Progress 08/01/04 to 01/31/07
Outputs
The main goal of the project was to develop a web-based concept mapping system that would promote higher order thinking among students of agricultural science and improve their ability to integrate old and new concepts within and among disciplines (i.e., to develop their critical thinking skills). To this end, a concept mapping tool (CMT) was developed that contains four main components. The first component is the Web Site, which contains pages that were originally written in PHP and that ran on a Unix server. The pages served as a wrapper for the concept map drawing applet and a grading system. The CMT has now been moved from the Unix to a Windows server and a new version of the web site using JavaServer Pages (JSP) has been implemented to create a webapp for the site. By using JSP, we were able to create a platform independent application that would run on any system that supports Java. We also moved the CMT database from Oracle to MySQL to avoid reliance on a
commercial product. The second component of the CMT is the Drawing Applet. This component was initially developed using a modified version of jKSImapper, which was written originally by R.A. Flores-Mendez (1997) for his Masters thesis. However, rather than modifying jKSImapper further to support student mode where students could select concepts and relation labels from a list, we opted for the development of an entirely new concept mapping drawing applet that had a number of enhancements including the ability to provide visual feedback while drawing a concept map, the ability to zoom in and out on parts of a concept map, and a review mode that allows a course instructor to attach Teacher Notes, reminiscent of PostIt Notes, that provide feedback and hints to students on their concept maps. Concept map storage also has been updated to use XML, and a feature was added to obtain student usage statistics. The third component is the Grading System, which originally was a custom expert
system written in Java. The old system had two primary failings in that grading was slow for large concept maps and expert system rules were difficult to change. We have now replaced the rule engine of the grading system with the Java Expert System Shell (Jess) from Sandia Labs. Jess uses the Rete algorithm as the basis of its rule engine and is significantly faster than the old grading system. It also has the advantage that rules are written in an interpreted language that is easy to read and modify. The final component of the CMT is the Concept Map Library System, which will allow instructors to share concept maps. The system is a JSP webapp and provides sharing permissions on concept maps for users and groups of users. It allows users to preview an image of a concept map before downloading it, provides versioning of concept maps, and allows users to attach notes to concept maps. The library system is still at beta-level, but we have plans to modify and integrate it into the JSP
version of the CMT web site.
PRODUCTS: We have developed a web-based concept mapping tool (CMT) that consists of four main components, the Web Site, Drawing Applet, Grading System, and the Concept Map Library System. The Web Site is currently located at http://geordi.ag.w2k.vt.edu/cmt/index.jsp and is housed on a Windows server. The Drawing Applet allows students and instructors to develop a concept map based on predefined concepts and relations. It also provides users with visual feedback and the ability to zoom in and zoom out on parts of a concept map. Course instructors can also attach Teacher Notes with feedback and hints to students, and can also track student usage. The Grading System is an expert system that has a rule engine written in the Java Expert System Shell (Jess) from Sandia Labs. Finally, there is the Concept Map Library System, a JSP webapp that is still in beta testing but which upon full implementation would provide sharing permissions on concept maps for users and groups of users.
OUTCOMES: The CMT has been tested on students in several courses including Honors Biology and Principles of Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Sciences, and Insect Biology, Bees and Beekeeping, and Information Technology in Agriculture in the Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Students taking these courses generally had little prior knowledge of concept mapping before they were introduced to the topic. In addition, as with any new and developing technology, the responses of students to both the utility of concept maps and to the CMT were mixed. However, by far the major concern by students about concept maps constructed on paper was the amount of time it took to develop the map. Students estimate that it usually took 3 to 6 hours to complete a concept map on paper. Our data collected by the CMT tracking system show that on average students spent just over an hour developing a similar concept map with the CMT. The CMT also has
the advantage in that it gives students immediate feedback and allows them to correct errors and improve their grades. Data collected during a concept map exercise in the Bees and Beekeeping class, for example, show that on average students were able to increase their score by 21% and decrease the time they spent developing the maps by 90% after three attempts. There is also evidence based on student feedback that the construction of concept maps has changed how they approach their writing in other classes, at least with respect to how they organize their thoughts.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: In October 2005, we gave a presentation titled Assessing the Impact of Using Concept Mapping with Introductory Biology Students at the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Convention in Wisconsin. One of our goals was to facilitate the use of the web-based CMT as an instructional and learning tool in traditional classroom and distance education environments. To do this we planned to utilize the services of the Faculty Development Institute (FDI) at Virginia Tech for training sessions. In 2007 we participated in two FDI workshops (February 15 and March 27, 2007) on Concept Mapping.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: Currently, we are developing ideas for two publications on the CMT from the efforts generated in this proposal. One publication will cover the application of the CMT in classrooms and our findings with respect to student learning; the second publication will focus on the expert system grading program and how it compares with the grading of concept maps by the instructor. We also have plans to develop a grant proposal to submit to NSF Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program. The CCLI program is based on a cyclic model that involves creation of new learning materials, development of faculty expertise, implementation of educational innovations, assessment of student achievements, and conducting research on undergraduate STEM education. Based on what we have accomplished in this proposal we see ourselves entering the cycle somewhere between the second and third phases of the cycle. We also plan to start working with the VT Institute of Distance and
Distributed Learning (IDDL) to move the CMT into the online environment.
