Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 9-17-2019 1:30 PM Collaborative mind mapping to support online discussion in teacher education Rosa Cendros Araujo The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Gadanidis, George The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Rosa Cendros Araujo 2019 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Technology Commons, Online and Distance Education Commons, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons Recommended Citation Cendros Araujo, Rosa, "Collaborative mind mapping to support online discussion in teacher education" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6561. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6561 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Mind maps that combine text, images, color and layout elements, have been widely used in classroom teaching to improve retention, knowledge organization and conceptual understanding. Furthermore, studies have shown the advantages of using mind maps to facilitate collaborative learning. However, there are gaps in the literature regarding the use and study of collaborative mind mapping in online learning settings. This integrated-article dissertation explores the implementation of online collaborative mind mapping activities in a mathematics teacher education program at a Canadian university. The studies were developed with participants enrolled in three different courses where at least two of the online activities used collaborative mind mapping for knowledge construction. Rather than prove the efficacy of a visual tool, as other studies have, this research provides an understanding of how the learning and knowledge construction process occurs when student interact with one another using a mind mapping tool. The set of articles contained in this dissertation answers to the questions: (1) What are the roles that collaborative mind mapping plays in the participants’ education as mathematics teachers? (2) What are the differences between student interaction in threaded forums and mind maps? (3) How does online collaborative mind mapping enhance the aspects of engagement, representation, and expression in teacher education? (4) How can grounded theory methods be developed with sources of online multimodal data such as online mind mapping? (5) How do students interact and construct knowledge when they engage in online collaborative mind mapping? The research view is qualitative and uses a variety of descriptive case study, content analysis, and constructivist grounded theory methods. This dissertation provides insights into online collaborative knowledge construction when using collaborative mind mapping and adds to the existing literature on online learning, especially concerning the use of visual, collaborative tools. It contains guidelines and suggestions to implement this type of learning experiences in other courses and/or other education levels. Keywords Mind maps, online collaboration, visual tools, online learning, knowledge construction. i Lay Summary Mind maps are powerful visual tools that are widely used in classroom teaching to improve retention, understanding, and knowledge organization. New technologies allow for mind maps to become collaborative online tools that can also facilitate discussions. However, the process of how students collaborate using this technology has not been deeply studied before, and teachers desiring or requiring to use online mind maps in their classrooms don't have research-based recommendations that can improve the learning experience. This dissertation is composed of five articles that explore the uses of online collaborative mind mapping in an undergraduate education program. The research describes how online discussions in mind maps are different from those in forums, and what are the interaction patterns and behaviours that students develop when engaging in mind mapping activities. It provides important recommendations for higher education instructors that wish to use mind maps as a powerful visual tool in their courses. ii Co-Authorship Statement Chapters two, three, four, and six of this dissertation have been published or are currently in press as co-authored papers. As the co-author of these papers, I acknowledge Rosa Cendros Araujo as the lead author, whose tasks included conceptualizing, writing, and revising these articles. I am acknowledged as co-author primarily because of my role as Principal Investigator in the projects that supported Rosa’s research assistantship. While initial drafts of the papers were delivered to me for review and comment, my contributions in this regard were minor to their development. For these reasons, I fully support the inclusion of the articles as components in Rosa’s doctoral dissertation. Dr. George Gadanidis. Signature Date: 2 May 2019 iii Dedication To my beloved father, who left this world while I was writing this dissertation, and to my youngest daughter, who arrived before I finished it. To my mother, husband, and oldest daughter, who held me together through all of it. iv Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to express my very great appreciation to George Gadanidis, my research supervisor, for his guidance and useful critiques of this work. He motivated and supported my journey since my application to the Ph.D. program, as well as in publications and funding applications. In his role as principal investigator in the projects that supported my research assistantships, he provided me with access to the data for this study, along with valuable support on how to store, organize, and analyze it. His thoughtful advice, timely encouragement, and confidence in my skills kept me progressing in my dissertation ahead of schedule. I also wish to acknowledge the advice given by Immaculate Namukasa as a member of my research committee. She has been a great help in pointing out theories to orient my research, and her thoughtful suggestions improved the quality of manuscripts that fed this dissertation, such as my comprehensive examination paper and research proposal. This dissertation has also benefited from feedback of various reviewers and editors, as well as conference sessions chairs and discussants. I am particularly grateful for the feedback given by Drew Polly, Leping Liu, David Gibson, Susie Gronseth, and Elizabeth Dalton, editors of the volumes in which I participated. Their valuable comments improved my work for publication and subsequent inclusion in this dissertation. My special thanks are extended to Lisa Floyd and Josephine Gordon, the instructors who kindly gave me access to their online courses and enthusiastically implemented the online mind mapping activities with their students. In terms of funding, this research benefited from the generous support of the Ontario Government in the form of two Ontario Graduate Scholarships, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through a Partnership Development Grant that supported my research assistantship, and the Western Centre for Teaching and Learning through a Fellowship Grant that also supported my research assistantship. Finally, I would like to express gratitude to my family for their loving support and source of motivation throughout my Ph.D. studies. v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Co-Authorship Statement................................................................................................... iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xii List of Appendices ............................................................................................................ xv Preface.............................................................................................................................. xvi Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 1 Introductory Chapter ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Problem Description ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Purpose .................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 6 1.4 Contributions