Instructional tools for nursing education: concept maps.

Students must deal with vast amounts of information in multiple formats, yet their ability to organize and link data in a logical way varies widely. Concept mapping offers nurse educators a useful tool to assist nursing students in wading through and critically analyzing this information more effect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nursing Education Perspectives (National League for Nursing) Vol. 24; no. 6; pp. 311 - 318
Main Authors: All AC, Huycke LI, Fisher MJ
Format: pictorial tables/charts Journal Article
Published: National League for Nursing Nov/Dec2003
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:Students must deal with vast amounts of information in multiple formats, yet their ability to organize and link data in a logical way varies widely. Concept mapping offers nurse educators a useful tool to assist nursing students in wading through and critically analyzing this information more effectively. This article explains concept/cognitive mapping as a teaching strategy for several aspects of course work. Types and examples of maps developed by undergraduate and graduate students are used as illustrations and points of discussion. Illustrations are assessed according to type of map, information presented, aspects of the maps that facilitate meaningful learning, and what information is missing. Strategies for remediation to help learners assimilate new information are included. Finally, implementation of mapping in nursing education and ideas for research in concept/cognitive mapping are discussed.