Concept Mapping Toolkit
Visualizing how we define and develop an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Why do concept maps make sense for Entrepreneurially-Minded Learning (EML)?
Whether it is your own personal interest or through the direction of your department, you may be seeking to integrate entrepreneurial mindset in the courses or research activities you are leading. You may be wondering:
What does it mean to engineer with an EM, and how do we know if our efforts are helping our students develop their mindset and skillsets?
Concept maps (cmaps) are an effective research-based learning tool that help students reflect on, visualize, and communicate their understanding of a topic. They are particularly powerful because constructing cmaps can help students build up their semantic memory network and make new connections between ideas. Cmaps are also useful as assessment tools because they represent the breadth, depth, and connectedness of student knowledge about EM (or other complex subjects). They can show changes in conceptual knowledge over time and measure the impact of learning interventions.
Concept maps are a relatively quick and flexible classroom activity - they can be used once as a snapshot of EM or multiple times throughout a course to observe how students’ understanding of EM is changing based on instruction. Reliable scoring methods can help you interpret student learning, and some scoring can be automated, making cmaps a good fit for small or large classes.
"With concept maps, I saw an opportunity to assess student EM development across courses in our mechanical engineering program. There was a bit of a learning curve with assigning concept maps. Ultimately, faculty champions in our core courses saw value in concept mapping both technical topics and EM."
- Dr. Heather Dillon, UW-Tacoma
"I was brand new to concept mapping, so I tested out different types of assignments and prompts in my classes. The training videos and tutorials in this toolkit helped me and my students learn how to construct cmaps. It was really easy to modify assignment templates and slides to fit my courses, and I appreciated not starting from scratch. I also like learning about all of the different scoring methods, and being able to pick and choose the ones that shed the most light on the learning objectives I was trying to assess." -Dr. Elif Miskioglu, Bucknell University
Concept Mapping 101
A concept map is a graphical representation of how a student conceptualizes and organizes their knowledge about a specific topic, expressed through the use of concepts (nodes), linking phrases (relationships between concepts), and cross-links (connections between different knowledge threads or "hierarchies").
"I've been collaborating with other members of this team to develop and validate a codebook that can make categorical scoring easier, or even automated. At the root, we are trying to understand how students define Entrepreneurial Mindset and help faculty interpret student understanding." -Dr. Juan Cruz, Rowan University
"As part of my engineering education research, I am studying how we 'measure' EM development. With first year engineers' concept maps, I compared three different scoring methods and discovered that scoring results were fairly consistent across methods and slight differences in a cmap's construction can really change the meaning."
-Dr. Krista Kecskemety, OSU
Challenges assessing EML, and how cmaps can help.
Although several assessment methods have been developed for EM , most of them are indirect and involve the students’ own self-assessment of their knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Concept maps may address this issue. Prior research shows that concept maps can reliably measure student development of equally complex topics like sustainability and design thinking.
The cmap structure helps with better understanding the thought patterns that a student had when laying out their concept maps. Concept maps also have multiple validated approaches available for scoring (see Module 3), which allows an instructor or researcher to select a method appropriate to the question under investigation. If you are looking to understand knowledge depth, the traditional scoring method may be applied. Perhaps you are more interested in knowledge breadth, then a holistic or categorical scoring approach may be better suited to your needs.
A few examples of how concept maps can be used to assess student learning include:
Pre/post class assignment
Students in a first year engineering fundamentals course defined "What is Engineering Decisionmaking" at the beginning and end of the semester.
Source: Barrella, E., Henriques, J. Gipson, K. (2016). Using concept maps as a tool for assessment and continuous improvement of a first year course. Proceedings of the 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, GA, June 26-29, 2016.
Comparing how different groups of students conceptualize a topic via concept maps.
Thematic analysis showed that student perceptions of EM varied by university. This may be related to different student characteristics and experiences, different course topics, or different assignment prompts. Reflecting on categorical gaps can help instructors refine assignments and learning activities.
Using word clouds to provide a visual comparison of themes across groups or over time.
For example, this comparison of how two groups of faculty defined "Entrepreneurial Mindset".
Quick Start: Using concept maps in your classes.
Identify which aspect(s) of EM to assess.
Create a good prompt for students.
Select a concept mapping activity that matches your assessment goal and class context.
Choose one or more scoring approaches.
Customize the toolkit templates for your assignment.
Introduce students to concept mapping in-class or online, with sample slide decks, tutorials, and videos.
Test, Learn, and Iterate on the activity and scoring.
Share your examples with the KEEN and concept mapping communities!
How to use this toolkit to get started.
This research-based toolkit provides an introduction to designing concept map assignments and scoring the cmaps to assess EML in your engineering courses. The toolkit includes short videos, practice activities, instructional guides for faculty and students, case studies, and templates that (1) introduce concept maps as an EML teaching and learning tool, (2) illustrate four types of concept map activities, (3) demonstrate multiple concept map scoring approaches, and (4) share lessons learned from implementing EM concept maps in different types of engineering courses (e.g., statics, first-year design, technical writing elective) across five different institutions.
We recommend progressing through the modules in order and completing all of the activities using the provided files or a concept map that you create.
Background on concept maps in engineering education and training to complete your first concept map.
Guide for deciding what type of cmap assignment best suits your classroom environment and students' learning objectives.
Scoring options for different assessment goals and assignment types, including quantitative and qualitative approaches. And an open-source automated scoring tool you can use!
Case studies from real engineering class implementations at five institutions, including example assignments, scoring, and tips.
This toolkit was developed by an interdisicplinary team of engineering educators and graduate students. Learn more about our team and this project.
We have created the toolkit as a quick and easy resource for both instructors and researchers. Materials provided are available for free download and can then be modified as needed to fit your specific context.
To acknowledge this work when you share the toolkit or its resources, please cite:
Barrella, E., Bodnar, C.A., Cano Morales, M.L., Carnasciali, M.I., Cruz, J., Dillon, H.E., Kecskemety, K., Jackson, A.M., Miskioglu, E., Rodríguez Mejía, E. (2023). EM Concept Map Toolkit. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
The development of this research-based toolkit was supported by the Kern Family Foundation and informed by a community of KEEN educators.