The effect of implementing mind maps for online learning and assessment on students during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background In Saudi Arabia, the sudden shift from conventional (in-person) to online education due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected teaching and assessment methods. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of mind maps in this regard, measure students’ reactions to certain educational environment-related changes caused by the pandemic, and identify skills that students perceived they gained through mind mapping. Methods This study employed a non-intervention (cross sectional) design. Participants were King Abdulaziz University students from two medical physics courses (second and fourth level). Data were collected twice (after the first and last mind mapping assignments), and responses were analyzed using a paired t-test. Overall student results were compared against overall student performance in the previous term using chi-squares test hypothesis testing. The data were collected and analyzed using SPSS software. Results The results of the paired t-test showed no significant differences between students’ mean satisfaction in both surveys. Nevertheless, students’ responses revealed their satisfaction with using mind maps. Moreover, students believed that they gained skills like organizing and planning, decision making, and critical thinking from the mind map assignments. The chi-squares test (Chi-square = 4.29 < $${x}_{\mathrm{0.05,4}}^{2}$$ x 0.05 , 4 2 = 9.48 and p-value = 0.36 > 0.05) showed no differences in students’ grade distribution between the two terms of 2020 (pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic) despite the change in assessment style post-pandemic commencement. Conclusions Mind mapping can be adapted as an online teaching and assessment method. Additionally, student support and education institution-level effective communication can reduce stress during challenging times.

Re-thinking the online distance instruction based on students’ feedback

“…Contrary to this, mind maps were not mentioned in our research. However, Alsuraihi ( 2022 ), who focused on their used during the covid-19 pandemic, examined a group of medical students and proved that mind maps contributed to the effectiveness of online teaching and students’ satisfaction with it. Students believed that they developed skills of organizing, planning, decision making, and critical thinking, when working with mind maps.…”

“…There exist large amounts of research works dealing with this topic; those mentioned below examined students of medicine, nursing, health, or related study fields. Online distance instruction affected teachers’ and learners’ performance, in particular, the process of acquiring new knowledge (as researched, for example, by Lim et al, 2022 ; Chen et al, 2022 ; Alsuraihi, 2022 ), feelings and motivation during the learning (e.g., Quigley et al, 2022 ; Hadwin et al, 2022 ; Tan 2021 ), and also many other personal qualities and criteria made impact on the process (e.g., Limniou et al, 2021 ; Clark et al, 2021 ; He et al, 2022 ). Faced with the new situation, a question appears how the online distance process of instruction is built and conducted, in particular, whether, if running online distance, it arises from identical or different didactic principles compared to the face-to-face inctruction, what the features are from the learners’ point of view that result in success in online distance instruction, and whether the process should, or not, be re-defined and re-thought.…”

Mapy Myśli w Krainie Neuronów. Program treningowy dla dzieci i młodzieży w wieku szkolnym

“…Warto również zwrócić uwagę, że metoda Map myśli i szeroko pojmowane myślenie wizualne znajduje swoje poparcie i rekomendację w literaturze naukowej (Allen i in., 2019;Eppler, 2006;Sperotto, 2016;Wu & Wu, 2020). Według aktualnego stanu wiedzy Mapy myśli są stosowane na lekcjach stacjonarnych i w nauczaniu on-line (Alsuraihi, 2022). Dostrzega się także, że sposób przedstawiania na nich treści służy również uczniom ze specjalnymi potrzebami edukacyjnymi oraz pacjentom klinicznym (Chen, Xiao & Lin, 2018).…”

“…Jest to widoczne w trudnościach z rozróżnianiem liter i znaków, dłuższym skupieniu uwagi czy niskiej jakości pisma (nieczytelne pismo, odwracanie liter, pomijanie ich) (Wysocka & Lipowska, 2010). Włączenie w nauczanie narzędzia, które aktywizuje obydwie półkule mózgu, pozwala dzieciom na holistyczną stymulację (Alsuraihi, 2022). Allen i współpracownicy wskazują, że stosowanie takiej formy pracy zachęca dzieci do nauki i stanowi wzbogacające doświadczenie dla wszystkich uczestników zajęć.…”

Examination of Students’ Academic Performance in Selected Mechanical Engineering Courses Prior-to-and-During COVID-19 Era

“…emergence of COVID-19 have accelerated this shift, as educational institutions have moved to an online mode to explore ICT [6]. COVID-19, which was declared by the world health organization in January 2020 as an outbreak, has since made online education inevitable [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”