Examining integrative thinking through the transformation of students' written reflections into concept webs

A shift is currently taking place in which explicit connections between content are being emphasized. Biology is not an isolated discipline, yet undergraduate courses frequently focus on discrete knowledge. Students often engage in rote learning, struggle with transforming and applying content. Integrative thinking occurs when students recognize connections to content. Written reflections provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate this thinking. We transformed student-written reflections into concept webs to gain insights into how students connect biological concepts. We were interested in determining if characteristics of integrative thinking develop through reflections. The results indicate a significant relationship between concepts and integrated relationships. Integrative thinking varied but declined overall. Concept webs allow for an examination of student integrative thinking through the transformation of reflection and provide insights into the connections and relationships that students draw between biological concepts. Reflections can transform learning by facilitating and allowing for the evaluation of integrative thinking.