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Knowledge Maps: an Online Tool for Knowledge Mapping with Automated Feedback

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Abstract

Concept and knowledge maps have been shown to improve students’ learning by emphasising meaningful relationships between phenomena. A user-friendly online tool that enables assessment of students’ maps with automated feedback might therefore have significant benefits for learning. For that purpose, we developed an online software platform known as Knowledge Maps. Two pilot studies were performed to evaluate the usability and efficacy of Knowledge Maps. Study A demonstrated significantly improved perceptions of learning after using Knowledge Maps to learn pathology. Study B showed significant improvement between pre-test and post-test scores in an anatomy course. These preliminary studies indicate that this software is readily accepted and may have potential benefits for learning.

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Fig. 1
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Abbreviations

CI:

confidence interval

DVT/PE:

deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism

IHD:

ischaemic heart disease

IQR:

interquartile range

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Funding

The development of Knowledge Maps was supported by a University of New South Wales Learning and Teaching Development Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Australia, Sydney, Australia

    Veronica W. Ho, Meng Meng, Nalini Pather, Rakesh K. Kumar, Richard M. Vickery & Gary M. Velan

  2. College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

    Gwo-Jen Hwang

Authors
  1. Veronica W. Ho
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  2. Meng Meng
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  3. Gwo-Jen Hwang
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  4. Nalini Pather
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  5. Rakesh K. Kumar
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  6. Richard M. Vickery
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  7. Gary M. Velan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gary M. Velan.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

These studies were approved by the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Committee (no. HC15114).

Informed Consent

Information about the trials was supplied to all participants and they were informed that non-participation would have no effect on academic standing. Consent was implied based on complete participation by students.

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Ho, V.W., Meng, M., Hwang, GJ. et al. Knowledge Maps: an Online Tool for Knowledge Mapping with Automated Feedback. Med.Sci.Educ. 29, 625–629 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00736-y

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