Toward meaningful learning in undergraduate medical education using concept maps in a PBL pathophysiology course (original) (raw)
Related papers
2015
Problembased learning (PBL) is now an established method in undergraduate medical education that aims to develop reasoning skills based on clinical problems. More recently, the use of concept mapping in medical education aims to improve meaningful learning. At the New University of Lisbon, we have been using PBL as a major educational method in a pathophysiology course. In 2003-2004, we started to use Inspiration, a computer-based concept mapping tool, with a single tutorial PBL group. A total of 36 maps were constructed related to short cases, already used in the PBL course, in which a certain number of key nodes were hidden to allow the students to fill in the gaps. The results obtained appear to indicate that the use of concept maps stimulated meaningful learning within a PBL course.
Headache, 2020
The main objective of pathophysiology teaching is to facilitate the learning of mechanisms of diseases and the understanding of their expressions in patients (symptoms, signs and tests). This objective requires the application of basic biomedical science to explain the abnormalities expressed by the patients. The capacity to integrate this new organization of knowledge is essential to the understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms, which explain expressions of specific diseases. Our group has a longstanding experience in the teaching of pathophysiology to medical students using problem-based learning (PBL) and concept mapping (CM). This semestral discipline has a yearly intake of 190 students, divided into 18 tutorial groups and supported by 14 tutors. The students’ learning progress is evaluated by their performance during the tutorial sessions and the CM methodology has been introduced as an additional tool to visualize the integration of knowledge and how it is displayed in t...
Concept mapping as a Tool for Learning and Assessment in Problem-based Learning
Suez Canal University Medical Journal
The knowledge structure of medical experts and successful learners is characterized by comprehensive integrated frameworks of related concepts. The development of this knowledge structure can facilitate clinical problem solving and other higher cognitive activities. Concept mapping is a learning tool which can depict the representation of knowledge structure of learners. Concept maps are built on learning theory concepts which complement problem-based learning (PBL). Students studying in PBL programs can construct concept maps centered on PBL cases and integrating the basic sciences and community concepts related to the case they study. Furthermore, concept maps can be used in PBL tutorial sessions for enhancing discussion, identifying learning gaps, generation of learning objectives, promoting learning integration and assessment of learning. Other uses of concept mapping in PBL could be in large group sessions in Seminars or team-based learning sessions to facilitate interactions and relevance of different concepts to the PBL case. However, challenges to concept mapping use in medical education include the development of tools with reliability and validity-evidence.
Medical Teacher, 2013
Background: Medical student education is challenging, and concept maps (CMs) can help students link new and existing knowledge, promote critical thinking and identify knowledge gaps. Aims: To study the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of CMs in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials. Method: Students and tutors were randomized to tutorials that used or did not use CMs. A mixed-methods approach generated qualitative and quantitative results of participants' perspectives on and the effects of CMs in PBL tutorials. Results: Student survey response rate was 71% (122/172). Most students (82.6%) planned to use CMs in the future at least occasionally, and students in CM tutorials endorsed increased likelihood of using CMs in the future (p ¼ 0.02) versus students in non-CM tutorials. Qualitative analyses identified consistent associations between CMs and recurrent themes: integration of physiological mechanisms, challenging students' knowledge of the material, and identification of knowledge gaps. Quantitative assessment of final exam scores revealed a statistically significant increase in the students' scores in CM tutorials versus students in non-CM tutorials with an a priori of 50.10. Conclusions: CMs are well accepted by students and faculty, feasible to incorporate into PBL tutorials, and may result in improved exam performance and student learning of physiologic concepts.
Revisiting the role of concept mapping in teaching and learning pathophysiology for medical students
Advances in Physiology Education
Concept mapping methodology is a way of representing knowledge described as a useful tool in medical education. It was introduced in the pathophysiology curricular unit at NOVA Medical School in 2002, within an ongoing experience of problem-based learning. Our goal is to present a comparison between the students’ opinions and performances in two academic years, 2017–18 and 2018–19, to evaluate the effects of pedagogical changes in the concept mapping methodology, applied in the last year, which is also described in detail. Our convenience samples were composed by 224 students in 2017–2018 and by 216 students in 2018–2019. The analysis used the students’ responses to the yearly institutional questionnaire on the quality of teaching and to a specific questionnaire applied to evaluate the tutorial sessions of 2018–19. Both were anonymous, and the response rate was above 50%. A comparison was also made between the continuous assessment during the tutorial sessions, expressed as a final ...
