What is already known about this topic

• Research-based learning is a useful teaching methodology to integrate theory and practice in teacher education.

• Conducting a literature search on a research topic is one of the possible research-based learning typologies.

• Concept mapping is a popular constructivist-based tool, whose positive impact in higher education and teacher education has been clearly demonstrated over the years.

What this paper adds

• Introduces and explores the use of (digital) concept maps for research-based learning in teacher education, concretely for developing the outline of a literature review.

• Pre-service teachers valued the use of digital concept maps as a tool for supporting a small-scale literature review.

• Offers recommendations for university educators to support a literature review with (digital) concept maps in pre-service teacher education.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Need for supporting pre-service teachers before, during and after the RBL activity in terms of using (digital) concept maps, considering the literature review and defining the research question.

•  Emphasis should be put on connecting theory and practice, going from the literature review reflected in the map to the designed educational practice.

Research-based learning in teacher education

According to Saunders (2017, 4), research-based learning is “an academic means to help further long-term professionalization of future teachers” by helping pre-service teachers to integrate theory and practice. However, pre-service teachers argue that “there is an unclear idea of teachers as researchers [...] and [they] struggle to connect the theory-oriented education in their studies with teaching practice in schools” (Brew & Saunders, 2020 2) Furthermore, the same authors found that different ideas about research-based learning exist among teacher trainers.

Although other methods for training teachers as researchers might be considered, DBR is commonly used to develop, implement and evaluate different kinds of procedures or products that aim to solve an educational problem, or address a particular educational situation (Aditomo, Goodyear, Bliuc, & Ellis, 2013; de-Benito et al., 2016). As the latter authors explain, educational products may consist of educational materials, lesson plans, online courses, or pedagogical strategies, among others. DBR combines empirical educational research with a theory-driven design of learning scenarios and environments, thus promoting educational innovation (The-Design-Based-Research-Collective, 2003). Furthermore, DBR is considered a meta-methodology, consisting of different design process phases – focus, understand, define, conceive, build, test and present - that recursively nest other research processes and are applied in an iterative way (Easterday et al., 2018).

Based on the conception of DBR as a meta-methodology, it is possible to incorporate different research methodologies into the design of the various phases. For instance, the second phase – ‘understanding’ – ‘investigates the problem through empirical methods and secondary sources and synthesizes that knowledge into a form that can be easily used later’ (Easterday, Lewis, & Gerber, 2018, 139). Therefore, one of the possible scientific processes within this phase is a literature review. Rueß, Gess, and Deicke (2016) agree that conducting a literature search on a research topic is one of the possible RBL typologies. They describe a literature review as putting the emphasis on learning by research in terms of the level of students' activity, focusing on research results.

Considering the general steps for RBL proposed by Marín (2019) (see Table 1), a literature review could be considered a RBL activity in the conceptualisation phase of a research project. Note that although this process is shown in Table 1 as linear, it may also be considered as cyclical. 

This study stems from the need for pre-service teachers to develop a basic understanding of educational research as a first step in allowing them, as future teachers, to become drivers of educational innovation and change. Therefore, we focus on the RBL activity of a literature review conducted in the context of pre-service teacher education.

Concept mapping in higher education and teacher education

The concept mapping method is based on Ausubel's assimilation theory of learning and constructivism theory, and was invented by Novak in 1972 (Novak & Cañas, 2008). Both these learning theories assume that students have existent cognitive structures which they build on in order to gain new knowledge and skills in an active way, hence the use of concept maps as “graphical tools for organizing and representing (existing and new) knowledge” (Novak & Cañas, 2008, 1). According to the same authors, the main elements of concept maps are concepts, relationships (linking phrases) and propositions. They present two further important features for the facilitation of critical thinking: a hierarchical structure – from the more general and inclusive concepts to the more specific concepts, as fundamental characteristic of meaningful learning – and the inclusion of cross links – relationships or links between concepts in different parts of the concept map. Concept mapping is a powerful tool for the facilitation of meaningful learning and it “serves as a kind of template or scaffold to help to organize knowledge and to structure it, even though the structure must be built up piece by piece with small units of interacting concept and propositional frameworks” (Novak & Cañas, 2008, 7).

