Student Engagement in Concept Mapping

A Theoretical Analysis

Abstract

Student engagement has been an important discourse in higher education, and researchers have determined that engagement in educational activities is vital for student retention. Retaining students in learning is crucial in a stressful healthcare environment, hence the need to identify the associated engagement factors. Concept mapping offers students a realistic venue for critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and engagement in educational activities. Building on the results obtained from a basic qualitative study where, interviews and journals were analyzed, we examined the theoretical basis for students’ engagement during concept mapping in a flipped clinical learning. Accordingly, this article discusses the factors that influenced engagement while concept mapping within a stressful healthcare clinical learning environment and explains how the process of mapping patient care improved students’ engagement in learning. The impacts of concept mapping process went beyond participation to self-direction, higher-level thinking, and greater impact on clinical decision making for the student participants.