Using a conceptual approach with concept mapping to promote critical thinking

Promoting the development of critical thinking is crucial to nursing education for two reasons. First, the National League for Nursing and the American Association of Colleges of Nurses consider critical thinking an outcome criterion for baccalaureate nursing education. Second, and significantly more important, professional nursing practice requires critical thinking skills and problem solving abilities. Too often, teaching is not directed at specifically designed activities that foster critical thinking. Various teaching strategies have been proposed that promote critical thinking, including service learning, role playing, reflective learning, the critical incidence conference, videotaped vignettes, preceptorship, and concept mapping. This article focuses on the use of assimilation theory and concept maps to facilitate critical thinking experiences in nursing education.