{"title":"The use of concept maps in nursing/midwifery exam papers and their examination on their feasibility and reliability as assessment tools","authors":"Anna V. Chatzi, Claire McNamara","doi":"10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106479","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Concept maps demonstrate relationships between concepts visually, allowing connections to develop the learner's cognition. Despite studies that demonstrate the value of this method, it has still not been adopted in mainstream nursing education as an assessment tool.</div></div><div><h3>Aim</h3><div>The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of the concept map as an assessment tool in nursing education.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study was conducted following the one-shot experimental design. One exam paper was designed to be given to participants at the final examination of a core shared undergraduate nursing/midwifery module. The target sample of the study were undergraduate first year students (<em>N</em> = 185). Following initial exposure of student nurses/midwives, during the Autumn semester, concept maps were included into the final exam. These were evaluated and compared with another of the most traditional assessment methods, the multiple-choice question type (MCQ). Quantitative statistical analysis of the concept map and MCQ grades were conducted. Statistical tests were used to compare all pairs of both types of papers.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>All paired <em>t</em>-test results were found to be statistically significant and effect size results also supported the statistically significant results. Concept maps' structure allows the assessment of the totality of concepts of a specific area/section of the material. MCQs can assess one aspect/detail of a concept at a time without the limitation to draw material from a specific area/section. When used together, educators can use these different features in assessing student's knowledge/understanding on the totality of taught material. Additional advantage of the concept map is its straightforward, objective and quick correction process.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The study provides evidence that the concept map can be a trusted assessment tool for identifying the nursing students' gaps in knowledge and comprehension.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54704,"journal":{"name":"Nurse Education Today","volume":"144 ","pages":"Article 106479"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nurse Education Today","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0260691724003897","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Concept maps demonstrate relationships between concepts visually, allowing connections to develop the learner's cognition. Despite studies that demonstrate the value of this method, it has still not been adopted in mainstream nursing education as an assessment tool.
Aim
The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of the concept map as an assessment tool in nursing education.
Methods
This study was conducted following the one-shot experimental design. One exam paper was designed to be given to participants at the final examination of a core shared undergraduate nursing/midwifery module. The target sample of the study were undergraduate first year students (N = 185). Following initial exposure of student nurses/midwives, during the Autumn semester, concept maps were included into the final exam. These were evaluated and compared with another of the most traditional assessment methods, the multiple-choice question type (MCQ). Quantitative statistical analysis of the concept map and MCQ grades were conducted. Statistical tests were used to compare all pairs of both types of papers.
Results
All paired t-test results were found to be statistically significant and effect size results also supported the statistically significant results. Concept maps' structure allows the assessment of the totality of concepts of a specific area/section of the material. MCQs can assess one aspect/detail of a concept at a time without the limitation to draw material from a specific area/section. When used together, educators can use these different features in assessing student's knowledge/understanding on the totality of taught material. Additional advantage of the concept map is its straightforward, objective and quick correction process.
Conclusion
The study provides evidence that the concept map can be a trusted assessment tool for identifying the nursing students' gaps in knowledge and comprehension.
期刊介绍：
Nurse Education Today is the leading international journal providing a forum for the publication of high quality original research, review and debate in the discussion of nursing, midwifery and interprofessional health care education, publishing papers which contribute to the advancement of educational theory and pedagogy that support the evidence-based practice for educationalists worldwide. The journal stimulates and values critical scholarly debate on issues that have strategic relevance for leaders of health care education.
The journal publishes the highest quality scholarly contributions reflecting the diversity of people, health and education systems worldwide, by publishing research that employs rigorous methodology as well as by publishing papers that highlight the theoretical underpinnings of education and systems globally. The journal will publish papers that show depth, rigour, originality and high standards of presentation, in particular, work that is original, analytical and constructively critical of both previous work and current initiatives.
Authors are invited to submit original research, systematic and scholarly reviews, and critical papers which will stimulate debate on research, policy, theory or philosophy of nursing and related health care education, and which will meet and develop the journal''s high academic and ethical standards.
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