The Effect of Using Mind Maps on the Skills and the Learning Achievement of Students

Abstract

The research objectives were: 1) to compare the data analysis skill of a sample of seniorstudents and their ability to present and interpret statistics before and after being taught using mind maps. 2) To compare their learning achievement in statistics and data analysis before and after being taught using mind maps. 3) To ascertain their level of satisfaction with being taught using mind maps. A group pre-test - post - test design was employed. The sample selected was 38 Thai - major senior students in semester 2 of the 2014 academic year at the Faculty of Education, Prince of Songkla University. The research instruments were : 1) Five lesson plans using mind maps relating to statistics and data analysis, the lessons from which were conducted over 10 periods,
50 minutes each period. 2) A data analysis skill, presentation and interpretation test. 3) A learning achievement test, and 4) A level of satisfaction questionnaire. The statistics used to analyze the
data were means, standard deviations and dependent sample t-tests.

The research found that 1) The mean level of data analysis skill, and ability to present and interpret statistics of the sample of senior students was significantly higher after being taught using mind maps than before at the .01 level. The average score before instruction was 9.74 and after instruction was 24.50 out of 30. 2) The learning achievement of the sample based on student grades for the topic of statistics and data analysis was significantly higher after being taught using mind maps than before at the .01 level. The mean learning achievement in statistics and data analysis before instruction was 9.53 and after instruction was 13.08 out of 20. 3) The result of the analysis of the students’ satisfaction toward being instructed in statistics and data analysis using mind maps revealed that their mean satisfaction was 4.29 out of 5 (standard deviation 0.42) which was at the highest level. In regard to the individual aspects of the teaching, the students' satisfaction with the instructor and the content were 4.40 and 4.35, respectively while the lowest satisfaction score of 4.11 was in relation to the instruction media.