The internal consistency of a concept mapping scoring scheme and its effect on prediction validity

This study examines the internal consistency of Novak and Gowin's scoring scheme and its effect on the prediction validity of concept mapping as an alternative science classroom achievement assessment. Data were collected in three typical situations: very limited concept mapping experience with free‐style concept mapping; some concept mapping experience with questions provided; extensive concept mapping experience with a list of concepts provided for. It was found that Novak's scoring scheme was not internally consistent, and therefore there was generally no significant correlation between students’ scores on concept mapping and students’ scores on conventional classroom achievement assessments. The need for a new scoring scheme when concept mapping is used as an alternative science assessment is discussed.     

Building an organized knowledge base: Concept mapping and achievement in secondary school physics

Direct teaching of problem-solving methods to high school physics students met with little success. Expert problem solving depended upon an organized knowledge base. Concept mapping was found to be a key to organizing an effective knowledge base. The investigation of the effect of the degree of concept mapping on achievement was the purpose of this study. Six intact high school physics classes, taught by this investigator, took part in the study. Two classes were control groups and received standard instruction. Four classes received six weeks of concept-mapping instruction prior to the unit under study. Two of these four classes were the low-level treatment group and were required to submit concept maps at the conclusion of the instruction. The other two classes were the high-level treatment group and were required to submit concept maps at the beginning and at the conclusion of the unit under study. One class from each treatment group took a pretest prior to instruction. An analysis of the posttest results revealed no pretest sensitization. A one-way analysis of covariance indicated a significant main effect for the treatment level at the p < 0.05 level. A pair of single-df comparisons of the adjusted treatment means resulted in significant differences (p < 0.05) between the control group and the average of the treatment means as well as between the two experimental groups. It can be concluded that for this sample (upper-middle-class high school physics students) mapping concepts prior to, during, and subsequent to instruction led to greater achievement as measured by posttest scores.     

The Effects of Using Concept Mapping for Improving Advanced Level Biology Students' Lower- and Higher-Order Cognitive Skills

This paper reports on teachers' use of concept mapping as an alternative assessment strategy in advanced level biology classes and its effects on students' cognitive skills on selected biology concepts. Using a mixed methods approach, the study employed a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design involving 156 students and 8 teachers from intact classes. A researcher-constructed Biology Cognitive Skills Test was used to collect the quantitative data. Qualitative data were collected through interviews and students' personal documents. The data showed that the participants utilized concept mapping in various ways and they described positive experiences while being engaged in its use. The main challenge cited by teachers was the limited time available for more consistent use. The results showed that the use of concept mapping in advanced level biology can lead to learning gains that exceed those achieved in classes where mainly traditional methods are used. The students in the concept mapping experimental groups performed significantly better than their peers in the control group on both the lower-order (F₍₁₎?=?21.508; p?<?.001) and higher-order (F₍₁₎?=?42.842, p?<?.001) cognitive items of the biology test. A mean effect size of .56 was calculated representing the contribution of treatment to the students' performance on the test items.     

The development of students critical thinking abilities and dispositions through the concept mapping learning method – A meta-analysis

Our meta-analysis investigates the effectiveness of the concept mapping method compared with the traditional teaching method, for the improvement of critical thinking ability and disposition outcomes. We included studies measuring students' critical thinking through standardised tests, comparing an experimental (concept mapping) group with a control (traditional teaching) one. Effect sizes for critical thinking ability and disposition outcomes were pooled with a random-effects model. We included in our meta-analysis 21 studies (108 comparisons) involving 1695 students. The concept mapping method was more effective than the traditional teaching method at posttest for the improvement of critical thinking ability (g = 0.531, 95% CI 0.279 to 0.783) and disposition (g = 0.648, 95% CI 0.266 to 1.031). Heterogeneity was moderate to high, Egger's test did not indicate any evidence of publication bias; however, both visual inspection of the Funnel plot and Duval and Tweedie's trim and fill method indicated potentially three missing studies for critical thinking ability and two for critical thinking disposition. Additionally, we analysed the potential moderating effect of students' demographic characteristics, educational conditions, concept mapping elaboration methods and allocation type. Allocation type was a significant moderator, having a strong effect on concept mapping for critical thinking abilities in randomised studies (g = 0.739, 95% CI 0.356 to 1.122), but its effect is low in non-randomised studies (g = 0.265, 95% CI 0.014 to 0.517).     

