View in EDS

Step by Step: promoting understanding of scientific texts through gradually built-up concept maps in informal collaboration.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Step by Step: promoting understanding of scientific texts through gradually built-up concept maps in informal collaboration.
Authors: Disch, Leonie1,2 (AUTHOR) ldisch@know-center.at, Fessl, Angela1,2 (AUTHOR) afessl@know-center.at, Franza, Simone1,2 (AUTHOR) sfranza@student.tugraz.at, Kimmerle, Joachim3,4 (AUTHOR) j.kimmerle@iwm-tuebingen.de, Pammer-Schindler, Viktoria1,2 (AUTHOR) viktoria.pammer-schindler@tugraz.at
Source: Discover Education. 6/18/2025, Vol. 4 Issue 1, p1-23. 23p.
Subject Terms: *Concept mapping, *Collaborative learning, *Educational intervention, *Reading comprehension, *Cooperative research, *Nonformal education, Scientific literature, Digital technology
Abstract: Reading and understanding scientific texts is useful and necessary in many informal collaboration settings, including research or innovation collaborations, or when discussing public science in lay peer groups. In this work, we investigate whether an interactive predefined concept map that builds up gradually while reading a scientific research article helps teams of readers in their collaborative knowledge construction. The underlying assumption is that predefined concept maps as a visual knowledge representation complement the knowledge that is textually encoded in scientific articles. We present a randomized controlled trial that compares two conditions: In the intervention (n=50) and control (n=44) group, randomly matched pairs of university students read a scientific text, took notes, discussed the scientific text in real-time in a chat, and summarized the content of the scientific text. The intervention group additionally received the gradually built-up concept map while reading. We analyzed chat messages and the collaboratively written summary on the basis of knowledge construction theory, as well as time of task completion, thus studying the socio-cognitive processes stimulated by our intervention. We also compared study participants' knowledge pre/post-task. While the intervention and control groups did not differ significantly in their collaborative knowledge construction or individual knowledge gain, the intervention group was significantly faster at reading the text (F(1,92)=4.70, p=0.033) and required fewer notes (F(1,92)=6.66, p=0.011). The integration of predefined concept maps alongside scientific texts is technically simple. It could therefore be incorporated into different digital platforms, supporting collaborative reading of texts and improving the overall learning efficiency of readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Discover Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
Description
Abstract:Reading and understanding scientific texts is useful and necessary in many informal collaboration settings, including research or innovation collaborations, or when discussing public science in lay peer groups. In this work, we investigate whether an interactive predefined concept map that builds up gradually while reading a scientific research article helps teams of readers in their collaborative knowledge construction. The underlying assumption is that predefined concept maps as a visual knowledge representation complement the knowledge that is textually encoded in scientific articles. We present a randomized controlled trial that compares two conditions: In the intervention (n=50) and control (n=44) group, randomly matched pairs of university students read a scientific text, took notes, discussed the scientific text in real-time in a chat, and summarized the content of the scientific text. The intervention group additionally received the gradually built-up concept map while reading. We analyzed chat messages and the collaboratively written summary on the basis of knowledge construction theory, as well as time of task completion, thus studying the socio-cognitive processes stimulated by our intervention. We also compared study participants' knowledge pre/post-task. While the intervention and control groups did not differ significantly in their collaborative knowledge construction or individual knowledge gain, the intervention group was significantly faster at reading the text (F(1,92)=4.70, p=0.033) and required fewer notes (F(1,92)=6.66, p=0.011). The integration of predefined concept maps alongside scientific texts is technically simple. It could therefore be incorporated into different digital platforms, supporting collaborative reading of texts and improving the overall learning efficiency of readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:27315525
DOI:10.1007/s44217-025-00613-4