Document Type : Original Research Paper
Authors
Department of Physics Education, Farhangian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Virtual education has increasingly gained importance in recent years, becoming one of the main pillars of educational systems worldwide. This type of education has turned into a necessary solution for continuing the learning process, especially when schools are closed. However, students often face challenges in understanding physics concepts through traditional methods. Transmitting curriculum content through various virtual education networks requires effective strategies to address these challenges. In this research, the effectiveness of concept maps is examined as one of the generative learning strategies and approaches to improve students' learning levels in conveying abstract physics concepts.
Methods: The present research method was a quasi-experimental pre-test / post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all female students in the 11th grade of regular schools in District 5 of Mashhad Education Department, who were studying during the academic year 2023-2024. Using purposive sampling, 60 students from Samieh High School in Mashhad were selected. These individuals were randomly assigned to one control group and two experimental groups. One experimental group received teacher-generated concept maps, while the second experimental group worked with student-generated concept maps. The control group received instruction through traditional teaching methods. To collect data, a researcher-made academic achievement test was utilized in a pre-test/post-test format. The content and face validity of the test were confirmed by physics teachers and education professors, and its reliability was assessed using the test-retest method. Additionally, independent t-tests and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used for data analysis. To assess the normality of the data distribution, four tests were utilized: Shapiro-Wilk, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Cramer-von Mises, and Anderson-Darling. The significance levels in these tests were above 0.05, indicating a normal distribution of the data.
Findings: The results indicated that the use of concept maps in a virtual environment had a positive and significant impact on students' learning outcomes. The analysis of covariance regarding academic performance revealed a significant difference between the scores of the two groups using different teaching methods: teacher-centered concept mapping and student-centered concept mapping. The independent t-test results showed a high significance level (99%) in academic progress between the control group and the teacher-centered experimental group. The impact of the teacher-constructed concept mapping teaching method was significantly higher than that of the student-constructed concept mapping method (significance level 0.05) and the traditional teaching method (significance level 0.01), with this method achieving the highest scores among students. Additionally, the scores from the student-constructed concept mapping teaching method were significantly higher than those of the traditional teaching method (significance level 0.01). The greatest increase in mean scores was observed in the teacher-centered concept mapping group (74%), followed closely by the student-centered concept mapping group (72%). The traditional teaching method group showed the least increase (59%). These findings clearly highlighted the effectiveness of using concept maps in teaching physics topics for enhancing student performance.
Conclusion: In this research, concept maps were utilized as a generative and innovative educational strategy to enhance the sustainable learning levels of students in the topic of magnetism, yielding remarkable results. These maps, leveraging beautiful and comprehensible visual metaphors, facilitated the visualization of concepts, especially in abstract and complex areas such as magnetism and magnetic fields, which can be challenging for students. The findings of this research indicated that students, despite the educational gaps that have emerged, are capable of receiving effective education in virtual environments. The use of well-designed concept maps that include appropriate visual metaphors allows students to easily grasp abstract concepts and achieve deeper learning. It is worth mentioning that this study specifically focused on female students, and the results may not be generalizable to male students. It is recommended to utilize teacher-created concept maps that incorporate beautiful and comprehensible visual metaphors to enhance students' learning levels and address the educational gaps created in virtual settings.
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© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
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