Concept maps as a novel assessment tool in medical education
MedEdPublish, 2022
Background: We conducted a pilot study to investigate the use of Concept Maps (CMs) in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) setting as a complementary tool to current educational techniques for enhancing medical student knowledge and critical thinking. We also introduced a measure from the field of graph theory as an objective means of CM quality assessment. Methods: Participants were first-year medical students with no or minor prior CM experience. All participants completed questionnaires (demographic information and assessment of learning style) to establish a baseline measure against which the change in clinical and critical thinking was assessed. They were asked to prepare CMs for three PBL cases, and following the submission of the CMs they completed semi-structured critical and clinical thinking questionnaires. A clinical expert also created corresponding “benchmark” CMs for comparison. Qualitative (Wordclouds) and quantitative (graph theory) analysis provided a summary of the key ...
The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 2021
A study was conducted on the cognitive processes involved in the steps of problem-based learning and the way this pedagogical approach is applied in the health sciences. The objective was to understand more deeply the cognitive process related to student comprehension and its connection with the work done when studying a medical discipline through problembased learning (PBL). A case study was undertaken with a total of 30 students and an interdisciplinary team composed of a physician and two professionals in the field of education. After a video analysis process of face-to-face teamwork on PBL, it was decided to design and use an advanced organizer to systematize and ease the comprehension process while working with problem scenarios. From its initial application, the students were satisfied with its usefulness, and they provided feedback to improve its format and extend its applicability to other disciplines. It was concluded that not only is it possible to integrate hybrid models in problem-based learning, but also to include variants and auxiliary tools that arise from the cognitive demands and the information management needs of the students, thus favoring the study and the preservation of knowledge.
Meaningful learning in medical science by self-directed approach of - Concept mapping
Journal of Education Technology in Health Sciences
Introduction: Concept mapping is an innovative approach that helps the learner to organize knowledge for a better mental picture. Students should be lifelong meaningful learners to adapt to the rapid changing science and apply it in practicing medicine. The concept map may be regarded as an image displaying detailed study of a case or problem through various concepts and by linking them with the key words which enables the learners to do a cognitive analysis. This way of approaching basic science subjects in medical education will definitely improve the meaningful learning (Asubel, 1968). The objective of this study was to introduce concept map as a mode of learning involving various important topics of basic medical sciences subjects and evaluate its usefulness and acceptability among students in improving their understanding of the given topics. Materials and Methods: Participants are first year MBBS students (n=250) from Sri Ramachandra Medical college and Research Institute; they were divided into small groups of 20-22. Students were evaluated with pretest and post-test performance along with a feedback which were collected and evaluated at the end of the project. Result: Students subjected to this newer learning method showed a highly significant positive result (p<0.001). Conclusion: The introduction of concept-mapping in learning methodology resulted in better understanding of a topic and correlation between all basic courses by the students. It also helps in learning through vertical integration between basic and clinical sciences.
MedEdPublish
Background: The use of concept maps (CMs) in health and medical education is increasing, particularly in the last decade. The research developed in this area has not yet clarified the role played by CMs in meaningful learning. Approach: Our group developed a methodology, in a pathophysiology course, based on the classical CMs construction, using short clinical cases. Outcomes: We propose a template that allows the display of the short clinical case embedded in the architecture of the CMs and connecting words targeted to specific pathophysiological mechanisms. Next Steps: We consider that this experience can be extrapolated to the teaching and learning of pathophysiology in other health areas.
Concept Mapping Enhancing Learning in Health Professionals
https://www.ijrrjournal.com/IJRR\_Vol.5\_Issue.4\_April2018/Abstract\_IJRR002.html, 2018
Concept mapping is an educational tool that encourages meaningful learning. Teaching is challenging in undergraduate medical education, particularly because it is based upon imparting lectures and rewarding for recall of factual information during examinations. The purpose of the study is to introduce concept maps with clinical cases to improve learning of Biochemistry course content. Participants were first year MBBS students (n=150) from Government Medical College Jammu, admitted during the academic year 2017-2018, attending the Biochemistry Department. They were randomly divided into two groups, the one (group 1) continuing with the traditional program (n=90), the other (group 2) with innovative program using concept mapping (n=60). The 60 students in the innovative group were further randomly divided into groups of six each, for a total of 10 small groups. In each of the three clinical-case unit tests, thereafter, the group 2 outperformed the group 1. Against the range of 12.54 to 14.48 for the group 2, the group 1 showed the score range of 8.66 to 10.02 only. Nearly all the students gave positive feedback and found the method interesting and worth all effort. Thus, learning with understanding allows integration of new concepts with previously learned concepts and leads to retention of information in long-term memory in a usable manner and students may become more independent and responsible for their learning. This article introduces the concept of concept-maps in medical education as an effective instrument towards education and preparing a better physician and health professional.