Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to develop a curriculum to teach visual concept mapping and improve student attitudes on writing and the quality of their examination essays. We used visual word and image connections to improve the working memory and language aptitude students and gathered a small amount of data. The study took place during the summer module of an English preparatory program and was voluntary. We developed the workshop and the methodology for students who were continuing the English preparatory program into summer school. We gave surveys and personal interviews to students and workshop instructors after the workshops to ascertain students' attitude and knowledge of the material as well as the effectiveness of the program. Research partners took notes and recordings of the workshops. End of course writing exams were referenced for quantitative data but was limited due to the workshops being voluntary. The workshops were peripheral to the course module and aimed to be as casual and accommodating to student’s heavy workload as possible while targeting specific tasks that they were responsible for in the course and final examination. Further research is needed but the limited data suggests a correlation between student’s inclusion of mind mapping techniques and their ability to complete the demands of the final exam writing rubric.

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