Gonzalez, H., Palencia, A., Umana, L., Galindo, L., Villafrade M, L., (2008) Mediated learning experience and concept maps: A pedagogical tool for achieving meaningful learning in medical physiology students. Adv Physiol Educ. 32, 312-316.
Purpose/Problem
The research problem addressed in this experimental study is whether a concept mapping methodology, combined with a mediated learning experience, increases meaningful learning in students attending a cardiovascular module of a medical physiology course. Gonzalez, Palencia, Umana, Galindo and Villafrade define meaningful learning as 1) students being able to predict or explain the responses of the physiological system when stressed, and 2) students being able to solve quantitative problems related to the physiological system. Gonzalez et al. define mediated learning as the interaction between the learner and a mediator where the mediator is primarily concerned with how the learner approaches problem solving. Specifically, Gonzalez et al. utilized the model of mediation described by R. Feurstein. In this model, the mediator involves herself in the student learning process not as a traditional teacher, but as a type of learning coach. Gonzalez et al. describe four qualities that must be present in the mediator-student learner interaction: 1) intentionality, where the mediator concentrates on helping the learner understand how he or she is using their cognitive faculties; 2) reciprocity, where the mediator and the learner consider one another as being co-equals in the learning process; 3) mediation of meaning, where the mediator interprets for the learner the significance of what the learner has accomplished; 4) transcendence, where the mediator helps the learner apply the lessons learned to new situations.
This study is noteworthy because the use of concept mapping, combined with a meditated learning experience, could prove to be a powerful pedagogical tool in a medical physiology class as well as other medical school courses. Gonzalez et al. ground their study by citing well-established research establishing the efficacy of concept mapping to promote meaningful learning as well as research describing the effectiveness of the mediated learning experience. The researchers note that the literature points out the need for more effective pedagogical models to help medical students select, integrate, and transfer new learning, and therefore, reach a meaningful learning threshold.
Methods
The participants in this study were 121 medical students in their third semester of medical school in Columbia. At the beginning of the study, each student was assigned an index score based on: 1) their total score on a national high school graduate exam; 2) their cumulative average medical school grades from the previous two semesters, and 3) their grade obtained on a construction of a conceptual mentifact – a graphical instrument that represents thoughts and values – used to define how knowledge is organized and represented in the human mind. Depending on the index score, the students were divided into quartile groups: quartile one were students in the lowest 25 percent of the index score while quartile four were students who obtained the highest index scores or the top 25 percent. Students in quartile four were deemed the most competent in their medical studies while students in quartile one was deemed the least competent. Students in each quartile were randomly assigned to the control group or to the intervention group. In order to increase the possibility of finding significant differences between groups, Gonzalez et al. established a 2:1 ratio of intervention students to control students.
Students in the experimental group attended four 2-hour mediated sessions where mediators helped the students develop individualized approaches to studying the cardiovascular module. Students in the experimental group also received reading material from the cardiovascular module one week prior to the first session. At the beginning of each mediated session, the mediators, who were professors at the medical school, briefly discussed the information contained in the reading material. The mediators also explained concept mapping construction. After the explanations, each subgroup was given two sets of cards: one with propositions reflecting concepts; and the other with definitions of the concepts. Students in the experimental group were then asked to prepare concept maps linking propositions and definitions contained in the reading material. Mediators observed the cognitive performance of the students during the concept mapping activity and helped them to analyze and correct any difficulties that arose in organizing the concepts. The students in the experimental group then corrected their own maps.
Students in the control group also attended four 2-hour sessions conducted by the medical school professors and received the same reading material from the cardiovascular module. In explaining the reading material, the professors did not act as mediators but assumed more traditional roles as teachers. The pedagogical methods used with the control group were ones that were traditionally used at the medical school; teachers asked questions and students answered.
