Self-Efficacy with Auto-Gen Concept Maps

This week I would like to share a recent article that reinforces the significant literature on concept maps (aka advance organizers) for enhancing student self-efficacy, a primary indicator for deep, meaningful learning. This week’s SoTL paper is entitled Improving self-efficacy with automatically generated interactive concept maps by Rugh et al. (2023).

You may recall I have shared concept maps in several SoTL papers, the earliest in 2017 with Hattie’s Index of Teaching and Learning; creating branching scenarios (constructivism) for mental model/concept maps (Silva, et al., 2022); and of course concept maps are included in our list of 289 Active Teaching and Formative Assessment Strategies. This is to say that there is an abundance of research on the effectiveness for integrating concept maps into teaching and learning. Today’s SoTL paper reinforces this approach and shares how the authors have developed methods to automatically create functional concept maps.

The authors have created the Dynamic and Interactive Mathematical Expressions (DIME) Map system which automatically generates concept maps using an AI system. These maps are manipulable allowing students to interact with concepts from a PDF. A teacher can automatically upload a PDF and retrieve a DIME map. The goal of this research was to investigate the relationship between use of the maps and learning outcomes, including self-efficacy and ability to recall connections between concepts. The authors implemented a pretest/posttest to determine if self-efficacy and connections increased after participation. Follow up interviews were conducted to better understand how changes occurred. Findings are that DIME maps can be valuable learning tools that have positive effects on cognitive and affective outcomes.

The study was built on the theoretical foundation of assimilation theory, which states that meaningful learning occurs when students anchor new concepts into their existing prior knowledge structure (Ausubel, Novak & Hanesian, 1978; Novak, 2004). This theory frames the world around us as a web of interconnected ideas. Through this lens, rote memorization is found to be a poor substitute for meaningful learning, as it requires the learner to memorize a fact without connecting it in any meaningful way. Knowledge acquired during rote learning has a weak association with pre-existing knowledge structure and is not stable enough to remain in long-term memory. DIME maps should reduce the cognitive load inherent in learning new material, enabling students to acquire new knowledge at faster rates and establish enduring applications of the interrelationships.

Major findings:

Served the students as a pre-assimilator of knowledge - a tool that helped digest or breakdown complicated concepts, making them easier to learn;
Offered improved accessibility, considered to be an equitable and accessible tool for underserved populations (Moschkovich, 2013);
Contained a high level of interactivity, which improved learning experiences;
Empowered learners; and
Improve learning for students who are not well served by traditional textual reading.

The findings suggest that DIME maps have similar positive effects on learning as previous concept mapping systems but with the added benefit of relieving teachers of creation.

References

Rugh, M., Capraro, M. & Capraro, R. (2023). Improving self-efficacy with automatically generated interactive concept maps: DIME Maps, The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 21(3), 141-157.

Berry, J. & Chew, S. (2008). Improving learning through interventions of student-generated questions and concept maps. Teaching of Psychology, 35: 305-312.

Silva, H., Lopes, J., Dominguez, C., & Morais, E. (2022). Lecture, cooperative learning and concept mapping: Any differences on critical and creative thinking development? International Journal of Instruction, 15(1), 765-780. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2022.15144a