Active Learning Strategy: Concept Mapping

A concept map is a flowchart or diagram that shows the interrelationships among concepts (ideas, images, or words). It is a graphical tool for representing and organizing knowledge. Concept mapping assists learners in understanding the relationships as they construct a visual map to illustrate the connections.

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Active Learning Strategy: Concept Mapping

Concepts are usually enclosed in boxes, triangles, or circles. Links or connecting lines demonstrate relationships, with direction denoted by an arrow symbol. The connecting lines can be unidirectional, bidirectional, sideways, up and down, or oblique.

Concept mapping is a holistic approach to learning in that it utilizes both brain hemispheres - the right (creative) side as well as the left (analytical) side. The words, lines, colors, and images stimulate the brain, in visual, kinesthetic, and writing/ graphical pathways.

This innovative learning strategy allows students to visualize the connections between ideas, make new connections that they had not considered before, and construct a logical but not overly rigid conceptual framework that can easily incorporate more knowledge as it is acquired. It also helps students see the "big" picture - not just the minute details. Learners can visualize how the scattered ideas or concepts form the larger whole.

Concept mapping can accomplish several purposes:

  • Generate ideas
  • Communicate ideas
  • Facilitate understanding
  • Integrate new with old knowledge
  • Create a structure for complex ideas
  • Expose misunderstandings

Concept maps are multidimensional, not linear and unidimensional, like the traditional care plan. Assessment data, nursing diagnoses, patient goals, nursing interventions, and evaluatory criteria can be creatively integrated with multiple ways within the diagram. In the clinical setting, the patient is the central theme of the concept map. In our college of nursing, we have abandoned the traditional care plan for the clinical concept map, with positive results.

Because both sides of the brain are utilized, concept maps facilitate meaningful understanding of complex concepts and relationships, especially with visual and kinesthetic learners. New ideas are anchored in the mind to old material that the student has already mastered. These graphical representations promote critical thinking by engaging the student. Concept maps also serve as an excellent way for educators to evaluate learners' critical thinking because they visually represent students' conceptualization of the content material.

Nursing students face great challenges to assimilate ever-increasing amounts of knowledge. Concept maps actively promote understanding, by helping learners connect relevant content in a meaningful way to long-term memory. They are extremely effective learning tools because they are fun, interactive, and flexible, and easily adaptable to many settings. They are also dynamic and mirror real-life clinical settings. Priorities can instantly be changed, as needed.

In summary, concept maps are innovative learning tools to prepare students for decision-making in our diverse and complex world. I have attached an example that we use in our college of nursing.

 

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VickyRN

About VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN

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Specializes in ED, Flight.

Not really all that new, but a formalized approach to what many people have done for years in their notebooks and doodlepads. Very helpful for SOME students.

I am a professional educator (not nursing). I studied 'learning strategies' and thinking styles, starting with college some 30 years ago. The idea that we must appeal to the varied styles of thinking and learning in each student is crucial and advances the odds of success. There, too, is the rub. There are students who think in such a dominantly verbal learning style that mapping just frustrates and even confuses them. These are the students who will close their eyes or look down/aside so that they can just focus on what their ears are telling them. Visual and kinesthetic learning approaches will only frustrate them. I am one.

I tried to explain this to instructors when I was in nursing school. They couldn't hear it. Concept Mapping is the latest thing, in vogue in nursing education. Ergo, it must be right for all and all must do it. We had Concept Maps as assignments. For me, this was a very frustrating experience. I already had many years of successful post-high school education and teaching under my belt. I know what works well for ME (maybe not for others). But Concept Maps were required and forced on us. Needless to say, I did not excel on those assignments; nor did I enjoy doing them.

Concept Mapping is a great tool to teach the students, and allow them to use if it works well for them. I was appalled by how many of the young students in my classes really lacked any developed thinking and learning skills. It was pitiful how it was necessary to teach college students how to think and approach learning tasks. That being the case, however, this and other strategies need to be taught to help them out. But REQUIRING a particular strategy for assignments because it is in vogue is a terrible mistake. It is the same mistake that mediocre educators have made historically in every generation because they are unable to see their students as individuals with individual needs and strengths.

To summarize, we have known for a very long time that people learn through different modes and thinking styles. Since most students are a mix of these styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic), encouraging the use of a mix of approaches and presentations is likely to help and facilitate learning. It should be noted, however, that some students are so dominantly oriented to a particular learning style that requiring them to conform to a single, different style may actually frustrate them and make learning more difficult. Extremely dominant auditory learners will likely have some trouble with Concept Mapping, as extremely dominant kinesthetic learners will likely have trouble benefitting from a lecture format. Students should be encouraged to learn what their own dominant or mix of styles is, and be helped to use that successfully in their learning.

:twocents:

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Specializes in Trauma.

My nursing program did this and many students didn't understand it and were not fans of it. What you wrote, makes FAR MORE SENSE than any direction I received in school about it.

Thanks

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Specializes in OR, Home Care, Managed Care, Case Mgmt.

Thanks for this article. I am an RN and my husband is finishing up nursing school this May and his biggest complaint was WHY they had to create concept maps! I kept telling him it's just another way to visual and learn/understand information. I am forwarding him the link to this page. =)

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Hi Vicky!

I am currently in an RN program. My first semester involves Academic Strategies and LVN to RN role transitions. I honestly believe that concept mapping is the best way to prepare LVNs to be RNs. From experience, LVNs are to do things by the book -- we are traditional thinkers. RNs are analytical/critical thinkers, which requires LVNs to think outside the box. Concept mapping is the catalyst that helps with role transitions. I know it's tedious but it helps me utilize me brain for critical thinking. I agree that concept mapping helps students see the "big picture." Even though, we will be focusing on the main problem, there's a bigger problem we may overlook.

Also, thank you for the links. I found them very helpful.

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
Hi Vicky!

I am currently in an RN program. My first semester involves Academic Strategies and LVN to RN role transitions. I honestly believe that concept mapping is the best way to prepare LVNs to be RNs. From experience, LVNs are to do things by the book -- we are traditional thinkers. RNs are analytical/critical thinkers, which requires LVNs to think outside the box. Concept mapping is the catalyst that helps with role transitions. I know it's tedious but it helps me utilize me brain for critical thinking. I agree that concept mapping helps students see the "big picture." Even though, we will be focusing on the main problem, there's a bigger problem we may overlook.

Also, thank you for the links. I found them very helpful.

Excellent points. Glad this resource has been helpful to you, goirenego :) Best wishes to you in your future career as an RN!

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