Mind Mapping in Social Studies with Fourth Graders

Students in two fourth-grade classrooms participated in a study to examine the effect of a graphic organizer technique called mind mapping on the comprehension and recall of expository material. During the eight-day training phase, students in the experimental group received training on the use of mind mapping with social studies material for an hour each day. During the 10-day, transfer phase, the experimental group used the mind mapping technique to learn from the social studies textbook, while the control group used a traditional study guide approach on the same text passages. Working in small groups, the subjects spent an hour each day using their respective mind mapping or study guide approach to read and review the expository material. Two dependent measures, an essay test and a multiple choice test, were administered on day nine and ten of the transfer phase.

During the 10-day, transfer phase, the experimental group used the mind mapping technique to learn from the social studies textbook, while the control group used a traditional study guide approach on the same text passages.