What are you curious about?

What would you like to know about strategies that might hinder and/or help students to learn, in your course?

Do you want to know if an activity, assignment, or teaching strategy “works?”

Do you have a question about how to help your students learn a particular skill?

Does the implementation of students using a modified mind mapping browser as a note-taking tool enhance students’ learning outcomes compared to traditional linear note-taking methods ?

Describe the learning in a way that suggests how you might measure it using either qualitative or quantitative methods.

One challenge related to learning that could be addressed by the research question is the ability of students to effectively organize and retain information during class lectures or while studying textbooks. Traditional linear note-taking methods may limit students’ ability to make meaningful connections between concepts and may lead to information overload or disorganization.

I think that both qualitative and quantitative methods could be used to evaluate this new use case… 

• Qualitative Measurement: By Observing students’ note-taking behaviors and the quality of their notes. Researchers could observe students using the modified mindmapping browser in real-time during lectures or study sessions and make qualitative assessments of the organization, depth, and coherence of their notes. Additionally, interviews or focus group discussions could be conducted to gather students’ perceptions and experiences with the new note-taking tool, including any perceived benefits or challenges.
• Quantitative Measurement: Pre- and post-assessments could be administered to measure changes in students’ learning outcomes after implementing the modified mindmapping browser. This could include measures of knowledge retention, understanding of key concepts, and performance on assessments. Surveys or questionnaires could also be used to collect quantitative data on students’ self-reported note-taking habits, study strategies, and perceived levels of engagement and satisfaction with the new tool.

SoTL projects might investigate the impact of a modification to an existing strategy or assignment. Describe how the new approach differs from the old approach and why this modification might change student learning on this outcome.

The modification to using a mindmapping browser as a note-taking tool is expected to change student learning outcomes by promoting deeper engagement, facilitating better organization and comprehension of course material, and enhancing retention of information. 

By encouraging active map topic creation, the modified approach will foster a more meaningful and effective learning experience for students.

Describe the evidence you would need to collect to answer questions about the impact or value of this teaching strategy. How would you convince others that this approach is better than other approaches? What comparisons should you make? Examine students; skill before and after the assignment? Compare students who complete the learning activity to another group of students – what comparisons would be meaningful?

I would begin by looking at things like ….

• Learning outcomes – Measuring changes in students’ learning (pre- and post-assessments, quizzes, exams, …etc)
• Note-taking Quality: (looking at the quality of the map created notes)
• Student Engagement:In class participation (discussions, completion of assigned mindmaps,)

Possible way of sharing the information would include 

1. Publishing in Academic Journals, presenting at Conferences or maybe doing a formal case study.