Using a computerized concept mapping program to assess preservice teachers' thinking about effective teaching

Concept mapping with Learning Tool, a computerized mapping program, was used to assess changes in the content and organization of 17 preservice teachers' concept maps for the topic of effective teaching. Preservice teachers in their senior year of an early childhood teacher education program constructed and revised concept maps with a partner. They entered reflections on each mapping experience into their reflective journals, developing implications for teaching. Analysis of the concept maps revealed that these students had a primary concern with classroom management throughout the year, linking diverse information to that concept. They evidenced detailed and diverse understandings under the labels of knowledge and organization. Professionalism was a common item, though it was less well developed. Their reflective journals indicated that these students moved from describing emotional reactions to using the computer program as a basis for reflection on the teaching/learning process. This study illustrates how concept mapping can be useful in describing students' evolving constructions of knowledge in a particular subject area, and in promoting reflection.     

Examination of Designed Materials in Digital Environment on Concept Teaching in Special Education

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of digital materials designed for the use of teachers and students in teaching concept skills to students in need of special education. The concept of the long term was included in the study. As a research model, a single-subject research model and a multiple-probe model were used. The participants of the study consisted of 4 students from different disability groups with the appropriate sampling method. In the study, data forms prepared by the researcher were used as data collection tools. According to the data obtained from the data forms, it was observed that 4 students who participated in the study learned the concept in different time intervals by using digital materials. In general terms, it was observed that all of the students learned the long concept, which is the concept to be taught. By using digital materials, it is concluded that students who are in need of special education support students’ individual learning skills independently of time and place and this was supported by teachers’ opinions.     

Concept map structure,gender and teaching methods: an investigation of students' science learning

Background: This study deals with the application of concept mapping to the teaching and learning of a science topic with secondary school students in Germany.

Purpose: The main research questions were: (1) Do different teaching approaches affect concept map structure or students' learning success? (2) Is the structure of concept maps influenced by gender? (3) Is the concept map structure a reliable indicator of students' learning success?

Sample: One hundred and forty-nine high-achieving 5th-grade students from four German secondary schools participated in the study. The average age of participants was 10½ years. Gender distribution was balanced. Students produced concept maps working in small, single-sex groups.

Design and methods: There were two teaching approaches used: one based upon teacher-centred instruction and one consisting of student-centred learning. Both were followed by a concept-mapping phase. Student groups experienced either one or the other teaching approach. Concept map structures were analysed using of the method of Kinchin, Hay and Adams. We defined three different possible types of concept map structure: spokes, chains and nets. Furthermore, for assessing a student's short- and longer-term learning success, we constructed a multiple-choice knowledge test applied in a pre-, post-, retention-test design. Parametric tests, such as MANOVA, one-way ANOVA and t-tests were used to identify any differences in gender, teaching approach, number of nets per concept map and their interactions.

Results: Type of teaching approach had an effect on concept map structure but not on students' longer-term learning success. Students of the teacher-centred approach produced more net structures than those students who participated in the hands-on instruction. Subsequent analyses showed in total more net structures for female groups. The interaction of gender and number of nets per concept map showed a significant effect on students' longer-term learning success.

Conclusion: The study suggests that Kinchin's classification scheme for assessing concept map quality may be a good indicator of students' learning success when applied in combination with a knowledge test.     

‘Connecting’ the Distance: relational issues for participants in a distance learning programme

Abstract

This article explores the relational expectations of distance learning students and tutors. The authors’ experiences teaching a degree course to mature students (mainly practitioners working for the National Health Service) highlight that the reality of the relationship is often incongruent with the expectations. This incongruence appears to have a negative effect on the learning process. In order to develop a more effective distance learning programme the authors explored the experiences and needs of the students, via a series of focus groups and conversations. What emerged as being significant was the need for students to experience ‘connectedness’ with the tutor. How the students defined this concept and what practical measures the tutors took to ‘connect’ the distance between participants in the learning process are discussed.     

Technical drawing course,video games,gender, and type of school on spatial ability

Abstract

The authors investigated the effects of a technical drawing course, video games, gender, and type of school on the spatial ability (spatial visualization and orientation) of secondary school students in Barbados. A total of 420 students (269 boys; 151 girls) from nine government schools within Category 3 and Category 4 were sampled. A four-way between-subjects analysis of covariance revealed significant main effects for technical drawing on spatial visualization and orientation and video games on spatial orientation. Significant two- and three-way interactions occurred, but four-way interactions failed to reach significance. Implications are discussed for secondary school teachers and educational stakeholders on improving practice and context through the innovative delivery of spatial content, with consideration of biological and social factors that affect spatial abilities.     

