Concept map as an adjunct tool to teach pathology

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pathology Teaching
• Cognitive Tools in Learning

Background:

• Concept maps (CMs) were investigated for their efficacy in teaching pathology conceptually.
• This study aimed to assess the relationship between the quality of student-generated CMs and their clinical problem-solving abilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To correlate the quality of student-drawn concept maps with their performance on clinical problem-solving tests.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of concept mapping as a pedagogical tool in pathology.

Main Methods:

• Students received instruction on concept map creation.
• Each student produced at least ten concept maps throughout the course, which were evaluated.
• Scores from 2,900 concept maps from 290 students were analyzed.
• Concept map scores were correlated with midterm and final examination scores using Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Spearman's rank-order correlation.

Main Results:

• Mean concept map scores were 59% (midterm) and 69.7% (final).
• Mean examination scores were 76% (midterm) and 84.2% (final).
• A highly significant positive correlation (P < 0.0001) was found between concept map scores and examination performance.

Conclusions:

• Concept maps are a valuable tool for effective pathology instruction.
• The quality of concept maps created by students is a significant predictor of their academic success in pathology.