Application of concept maps as an assessment tool in engineering education: Systematic literature review

Abstract

BackgroundConcept maps are a valid assessment tool to explore student understanding of diverse topics. Many types of academic programs have integrated concept mapping into their courses, resulting in various activities and scoring methods to understand student perceptions.PurposeFew prior reviews of concept mapping have addressed their use within engineering education. This systematic literature review examines articles that use concept mapping as an assessment tool in engineering education contexts and provides suggestions for future research.Scope/MethodWe conducted a literature search using terms related to concept map and engineering education. Articles were screened by their title, abstract, section, and then full paper, resulting in 53 articles for the final review. Two researchers examined the topic, activity type, and scoring method of the maps.ResultsConcept mapping topics fit into three categories, and the activity structures fit into four types. Of seven scoring methods, “Traditional” was the most used. Studies that compared multiple scoring methods showed that the “Holistic” and “Categorical” methods were better able to capture the content of the maps. All types of scoring demonstrated positive outcomes, suggesting that concept maps can demonstrate understanding of the topic and can assess learning.ConclusionsConcept maps have been applied in a number of ways. All types of concept mapping scores were shown to be useful and can lead to a better understanding of the students' learning outcomes. However, more research is needed to determine which scoring methods are recommended for specific applications.

Validation of the use of concept maps as an evaluation tool for the teaching and learning of mechanical and industrial engineering

“…-The introduction of conceptual mapping as an instructional tool significantly enhances meaningful learning in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering education, supported by findings from studies such as (Evans & Jeong, 2023;Lenski et al, 2022), which demonstrate the efficacy of concept mapping in improving comprehension and retention of key concepts. -Students utilizing conceptual mapping will demonstrate a higher level of comprehension and retention of essential concepts compared to traditional teaching methods, as evidenced by research conducted by (Jackson et al, 2023;Sy et al, 2016), indicating the superior effectiveness of concept mapping in facilitating learning outcomes. -Conceptual mapping is well-received and accepted by students, particularly in online teaching environments, as suggested by (Alt et al, 2023), underscoring its efficacy as a pedagogical approach in complex engineering fields and aligning with the practical implications highlighted by (Olukoya & Jimoh, 2022) regarding its application in enhancing collaboration and understanding.…”

“…The disciplines of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering cover the principles of engineering, physics, mathematic and materials science and require an understanding of the basis of mechanics, dynamics, thermodynamics, etc. A meta-analysis published in (Jackson et al, 2023) investigated the overall effectiveness of conceptual mapping-based education experiments on students of engineering education, suggesting that concept mapping can be a powerful tool in education. Finally, while some researchers suggest that concept mapping can increase learner motivation, others assert that the effects of this technique might vary among learners of different abilities, indicating that the effectiveness of concept maps may depend on the individual learner's abilities and learning style (Alt et al, 2023).…”