Cognitive ability and the instructional efficacy of collaborative concept mapping

Data were gathered from 248 secondary students (14 years old, 56% female) who learned about the circulatory system in 77 self-selected collaborative groups. The learning outcomes of biology students who summarised by collaborative concept mapping were compared with those of students who summarised by collaborative writing. Learning groups randomly assigned to construct concept maps instead of conventional summaries generated more relations in the summary task and their members obtained higher individual scores on a post-test. The concept mapping strategy was found to be advantageous only for students whose cognitive ability was below the median for the sample and who were placed in groups with other students having low cognitive ability.     

Teacher Self Concept and Student Self Concept In Grades Three,Four, and Five

Abstract

This research examined the theory that a teacher's level of self concept is related to the development of selected aspects of self concept in students in grades 3, 4, and 5. An analysis of variance of residual gain scores was employed to test the significance of the relationship. The evidence suggests that teacher self concept has an effect upon the development of the student's self concept in the case of two of the four dimensions tested.     

A survey of practices of teachers of the gifted

The purpose of this study was to examine the self‐concepts, locus of control, and machi‐avellianism of 169 ethnically diverse middle grade students identified as gifted. Subjects consisted of 90 African‐American (31 boys, 18 girls). Self‐concept, locus of control, and machiavellianism were assessed by Me: A Self‐Concept Scale for Gifted Children (Feldhusen &; Kolloff, 1981), the Nowicki‐Strickland Locus of Control Scale (Nowicki &; Strickland, 1973), and Mach IV Scale (Christie &; Geis, 1970) respectively. A three‐way analysis of variance (group × Gender × Grade) on subjects’ scores revealed significant group differences in self‐concept. No significant gender or grade differences were found in self‐concept. No significant group, gender, or grade differences were found in locus of control and machiavellianism. Self‐concept was significantly and positively correlated with internal locus of control and with low machiavellianism. Mean scores indicated that ethnically diverse students who are gifted had positive self‐concepts, internal locus of control, and were low machiavellians.     

Concept map assessment of classroom learning: Reliability,validity, and logistical practicality

The psychometric characteristics and practicality of concept mapping as a technique for classroom assessment were evaluated. Subjects received 90 min of training in concept mapping techniques and were given a list of terms and asked to produce a concept map. The list of terms was from a course in which they were enrolled. The maps were scored by pairs of graduate students, each pair using one of six different scoring methods. The score reliability of the six scoring methods ranged from r = .23 to r = .76. The highest score reliability was found for the method based on the evaluation of separate propositions represented. Correlations of map scores with a measure of the concept maps' similarity to a master map provided evidence supporting the validity of five of the six scoring methods. The times required to provide training in concept mapping, produce concepts, and score concept maps were compatible with the adoption of concept mapping as classroom assessment technique. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 475–492, 1999     

Teachers’ Use of Focus Questions in German Biology Classrooms: a Video-based Naturalistic Study

This study investigated the effects of teachers’ use of focus questions on students’ knowledge structures and classroom teaching-learning process by re-analyzing selected data from a quasi-experimental pre-post video study (Wadouh, 2007). Focus questions are content-related anchoring questions highlighting the key content taught in individual lessons (Forbes & Davis, 2010). In Wadouh’ study, students answered a knowledge test before and after the lesson on “blood and the circulatory system” and one lesson per teacher was videotaped to investigate teaching practices in grade 9 biology classrooms. Students also completed a post-unit concept mapping exercise and a motivation-interest questionnaire. In this study, 30 lesson videos selected from 47 were re-analyzed for teachers’ use of focus questions—no focus questions, non-specific or simple focus questions, and specific and challenging focus questions. Individual students’ scores in the concept mapping exercise were aggregated as students’ topic-related knowledge structure. Multilevel analyses revealed a significant positive effect of teachers’ use of specific and challenging focus questions on students’ topic-related knowledge structure. Furthermore, a comparative case analysis of the classroom teaching-learning process was conducted in four lessons where teachers used specific and challenging focus questions in two of the lessons and non-specific or simple focus questions in the other two lessons. The findings indicate that specific and challenging focus questions anchored lessons on students’ co-construction of scientific explanations by activating their pre-instructional ideas, whereas non-specific or simple focus questions anchored lessons on their accumulation of canonical scientific knowledge. This study’s limitations and implications for teacher education reform are discussed.     

