Concept-mapping as a teaching method to facilitate critical thinking in nursing education: A review of the literature

Abstract

Nursing students are exposed to a vast amount of information and reading material that is very specific, technical, and new to the students. Unless nurse educators provide a learning environment that promotes understanding through interaction, students might only commit unassimilated information to their short-term memory through rote learning, and no meaningful learning will occur. Nursing students must be able to link learned facts, concepts and principles with new knowledge in order to make sound rational decisions in practice (All & Havens 1997:1210, 1213). The aim of this paper is to describe the utilisation of concept-mapping as a teaching method to facilitate critical thinking by students in nursing education. The description of the utilisation of concept-mapping is done from the theoretical framework of concept-mapping and critical thinking to provide the epistemological basis for concept-mapping (Facione 1990:6, 13). Based on the exploration and description of the theoretical frameworks, four steps to facilitate critical thinking were formulated through concept-mapping on the basis of the educational process: the identification, interactive constructing process, formulation and evaluation steps. It is concluded that the utilisation of these steps will assist nurse educators to implement conceptmapping as a teaching method to facilitate critical thinking by student nurses in nursing education. Recommendations are made. Opsomming Verpleegkundestudente word blootgestel aan ’n geweldige hoeveelheid inligting en leesmateriaal wat baie spesifiek, tegnies en nuut is vir die studente. Tensy verpleegkundeopvoeders ’n leeromgewing kan voorsien wat deur interaksie die bevordering van begrip bewerkstellig, kan studente inligting deur papegaaiwerk in hul korttermyngeheue stoor, eerder as om dit te assimileer – geen betekenisvolle leer sal dus plaasvind nie. Verpleegkundestudente moet die vermoë hê om die verband tussen aangeleerde feite, konsepte en beginsels en nuwe kennis te lê sodat hulle in die praktyk rasionale besluite kan maak (All & Havens 1997:1210, 1213). Hierdie artikel het ten doel om die aanwending van konsepkartering as 'n onderrigstrategie te beskryf, ten einde die kritiese denke van leerders in die verpleegkunde te fasiliteer. Die beskrywing van die aanwending van konsepkartering word vanuit die teoretiese raamwerke van konsepkartering en kritiese denke gedoen om die epistemologiese grondslag vir konsepkartering te voorsien (Facione 1990:6, 13). Gegrond op die verkenning en beskrywing van die teoretiese raamwerke, word vier fases vir die fasilitering van kritiese denke geformuleer deur middel van konsepkartering. Hierdie verkenning en beskrywing is gebaseer op die onderwysproses: die identifiseringsfase, die interaktiewe konstrueringsproses, die formuleringsfase en evalueringsfase. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat die aanwending van hierdie fases verpleegopvoeders behulpsaam sal wees in die implementering van konsepkartering as 'n onderrigmetode om kritiese denke by leerling verpleërs te fasiliteer in verpleegkunde-onderwys. Aanbevelings word gemaak.

Keywords

• Critical thinking
• conceptmapping
• facilitation
• teaching methods
• nursing education