The effects of incorporating concept mapping into computer-assisted instruction

Abstract

A study was carried out to determine the effects of incorporating concept mapping into computer-assisted instruction. There were 37 boys and 54 girls from a Special Assistance Plan school who participated in this study. The students received computer-assisted instruction on the topic "organic chemistry" for about 7.5 hours. They were randomly assigned to three different groups. In the Partial Map group, the students were given partial concept maps in the program and they were assigned the task of constructing complete concept map after each topic. In the Complete Map group, the students were provided with complete concept maps and they performed note-taking activities during the lessons. In the Menu-selection group, the students used traditional menu-selection system and they also performed note-taking activities. The following test and instruments were then administered to the students: Chemistry Achievement Test, Attitudes towards Chemistry, Attitudes towards Computer-assisted Instruction and concept mapping exercise. The results and their implications will be discussed in this paper.