Effects of Prereading Story Mapping on Elementary Readers' Comprehension

Abstract

In this study, the effects of two teacher-directed prereading instructional procedures (directed reading activity [DRA] vs. story grammar/structured overview story mapping) on literal and inferential reading comprehension were compared. Sixty third-grade and 60 fifth-grade students were randomly assigned to treatment groups, and data were analyzed within grade levels by an analysis of variance. The prereading modified story mapping procedure resulted in 14% better inferential comprehension (p < .0005) and 7% better literal comprehension than did DRA at the third-grade level. Statistically significant differences between groups were not found at the fifth-grade level. Implications for practice and theory are suggested.     

Exceeding expectations: scaffolding agentic engagement through assessment as learning

Background: The active involvement of learners as critical, reflective and capable agents in the learning process is a core aim in contemporary education policy in Australia, and is regarded as a significant factor for academic success. However, within the relevant literature, the issue of positioning students as agents in the learning process has not been fully examined and needs further exploration.

Purpose: This study aims to explore ways in which aspects of self-regulated learning theory may be integrated with the concept of agentic engagement into classroom practice. Specifically, the study seeks to scaffold students’ self-assessment capabilities and self-efficacy by using a formative assessment-as-learning process. The research examines how scaffolded planning, as part of the forethought phase in the Assessment as Learning (AaL) process, influences self-regulation and student agency in the learning process.

Sample: 126 students from school years two, four and six (student age groups 7, 9 and 11 years), and 7 teachers at an independent (co-educational, non-religious) primary school in the Northern Territory, Australia, participated in the study.

Design and methods: Conducted as a one-setting, cross-sectional practitioner research study, the data sources included students’ planning templates, writing samples, interviews with students and teachers and email correspondence with teachers. The data were analysed for emerging themes and interpreted from a framework of social cognitive theory.

Findings: In this study, students were given the opportunity and support to exercise agentic engagement. Findings suggested that, in particular, students who were identified by their teachers as low-achieving and/or with poor motivation, were perceived by the teachers as exceededing expectations by demonstrating relatively greater motivation, persistence, effort and pride in their work than would be the case usually.

Conclusions: The findings from this formative AaL study suggest that AaL has the potential to help scaffold primary students’ development of assessment capabilities.     

Using metacognitive strategies in teaching to facilitate understanding of light concepts among year 9 students

Background: Enhancing students’ metacognitive abilities will help to facilitate their understanding of science concepts.

Purpose: The study was designed to conduct and evaluate the effectiveness of a repertoire of interventions aimed at enhancing secondary school students’ metacognitive capabilities and their achievements in science.

Sample: A class of 35 Year 9 students participated in the study.

Design and methods: The study involved a pre-post design, conducted by the first author as part of the regular designated science programme in a class taught by him.

In order to enhance the students’ metacognitive capabilities, the first author employed clearly stated focused outcomes, engaging them in collaborative group work, reading scientific texts and using concept mapping techniques during classroom instruction. The data to evaluate the effectiveness of the metacognitive interventions were obtained from pre- and post-test results of two metacognitive questionnaires, the Metacognitive Support Questionnaire (MSpQ) and the Metacognitive Strategies Questionnaire (MStQ), and data from interviews. In addition, pre-test and post-test scores were used from a two-tier multiple-choice test on Light.

Results: The results showed gains in the MSpQ but not in the MStQ. However, the qualitative data from interviews suggested high metacognitive capabilities amongst the high- and average-achieving students at the end of the study. Students gains were also evident from the test scores in the Light test.

Conclusion: Although the quantitative data obtained from the Metacognitive Strategies Questionnaire did not show significant gains in the students’ metacognitive strategies, the qualitative data from interviews suggested positive perceptions of students’ metacognitive strategies amongst the high- and average-achieving students. Data from the Metacognitive Support Questionnaire showed that there were significant gains in the students’ perceptions of their metacognitive support implying that the majority of the students perceived that their learning environment was oriented towards the development of their metacognitive capabilities. The effect of the metacognitive interventions on students’ achievement in the Light test resulted in students displaying the correct declarative knowledge, but quite often they lacked the procedural knowledge by failing to explain their answers correctly.