Using Conceptual Mapping for Learning to Affect Students’ Motivation and Academic Achievement

Abstract

Conceptual mapping tools have been used more and more for various educational purposes in recent years by academicians and educators. In addition, developments of technology that include conceptual mapping have a significant influence on education sustainability. Nevertheless, students’ understanding and motivation in using conceptual mapping in the context of education sustainability has rarely been assessed. Thus, this study could be useful for developing and testing theories related to using conceptual mapping, as well as for practitioners who use conceptual mapping in education sustainability. Besides being used as a method of assessment, these mapping tools are used to improve the students’ critical and analytical thinking skills and to facilitate the demonstration of relationships among concepts. Instead of using written or verbal descriptions, these tools utilise various diagrammatic relationships. The use of pictures, diagrams and visual illustrations are believed to facilitate the understanding of complex topics more readily. Therefore, this research aims to develop a new model that employs conceptual mapping for improving the motivation and achievements of students. A survey was distributed to 247 participants who are using conceptual mapping tools for learning, and the data were quantitatively analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM-Amos). The results of this study show that conceptual mapping can be used to increase students’ understanding and motivation to improve their academic achievements.