During each session, two researchers acted as observers and recorded the academic, cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral performances of students in both the control and experimental groups, the mediators in the experimental group, and the professors in the control group. After completion of the four sessions of the cardiovascular module, the control and experimental groups took two exams to evaluate student learning and achievement. One exam consisted of multiple choice questions assessing the student recall of the information in the cardiovascular module. The second exam consisted of problem-solving scenarios assessing the students’ ability to transfer information learned during the module to new situations. Additionally, at the end of the cardiovascular module, both groups were given self-evaluation instruments requiring them to assess any perceived changes in their cognitive processes.
The experimental and control groups were compared using the following two variables: 1) average grades on the two post-sessions exams; and 2) the percentage of students who failed the exams (on a scale from 1.0 to 5.0, any student scoring below 3.0). Averages (means) and SDs were used for the continuous variables and percentages were used for discrete variables. Differences between the control and experimental groups were determined by a t-test (a comparison of the two means) and a Mann-Whitney test (p < 0.05).
Results
Gonzalez et al. report that mean scores from the problem-solving exam were higher in the experimental group (N = 83, M = 3.68) than the control group (N = 39, M = 2.79) achieving a statistical significance of p = 0.0013. When student performance was compared using the distribution by quartiles, the average scores on the problem-solving exam were higher for the experimental group than for the control group but the difference in scores were only statistically significant for the students in quartile one (p = 0.008). The average score on the multiple-choice exam was higher for the experimental group in all quartiles with the exception of quartile one.
Qualitative data detailing the effectiveness of mediation was gathered from the self-evaluations of students from both groups and from the researchers who acted as observers during concept mapping activity. Students in the experimental group reported that mediation during the concept mapping activity helped them develop more effective learning strategies by being made more aware of their strengths and weaknesses while organizing information. The experimental group also reported that being given a more active role in their learning was very motivating. These types of remarks were reported less frequently by the control group students.
Discussion
The main purpose of this study was to examine whether a combination of mediation and a concept mapping strategy could increase meaningful learning in medical students in a medical school setting. The results of the study showed that students in the experimental group improved their learning achievement more than the students in the control group. Gonzalez et al. note that these findings are in agreement with findings in the literature.
Gonzalez et al. also note that the statistically significant differences found between the experimental and control groups on the problem-solving exams and not on the multiple-choice exams are not unexpected. Gonzalez et al. posit that multiple-choice exams to not challenge student metacognitive abilities in the same way as problem-solving exams.
Gonzalez et al. also observe that although the experimental group globally benefitted from the implemented strategy, results were greatest in students in the lowest quartile. Gonzalez et al. speculate that the intervention may have stimulated development of cognitive processes that were previously underutilized.
Gonzalez et al. suggest that the qualitative analysis shows that the combination of mediation and concept mapping increases student motivation and stimulates students to participate more actively in their own learning.
Critique
In general, this study employs sound methodological and statistical techniques and represents a well-thought out and controlled study. The writing is clear, appropriately formal, direct, well organized, and factual. The study is well grounded in previous research and makes an important contribution to the literature. Sample size is sufficient (N = 122) to yield generalizable results.
The study could have been strengthened by inclusion of a third experimental group using mediation without the concept mapping strategy, or the concept mapping strategy without the mediation intervention. Since the experimental group showed improvement over the control group by a combination of mediation and concept mapping protocols, it is difficult to determine whether the combination of the interventions is effective or if one intervention contributed to the majority of the improved effect.
Theoretical, Methodological, and Practical Implications
This study indicates that concept mapping, combined with a mediated learning experience, can be an effective meta-cognitive strategy to enhance meaningful learning in a medical school setting. In domains that stress problem-solving and analysis, the combination of concept mapping and mediation might prove to be a powerful pedagogical tool allowing students to maximize meaningful learning. Given the unique context of combining mediation and concept mapping, this study makes an important contribution to the corpus of literature.
In addition, this study indicates that concept mapping combined with mediation encourages more efficient learning skills by allowing these medical students to reflect on their own cognitive processes and adjusting practices to maximize meaningful learning. This change in emphasis from traditional teaching methodologies to more mediated learning experiences seem to enhance meaningful learning in complex domains.
