Two Approaches to Concept Maps in Undergraduate Fluid Mechanics

Abstract

In constructivist pedagogy, students create their own meaning of the course material. One way for students to represent connections between ideas is by creating a concept map. This paper describes different approaches to using concept maps as a study tool in undergraduate fluid mechanics courses at two different institutions. The two instructors worked together to create a concept map of the topics covered in the courses, which had similar learning outcomes and covered most of the same topics. The goal of creating this concept map was to provide the students with a visual representation of how the different topics were related. At the first institution, the instructor-created concept map was used primarily as a visual aid (“passive approach”). The instructor showed the map at regular intervals in class, where the map grew as students learned new material. At the second institution during the following semester, students were encouraged to create individual maps, which could be used as an aid during assessments (“active approach”). The instructor-created map was presented in class after allowing the students to develop their own maps. No significant differences in course performance were found compared with courses taught by the same instructors when concept maps were not used. Concept maps were found to be a useful tool for connecting and organizing course topics for both students and instructors.