title: Concept mapping. Does it improve critical thinking ability in practical nursing students?
abstract: Critical thinking is an essential skill taught at all levels of nursing education. This article reports on a study designed to determine if concept mapping is superior to traditional care planning as a teaching method for practical nursing students. Specifically, the study evaluated the effects of concept mapping as a teaching methodology on the development of critical thinking skills. A control group consisting of students taught through the traditional methodology was compared to two groups of students taught with concept mapping. Data were collected using the National League for Nursing Critical Thinking in Clinical Nursing Practice/PN Examination. Results indicated that students who were taught the nursing process using the traditional care planning method scored statistically significantly better on the examination than students taught with the concept mapping method.
authors.affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. rmaneval@temple.edu
authors.forename: Rhonda E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Maneval
authors.forename: Monica J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Filburn
authors.forename: Susan O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Deringer
authors.forename: Glen D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Lum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009736:Nursing Process; D009743:Nursing, Practical / Q000193:education*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States