Effectiveness of Concept Mapping Versus Traditional Approach as a Teaching Method on Knowledge Regarding Selected Topics among Nursing Students

Abstract

Nursing education is facing sensational changes with changing priorities of the rapidly changing
society. We know education is the most powerful weapon which can change the whole nation. The goal
of nursing education is to prepare nurses who are competent and caring. But the nurse educators cannot
continue always teaching with the methods of the 19th century and hope to prepare the nursing students
for 21st century. Rote memorization has been an accepted learning method in the past, but is no longer
recommended because deep meaning is not integrated into learning (Kumar, Dee, Kumar, &Velan,
2011). Student nurses must take an active role in the learning experience and become self-directed
learners. Concept mapping assists learners to self-critique learning using the decision-making process.
Aim of the study: to assess effectiveness of concept mapping versus traditional approach as a teaching
method on knowledge regarding selected topics among nursing students.
Design: True Experimental Research design. (Post-test only control group design) was used to conduct
the study.Setting: The study was conducted in ST.John’s College Of Nursing in Bangalore where GNM,
B.Sc., Post. Basic Nursing students are studying with its own tertiary level parent hospital. Subjects
& Methods: A total of 100 students who are studying in B.sc 2nd year Nursing. The students in the
group A (48) were subjected to the traditional method of teaching, and students in the group B (46)
were subjected to the concept mapping as a method of teaching. Tools used to collect the data were: 1)
Baseline variables: age, medium of instruction of the Board exam, learning style (Individual, group,
both) normally adopted.2) Knowledge Questionnaire: a structured questionnaire consisting of total 40
MCQ questions for both topics Peptic Ulcer-(20 questions) and Intestinal Obstruction-(20 questions).
The findings of the study showed that using concept mapping as a complementary strategy for traditional
teaching method had a change in the student’s overall knowledge scores. The mean percentage of the
knowledge scores using concept mapping was 57.10% & using traditional method was 54.90%.

The findings of this study revealed that there is no significant difference in knowledge score of the
students using traditional & concept mapping as a method of teaching. There can be other factors such
as the ability & competence of the teacher, method of presentation, language & vocabulary used which
may also influence the knowledge that is imparted to the students. Hence it can be concluded that each
method has its own influence on the knowledge gained.