Publication Date

2021

Abstract

While instructors often have the benefit of years of experience, students, as novice learners, have a more “sparse and superficial” content knowledge that does not allow them to organize their thoughts as well. Yet, this organization is important for recall. One way of encouraging concept organization is through mind-mapping, a strategy that improves retention by allowing students to graphically depict their knowledge. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the effectiveness of a series of mind-mapping activities on a group of students who completed these exercises during the Spring 2020 semester.

Author Biography

Dr. Amanda Joyce is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Murray State University. She teaches courses in Introductory Psychology and Research Methods as well as several courses in her specialty area of Development Psychology and more. Her research interests include childhood cognitive development as well as best practices for teaching and learning in the college classroom.

Author's Notes

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Amanda W. Joyce, Department of Psychology, Murray State University, 204 Wells Hall, Murray, KY 42071. Email: awatson22@muraystate.edu .

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Download

Share

COinS
 

Using Mind Mapping Activities to Promote Transparency and Engagement

While instructors often have the benefit of years of experience, students, as novice learners, have a more “sparse and superficial” content knowledge that does not allow them to organize their thoughts as well. Yet, this organization is important for recall. One way of encouraging concept organization is through mind-mapping, a strategy that improves retention by allowing students to graphically depict their knowledge. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the effectiveness of a series of mind-mapping activities on a group of students who completed these exercises during the Spring 2020 semester.