Influence of Faculty-Derived Concept Maps on Student Study Strategies

Abstract Background Concept mapping is a well-established tool for students to actively organize information into a visual and spatial framework. However, some students are resistant to adopting concept mapping as a study strategy due to the time and effort involved in generating the maps. In this study, we explored student perceptions of faculty-derived concept maps (FD-maps) developed to accompany content within a Foundational Science module in a medical school curriculum. We subsequently investigated whether student use of FD-maps helped overcome resistance to adoption of concept mapping. Methods Student evaluation data was analyzed using a mixed methods approach to explore student perceptions of FD-maps. Based on this analysis, we deployed a survey to M1 (26% response rate) and M2 students (20% response rate) to assess the impact of FD-maps on subsequent use of concept mapping. Data from the survey was analyzed by binary logistic regression, and the Wald test was used to analyze predictor variable effects on the outcome. Results Students perceived the FD-maps as helpful, allowing them to streamline their studying and helping them organize and make connections between the module content. Survey analysis found that overall student use of concept mapping increased after completion of the Foundational Science module. In addition, ranking the importance of the FD-maps in their studying and annotation of the FD-maps increased the adoption of concept mapping in subsequent modules. Conclusions Students perceived FD-maps as helpful to their learning, and their utilization led to increased implementation of concept mapping by students. Thus, FD-maps may partially aid in overcoming barriers to students adopting concept maps as part of their overall study strategies.