| Nursing students encounter and study vast quantities of information during their course of education and must demonstrate true learning to apply the information to course tests, licensure exams, and safely care for patients. The purpose of the quantitative, non-randomized, quasi-experimental study was to determine whether there was a significant difference in students' test scores when an instructor-made mind map was used as a teaching and learning aid in a nursing simulation activity, as compared to a control group of students who do not use the mind map, including any learning style interaction. The study had 64 participants who completed all aspects of the study, which included a demographic survey, the Heart Disease Fact Questionnaire, (Wagner, Lacey, Chyun and Abbott, 2005) as the pre-test and post-test, and an Index of Learning Styles, (Felder and Soloman, n.d.) to identify learning preferences. The cognitive, brain-based theory and Buzan's theory of learning served as the theoretical framework for this study (Buzan, 2010). Data were analyzed using SPSS, and included descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, and a mixed ANOVA, to answer the research questions. The findings lacked statistical significance to support accepting the hypotheses that mind maps made a significant difference in test scores; therefore, the null hypothesis of no significance was accepted. Limitations of the study were that it was confined to one course in the nursing students program and the study occurred after they had already learned about chronic conditions resulting in heart disease. An additional limitation was in the use of a pre-test and post-test not standardized to their text. Recommendations for further research are for a study that reaches students earlier in their program of study and using an instrument for evaluation that is more indicative of the content. |
