title: Concept mapping: an effective, active teaching-learning method.
abstract: Nurse educators, under pressure to prepare graduates who are able to think critically and solve problems in a variety of clinical practice settings, require active teaching strategies to promote meaningful learning, instead of relying on traditional methods that promote rote memorization. A review of the current state of the science with regard to concept mapping demonstrates that this teaching-learning method assists nurse educators to prepare graduates to think critically in the complex health care environment. However, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of concept mapping on the graduate's performance on the NCLEX exam and on critical thinking and prioritization skills in the clinical environment.
authors.affiliation: Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA. lclayton@shepherd.edu
authors.forename: Laura H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Clayton
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001296:Audiovisual Aids; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003210:Concept Formation; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005181:Faculty, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008008:Licensure, Nursing; D017145:Models, Educational; D009042:Motivation; D015402:Nursing Education Research / Q000458:organization & administration; D011340:Problem Solving; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000379:methods*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D013850:Thinking