This article reports on an investigation that used concept mapping to explore first-year university students' understanding of key secondary mathematical concepts. The extent to which these students were able to make connections between concepts was a focus in the investigation. A concept map constructed by two students is presented and examined in this article in order to illustrate the kind of connections students made and to reflect on the nature of understanding and experiences these students had while learning mathematics in secondary school. The results of this research show that students were more able to make contextual connections (that is, to recall concepts or situations in which particular concepts were learned in school) than to make conceptual connections (that is, to express and represent adequate understanding of concepts and ways in which mathematical concepts are related.)

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Understanding is one of the most important traits associated with the attainment of educational goals. However, Nickerson (1985) observes that although the concept of understanding is a fundamental one for education, “what it means to understand is a disarmingly simple question to ask but one that is likely to be anything but simple to answer” (p. 215). A significant concern in school mathematics is learner understanding of mathematical concepts.

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