Dr. Shruthi Eshwar, Dr. Vipin Jain, Dr. Rekha K and Dr. Supriya Manvi
Aim: To compare the two educational methods Mind Mapping and lecture based methods) in teaching dental undergraduate students using the Structure of Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy as an assessment tool. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional comparative study was carried out among dental undergraduates in their final year (n=45). Students were divided into lecture based learning (LBL) and mind mapping (MM) group. Three sessions were taken for both groups. The first session was followed by the MM group being taught about mind mapping, its principles, construction of mind map. LBL group after the lecture had only a group discussion. Two more sessions were taken and same procedure was repeated in both groups. At the end of 3rd lecture, all of the students had a common exam. SOLO taxonomy was used to assess the two educational methods. Scores were compared between MM and LBL groups. Student paired and unpaired t-test was used for statistical evaluation and significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: Final year students (n=45, 13 males, 32 females) participated in the study. Total score in the post test among the MM was higher than LBL group (15.57+6.51 vs 8.41+2.62, p=0.001). Analysis between both the groups revealed significant differences between scores in MM and the LBL group in the various SOLO taxonomy categories, especially in the extended abstract category with the post test score mean of 4.66+1.87 in MM group and 3.6+1.22 in LBL group (p=0.001). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the students in MM group performed better as compared to LBL group. Mind mapping method was more effective in teaching the under graduate students. These findings suggest that integration of mind mapping in the curriculum maybe effective in promoting student’s deep learning.
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