Nursing Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Nursing, including details on health care, hospital staff, professional care.

Student learning with concept mapping of care plans in community-based education.

Hinck SM, Webb P, Sims-Giddens S, Helton C, Hope KL, Utley R, Savinske D, Fahey EM, Yarbrough S

Department of Nursing, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, USA. susanhinck@missouristate.edu

Concept mapping, a learning strategy used to understand key concepts and relationships between concepts, has been suggested as a method to plan and evaluate nursing care. The purpose of this study was to empirically test the effectiveness of concept mapping for student learning and the students' satisfaction with the strategy. A quasi-experimental pre- and posttest design was used to examine the content of concept maps of care plans constructed by junior-level baccalaureate students (n = 23) at the beginning and end of a community-based mental health course. Additionally, students completed a questionnaire to self-evaluate their learning and report their satisfaction with concept mapping. Findings indicated that concept mapping significantly improved students' abilities to see patterns and relationships to plan and evaluate nursing care, and most students (21/23) expressed satisfaction in using the strategy. This study supported concept mapping as an additional learning strategy and has extended knowledge in community-based nursing education.

Published 6 February 2006 in J Prof Nurs, 22(1): 23-9.
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