Mind Mapping, Graphic Organizers and Student Writing

This research project was an investigation into the use of graphic organizers to improve student writing. This project employed the software program Inspiration(TM) as the graphic organizer and Elluminate Live! RTM to provide a virtual classroom. Five students in grades two and three participated in the project. As this was an action research project, stakeholder groups were at the centre of the study. The students were asked to complete two surveys and two writing samples; one at the beginning and another one at the conclusion of the project. The students all achieved an improvement in writing, but it was not clear whether the improvement was attributable to the use of the graphic organizer or to the rich interactions and instruction that occurred in the virtual classroom.

This research project was an investigation into the use of graphic organizers to improve student writing.