to hold new information. By placing information into its proper box, we are better able to retain it for future use. Similarly, forgetting occurs when the smaller boxes (being made of less durable cognitive stuff) fall apart and become incorporated into the larger boxes. (Ivie, 1998, pp. 3). Cognitive structure is hierarchically organized in terms of highly inclusive concepts under which are subsumed less inclusive subconcepts and informational data. Ausubel (1963) emphasizes the learner's cognitive structure in the acquisition of new information. Present experience is always fitted into what the learner already knows. “Existing cognitive structure, that is an individual's organization, stability, and clarity of knowledge in a particular subject matter field at any given time, is the principal factor influencing the learning and retention of meaningful new material” (Ivie, 1998, pp. 3). A cognitive structure that is clear and well organized facilitates the learning and retention of new information. A cognitive structure that is confused and disorderly, on the other hand, inhibits learning and retention learning can be enhanced by strengthening relevant aspects of cognitive structure. Putting the mind in order is one of the principal objectives of all education. Ausubel and Robinson's (1969) theory of learning assumes the existence of a hierarchical structure of knowledge. Fields of inquiry are organized like pyramids, “with the most general ideas forming the apex, and more particular ideas and specific details subsumed under them” (Ivie, 1998, pp. 4). Learning occurs as potentially meaningful material enters the cognitive field, interacts with and is appropriately subsumed under a relevant and more inclusive conceptual system (Ausubel & Robinson, 1969).
Concept Maps in the Clinical Setting Process of learning and concept maps Only a few research studies have been conducted on the process of learning in baccalaureate nursing students. The purpose of a study by August-Brady (2005) was to examine the effect of concept mapping on approach to learning and self-regulation of learning in a sample of nursing students. The following two questions were proposed in this study: How do baccalaureate nursing students who use concept mapping differ in approach to learning from students who do not use concept mapping? How do baccalaureate nursing students who use concept mapping differ in the self-regulation of their learning from students who do not use concept mapping? The Presage-Process- Product (3P) Model of Teaching and Learning (Biggs, Kember, & Leung, 2001) served as the conceptual model for this study. The sample consisted of nursing students ( N = 80) from four state approved and/or accredited baccalaureate nursing programs in eastern Pennsylvania. All students were enrolled in a maternal and child health nursing course with a clinical component. The control group consisted of 45 students and the treatment group consisted of 35 students. The mean age of the participants was 22.7. The majority was female (94%). Eighty-six percent of the participants were Caucasian, 5% were Hispanic, 2.5% were African American, 2.5% were Indian, 2.5% were self-identified as other and 1.5% was missing data. Ninety percent of participants in the sample were enrolled as full-time students. The mean grade point average (GPA) was 3.15 (August-Brady, 2005). A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group, pretest-posttest design was used for this study. Participants in the treatment group were provided a one-hour session
on the construction of concept maps and then were asked to construct a concept map as a group based on a case study. Participants in the treatment group were required to individually complete six concept maps on their assigned clients to prepare for clinicals during the 15 week semester. Concept maps were scored by the researcher and researcher assistant using Novak and Gowin’s (1984) criteria. Data on outcome variables were obtained from students in the treatment and control groups at the end of the 15 week semester. The revised Study Process Questionnaire-2 Factor (rSPQ-2F) used in the study is a 20-item self-report questionnaire consisting of two main scales-deep approach and surface approach, each consisting of ten questions. Participants respond using a 5-point Likert scale, with descriptors ranging from 1 (this item is never or only rarely true of me) to 5 (this item is always or almost always true of me). Scores range from ten points to fifty points. A high score on the deep approach to learning scale indicates the individual is motivated to learn and uses appropriate strategies to learn. A high score on the surface approach to learning scale indicates the individual’s motive to learn is extrinsic to the real purpose of learning and uses corresponding strategies to learn (August-Brady, 2005). The Strategic Flexibility Questionnaire (SFQ) is a 21-item self-report questionnaire. It contains three main subscales: adaptive, inflexible, and irresolute control beliefs. It is scored using a 5-point Likert scale. The subscale with the highest score indicates the individual’s control beliefs about learning (August-Brady, 2005). Sample characteristics were assessed using a demographic questionnaire developed by the researcher. The participants’ demographic variables were included in this study because conflicting evidence exists regarding the influence of these variables.
The researcher concluded that the results of this study provide empirical support for the use of concept mapping as a metacognitive intervention. The findings suggested that concept mapping facilitates deeper approaches to learning and greater flexibility in control of that learning. The researcher included that a major limitation to this study was the inability to generalize the findings due to the non-random, convenience sampling. The small size of the sample was also a limitation and could have affected certain outcome variables of the study (August-Brady, 2005). Understanding that there are different preferences for learning styles, the faculty of an undergraduate nursing program inquired if a student’s learning style could indicate their ability to develop concept maps. The purpose of a study by Kostovich, Poradzisz, Wood, and O’Brien (2007) was to describe the relationship between nursing students’ learning style preference and aptitude for concept maps. The authors did not identify a conceptual/theoretical framework that guided this study. They did note that Novak and Gowin (1984) proposed concept mapping as a strategy to promote meaningful learning based on Ausubel’s (1968) assimilation theory. The population used in this study was 370 students in the undergraduate nursing program at a private Catholic university in a large Midwestern United States city. The majority of the population was female (96%) and only 4% were males. Minorities represented in the population included 28% African American, 11% Hispanic and 2% Asian with the majority of students being Caucasian (59%). The majority of students were age 23 or older. The sample for the study was 120 undergraduate nursing students enrolled in an adult health nursing course. All participants were enrolled in an adult
health nursing course in either the second semester of their junior year or the first semester of their senior year (Kostovich et al., 2007). Participants completed two instruments. The first was the Learning Style Survey (LSS). The LSS is an adaptation of Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (LSI). The LSS provides three kinds of scores. The first contains four subscale scores, which describe the participant’s preferences for concrete experience (CE), active experimentation (AE), abstract conceptualization (AC), and reflective observation (RO) modes of learning. The participant’s scores from this section are used to calculate the second set of scores, which describe the participant’s ability to apprehend new knowledge (grasping score) and integrate it into existing cognitive structures (transforming score). The last two scores (grasping and transforming) are then plotted on a grid which then can reveal the participant’s learning style preference: concrete, active, abstract, or reflective. No reliability or validity information the LSS was available from previous research. In this study, internal consistency reliability of the subscale scores of the LSS was stated to be low (Kostovich et al., 2007). The second instrument used in this study was a series of nine open-ended questions developed by the researchers. These questions were related to preferences for creating concept maps and also included demographic data. Completion of each instrument required approximately ten minutes. The instruments were completed at the beginning of two different classes three quarters of the way through the semester after the concept map and case study assignments had been completed. The majority of students had not created concept maps previously, so researchers provided both written and verbal instructions on concept map development. The
