HKU_Newsletter_Issue 40_Preview

Teaching and Learning Concept Mapping in Clinical Education In nursing education, the usefulness of concept mapping includes teaching, evaluating students’ critical thinking and facilitating students to take ownership of their learning. Concept mapping enhances meaningful learning and is a useful tool for students to transfer their theoretical knowledge to the clinical setting. Meaningful learning is essential for nursing students as it helps in integration of new knowledge into existing knowledge schemata which facilitates the long- term retention of information and application (Gerdeman, Lux & Jacko, 2013). Concept mapping was developed by Novak and Gowin based on Ausubel’s assimilation theory of cognitive learning which emphasizes meaningful learning (Novak & Cañas, 2008). A concept map includes a few concepts and information on one page in which concepts are linked up in both a hierarchical structure from top-to-bottom and through parallel side-to- side relations. In the clinical environment, a concept map can be used to organize links between a patients’ diagnosis, clinical features, disease process, physiological effects and interventions. Students can put a patient’s information on one page which provides a simple way for them to read the relationship between different aspects such as the patient’s discomfort, pathophysiological changes in the body and treatment. It enhances the student’s ability to examine a patient’s condition as a whole and develop a deeper understanding of the situations and patient care priorities. It acts as a guide for developing appropriate nursing care from which critical thinking and decision making skills are established by applying their prior knowledge and reasoning skill. A student who had completed his first concept map said: “As an advanced beginner in nursing, I believe my fellows and I are well- equipped with rich medical knowledge and various nursing care interventions to be administered. Sometimes we find concepts are rather scattered, and we have a hard time attempting to capture the essences of clinical reasoning. The synthesis of considerably diverse knowledge yields the fruits of practical wisdom. Concept mapping as a tool to synthesize knowledge appears crucial in the development of practical wisdom in nursing. Not only does it let us revisit and integrate the vast number of learned concepts, but more importantly, it nurtures Ms. Jessica Cheuk Lecturer 4 Vision to L ead Mission to Serve Concept map created by LamChing Fun, ShuWai Lok and Suen Ching Yi, students of class N20.