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Tips from TSE: Connect the dots with concept mapping

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, June 12, 2008

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Helping students make connections between important facts, thoughts, and theories is the key to developing critical thinkers. But when the complexities of the clinical world make formulating (and grasping) such connections seem like a monumental task for learners, educators can turn to a time-tested, research-supported training strategy: concept mapping.

"Concept mapping increases learning capabilities," says Michele Poradzisz, PhD, RN, an associate professor and interim associate dean for the nursing graduate program at St. Xavier University in Chicago. "It forces [students] to show how they understand the concept and the relationships between concepts."

The first step in creating a map is to tell the student what topic to include on it. For example, give the student a medical diagnosis, such as diabetes, along with the major components of the diagnosis that must be included (e.g., symptoms and medications).

Then let the student know how the map should be structured. Have him or her draw lines between the components while putting a connecting verb on each line to show how they are related. For example, the student can use the verb "cause" to show that a certain disease brings about a certain symptom.

"Basically, the student is showing that one thing leads to another," says Poradzisz.

Editor's note: This excerpt was taken from the article "Connect the dots with concept mapping," found in the June issue of The Staff Educator.

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