Utilization of concept mapping as a tool to qualitatively assess knowledge of college seniors in a companion animal management course

Abstract Text:

Concept mapping is a visual technique to facilitate integration of new information with previously learned material. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of concept mapping as a novel method to qualitatively assess student critical thinking and understanding in a discussion-based senior level companion animal management course.  Students over 3 semesters (n = 106) provided feedback after completing 9 total concept maps (3 per semester) following 3 main informational course units (n = 318 maps). A novel quantitative rubric was established, consisting of 3 categories each having 4 point levels, including Organization and Presentation, Content and Concepts, Knowledge of Concept Relationships and Understanding Through Connections. Students completed the initial portion of maps prior to unit introduction and they were collected and held by the instructor (not graded) until the conclusion of the unit when they were returned to students for completion in a different color ink.  Students were asked 4 anonymous questions about the maps using a standard 1-5 Likert type scale (1=Strongly Agree and 5 = Strongly Disagree): 1) Concept maps made me think about information I already knew 2) Concept maps helped me learn new material 3) I liked Concept maps as an evaluation tool 4) Concept maps were effective forms of assessment for this course.  Additionally, students could submit comments regarding concept maps. A total of 87 of 106 students provided written feedback. Question score means were 1.27, 1.68, 1.45, and 1.55 for the four questions, respectively and 94% of respondent comments were positive.  Five students indicated they did not like the mapping activity and preferred essays or traditional exams. Sixty seven percent of comments indicated maps improved learning because students were able to focus on how material specifically related to them and their existing knowledge base rather than worrying about stress of memorizing facts for exams. The words “less stressful” specifically appeared in 60% of written comments. This highlights the value of using concept mapping to develop critical thinking skills in a discussion-based class where traditional exams may not be effective. High rate of return of student feedback and consistency of positive responses from students underscore the value of this technique for qualitative assessment of knowledge and learning in a senior-level discussion-based companion animal course. 

Keywords: companion animal, concept mapping, teaching