Concept mapping allows students to surface their prior knowledge and to integrate it with new knowledge (Kinchin, 2014), as well as to highlight changes and growth in their knowledge (Hay & Kinchin, 2008). Although often used interchangeably with mind mapping, the two tools are completely distinct in terms of purpose, structure, level of abstraction, linking devices, linking words and language register (Davies, 2011). Whilst mind maps are aimed at rapid notetaking and brainstorming, by highlighting associations between topics or ideas in the form of pictures or words linked with lines or colours in a non-linear structure, concept maps focus on the relations between concepts in the form of boxes linked with arrows and relational phrases in a hierarchical structure (Davies, 2011). However, it is more relevant to stress that concept mapping is a powerful tool for promoting a greater level of reflection and more meaningful learning; hence, the tool is most useful when students are able to visualize their own personal understanding, and not merely to re-state rote learning (Kinchin, 2014). The same author also highlights the importance of the following aspects in order to realize the learning potential of higher education students using concept maps:

• Consider the nature of the curriculum in which the concept mapping activity will be embedded, in terms of the degree of freedom that the students are offered for developing the concept and structure.

• Use concept mapping as a learning tool rather than as an assessment tool, thus guiding the search for information.

• Combine concept mapping activities with other learning strategies, such as collaborative learning or feedback from the university instructors on the students’ maps.

• Provide clear learning objectives for the concept mapping activity.

According to Kinchin (2014), the positive impact of concept mapping on student learning in higher education has been clearly demonstrated since the end of the 1990s. For instance, Berry and Chew (2008) report in their study that the group of students who created concept maps showed significantly improved performance in the final exam in the context of general psychology, compared to the group of students working only with student-generated questions.Nesbit and Adesope (2006) conclude in their meta-analysis across educational levels, subject areas and settings, that “in comparison with activities such as reading text passages, attending lectures, and participating in class discussions, concept mapping activities are more effective for attaining knowledge retention and transfer” (Nesbit & Adesope, 2006, 434).

There is also extensive literature on the use of concept mapping in teacher education. Koc (2012) describes several instances in which pre-service teachers successfully used concept maps for a variety of purposes, including as a data analysis tool, for instructional decision-making, as an instructional supplement, or as an assessment tool. Schaal (2010) identified the positive impact of concept maps on achievement and motivation when used as a complement to online lectures in human biology for pre-service teachers. Other authors have identified the benefits of using concept maps for promoting reflective thinking among pre-service teachers (Beyerbach & Smith, 1990; Buldu & Buldu, 2010). In addition, concept mapping activities have been successfully implemented in schools (Kinchin, 2000; Prats & Ferrer, 2012), which points to their pedagogical potential as an effective educational tool for future teachers.

While concept mapping has been explored as a research tool – as a method for data reduction, data collection, or for guiding observation (Darder, Pérez, & Salinas, 2014), little is known regarding the way in which concept maps may be used for supporting an outline of a literature review, whether within RBL approaches, or in the context of teacher education. This is the focus area of this study.

Digital tools for research-based learning: the case of digital concept mapping

Despite the suitability of digital tools in supporting RBL (Marín, 2020), this topic has not yet been broadly explored. In the field of university faculty training, Marín et al. (2018) proposed a strategy for encouraging university instructors to use digital tools for RBL in their courses. The authors present different tools for varied purposes connected to RBL, such as pinboard tools, collaborative writing and annotation tools, mind mapping tools, and concept mapping tools.

In the context of a postgraduate in educational sciences, Marín (2020) studied how group RBL processes could be supported by e-portfolios and how relevant group RBL processes enhanced student collaborative groups. The findings of this study show that the RBL processes of documentation, reflection and collaboration were enhanced in the student groups through the use of e-portfolios. Alongside e-portfolios, Marín (2019) proposed the idea that digital concept maps are a multifaceted tool that can support RBL processes. Furthermore, concept maps support the constructivist aspects of learning, which are related to the theoretical underpinnings of RBL (Marín, 2020).

