Using Concept Maps in Political Science

Abstract

Concept mapping is a pedagogical technique that was developed in the 1970s and is being used in K–12 and postsecondary education. Although it has shown excellent results in other fields, it is still rare in political science. In this research note, I discuss the implementation and testing of concept mapping in my Advanced Introduction to International Relations course. I find that student self-reporting indicates that this approach has a positive impact on student comprehension of texts and learning in the course. I suggest improvements that I intend to implement with the technique, as well as a future research agenda.

Keywords:

• concept map
• meaningful learning
• rote learning