Use of an expert concept map as an advance organizer to improve understanding of respiratory failure.
BACKGROUND
Helping novices transition toward expertise requires "meaningful" learning. Advance organizers are educational tools which help connect prior knowledge with new information, a critical step in making learning meaningful. Concept maps visually represent knowledge organization and can serve as advance organizers enabling deeper and more meaningful learning while enhancing knowledge integration.


OBJECTIVE
To compare respiratory failure understanding of resident physicians instructed, using an expert concept map advance organizer with learners receiving traditional didactic teaching.


METHODS
Residents were randomized by month of service to receive either a control lecture or a session using an expert concept map as an advanced organizer. Participants completed three concept maps; pre-education (CM1), immediately post-education (CM2), and 1 week later (CM3). Concept maps were scored using a standardized structural scoring method.


RESULTS
Forty-six pediatric residents (23 control and 23 experimental) participated. To account for repeated measures within subjects, the generalized estimating equations method compared concept map improvement between groups. The experimental group improved significantly more than controls (CM1-CM2-CM3 p = 0.001; CM1-CM2 p = 0.001; and CM1-CM3 p = 0.017).


CONCLUSIONS
Using an expert concept map as an advance organizer improves knowledge organization and integration while offering a tool to enhance deeper understanding of medical knowledge among resident physicians.
Division of Pediatric Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, TN 37232-9075, USA. bill.cutrer@vanderbilt.edu
William B
WB
Cutrer
Danny
D
Castro
Kevin M
KM
Roy
Teri L
TL
Turner
D000465:Algorithms; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003210:Concept Formation; D003625:Data Collection; D003657:Decision Making; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005103:Expert Systems / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012131:Respiratory Insufficiency; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*