Impacts
The CMT offers all of the capabilities of web environment to both the instructor and learner and allows instructors to incorporate interactive web-based technology into pedagogy and learning. We see this as imperative for successful student training in agrisciences as it allows for the use of an instructional configuration that is collaborative inquiry-oriented and that provides an extension of the classroom environment beyond the classroom walls. The CMT also provides the convenience and self-controlled learning pace of most web-based learning environments. Assessment of the quality of instruction and student learning is often episodic. The CMT gives instructors and students a tool, which they can use to provide real-time performance related feedback. In the evaluation/refinement cycle of iterative learning, feedback has to be timely, consistent, and helpful. The CMT meets this goal of providing assessment scores to instructors and students, giving students helpful,
immediate feedback on improving their concept map, and providing consistent evaluations. Also, we believe that if students are having fun they are more likely to learn; this as one of the finest qualities of the CMT. The automation of evaluation with the CMT also reduces the administrative burdens associated with the use of standardized test instruments and scoring of paper-based concept maps. Finally, the Concept Map Library will allow users to store and exchange concept maps, which will foster collaboration and address issues of inequity in the teaching of science concepts across institutions.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05
Outputs
The purpose of the project is to develop a web-based concept mapping tool (CMT) that would encourage higher order thinking among students of agricultural science and improve their ability to integrate old and new concepts within and among disciplines (i.e., to develop their critical thinking skills). Some progress has been made in fulfilling these objectives since the inception of the project. In the Fall 2004, the CMT tool that was described in the Higher Education Challenge grants proposal was upgraded by improving the database and the look and feel of the web site, by adding administration features, and by improving the CMT drawing applet and the expert system grading program. In addition, a method was implemented to track student usage time for each concept map assignment, and a guide to would assist students using the system was developed. After these changes were made there were still several issues with the upgraded CMT. Therefore, in Spring 2005, the decision
was made to develop a completely new CMT that incorporated suggestions from students and instructors who used the old system. In Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 concept mapping teaching/learning strategy was introduced in Honors Biology (25 students) and Principles of Biology (60 students) courses in the Department of Biological Sciences, and in Insect Biology (60 students) and Bees and Beekeeping (28 students) courses in the Department of Entomology. Student in these classes generally had little knowledge of concept mapping before the topic was introduced in the classroom. Therefore, instructors used at least two class sessions in each semester to overview concept maps and encouraged students to work in small ad hoc groups developing concept maps for a particular set of terms. Student responses to the utility of concept maps were mixed. Some students liked the challenge and others thought the maps were too much work. By far the major complaint, whether the concept map was done on hard copy
or with the web-based CMT, was the amount of time it took to develop the maps. By student estimates, it took 3 to 6 hours to complete one map. Students using the CMT, however, spent longer periods of time on map development because during the process they received feed back and worked to improve their score on the map. In a second section of Principles of Biology with 60 students, the students were allowed to experiment with the web-based CMT. The CMT grading program provided feedback to students and allowed them to refine their maps to improve their scores. The exercise with the original CMT also helped to identify several bugs in the system, some of which could be corrected easily. A newer more stable version of the CMT is under construction that will provide a more user-friendly interface, cross-platform and web browser compatibility, and faster loading and storage of concept maps developed at off-campus sites that rely on dial-up modem connections to the web server.
PRODUCTS: Currently, there are no products from the project.
OUTCOMES: It is still too early to say definitively what would be the likely outcomes of the project. However, we feel that once students become more familiar with the idea of using concept mapping, and the new more user friendly CMT is completed, the benefits to both student and instructor of concept mapping will be more obvious.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The CMT is still under development and as such there have been no dissemination activities to date.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: Based on comments of students and instructors about the CMT program that was used in the Fall 2004 classes, the decision was made to completely redo the CMT using newer versions of Java. After a long screening process a part-time programmer/analyst was hired in March 2005 to reprogram the CMT applet. The new CMT would incorporate many of the suggestions from the instructors and students who used the old system. The new CMT would have a more streamline user interface and would allow development, loading, and storing of concept maps. It would include zooming (not in the old applet), better scrolling, and better user feedback when connecting nodes with arcs. It also would not rely on the tight server coupling, which would make it faster to load at off-campus sites. Our goal is to complete the new applet by mid-September. We will also continue using concept maps as a teaching tool in Honors Biology and Principles of Biology, and in Entomology classes. In Fall 2005,
two sections of Principles of Biology will be used for testing. Students in these two classes will be new students who will not have been exposed to concept maps in a college course. One section will be taught by the traditional teaching method (lecture with overheads) and the other section will be taught using the CMT. Both classes will take the same examination and student performance will be assessed to determine whether the CMT helps to improve student learning. Also in October 2005, we will be giving a presentation titled - Assessing the Impact of Using Concept Mapping with Introductory Biology Students. at the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Convention in Wisconsin.
Impacts
At this juncture, no quantitative (statistical) data are available to show that use of the web-based CMT improves student learning. However, there is some evidence that students had a better understanding of the topics and the complexities of the topics after completing concept map assignments. For instance, when test performance was compared among students in one section of Principles of Biology (Spring 2005, hard copy of a concept map only) to students in the second section (Spring 2005 using the CMT) the mean and median grades of the students using CMT were much higher by the third examination. Data analysis is continuing to compare hard copy scores (random selection of maps being entered into the CMT program by hand) to the CMT scores to determine whether there is any statistical difference in scores during three different time periods: early in the semester, mid-semester, and at the end of semester. When these analyses are completed, we will begin comparing
student concept map scores to test scores and final course grades to determine whether the students who took the assignments seriously also received higher grades. We also note that students are realizing that construction of concept maps changes how they approach their writing in other classes, at least on how they organized their thoughts.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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