Although concept mapping can be done with a pen and paper, digital concept mapping software allows for several new possibilities, such as adding multimedia elements, including links and documents, creating nested concept maps, and modifying the concept map structure easily and quickly, among others. Therefore, the benefits of digital concept mapping over hand drawn concept maps lies in visualising “in a synergistic manner both structures of knowledge and information visualisation approaches” (Novak & Cañas,2006, 180). This means that linked information (text documents, weblinks, videos, among others) is associated to the nodes in a way that a smooth and easy navigation through it is enabled.

Further digital possibilities are becoming increasingly more available, such as asynchronous and synchronous collaboration through concept maps, or the integration of artificial intelligence systems (Novak et al., 2006). Many authors have been taking advantage of these innovations in educational research (Agudelo & Salinas, 2015; Lizana, Marín, Moreno, Paniza, & Salinas, 2014; Nesbit et al., 2006; de-Benito, Lizana, & Salinas, 2017). Various online concept mapping software tools are now available such as Mindomo (freemium) and IHMC Cmaptools (free).

From a technical point of view, IHMC Cmaptools (https://cmap.ihmc.us/) (from now on, Cmap) offers a cloud version, a desktop version for all operating systems, and an iPad version. Institutions are also able to download the CmapServer and have their own virtual place to store concept maps. From a pedagogical point of view, Cmap was originally designed for educational purposes and is based on the theoretical premise of both the assimilation theory of learning and constructivism. Regarding the practical possibilities of Cmap as digital concept mapping software, “(it) empowers users, individually or collaboratively, to represent their knowledge using concept maps, to link media resources to them, to share them with peers and colleagues, and to publish them” (Tergan & Keller, 2005, 3).

Cmap can be used for all the RBL phases previously described (Table 1). However, this study uses Cmap in only the first two RBL steps applied to a literature search (Table 2).

Settings and participants

The context of this study was a face-to-face pre-service teacher education course that took place in face-to-face settings at a German university. The purposeful sample comprised ten undergraduate pre-service teachers (six females and four males) following curricula for different school levels (primary/secondary/vocational schools) and various disciplines (including English, German, Art, Philosophy, Biology and Mathematics).

The course lasted for 14 weeks and had a specific focus on the international perspective of the concept of digital competence, and the educational use of technologies and media in the context of schools. The key elements and the basis for work within the course – both as core knowledge and as skills to be developed – were the European frameworks for digital competence for citizens (Vuorikari, Punie, Carretero, & Brande, 2016), and for educators (Redecker & Punie, 2017). The main objectives of the course were to:

• Identify internationally relevant research on the topic of digital competence and the educational use of technologies in schools.

• Design and produce an innovative learning scenario for the development of digital competence for children and young people.

During the course, and as its summative assessment, pre-service teachers were asked to design an educational proposal aimed at developing their students' digital competence in one or more of their subject areas, based on a digitally enhanced pedagogical approach (e.g., flipped learning, online learning or gamification). The process to achieve this outcome was supported by different DBR steps throughout the whole course, with mostly on-site work, and occasional remote work (Marín, 2020). After defining their approach, pre-service teachers were tasked with conducting a literature review as a learning activity, which was partially supported by concept mapping; this is described in detail in the following sections.

The learning activity and concept mapping tasks

The learning activity consisted of searching for literature, summarising basic and relevant findings in a concept map, and evaluating another student’s map. The concept map depicting an overview of the literature review and a written explanation of it were part of the educational proposal to be designed as the final course assessment.

The learning objectives of the activity were:

• Identify meaningful theoretical and empirical scientific literature for the educational proposal.

• Distinguish the most relevant concepts, relationships and results within the selected literature sources.

• Develop a visual representation in the form of a concept map to illustrate the outcomes from the literature review.

• Appraise other students' concept maps according to basic criteria (such as level of understanding and structure).

The whole learning activity was structured into three phases that included in-class as well as online work and lasted for four weeks (see Table 3).

Formative assessment of the learning activity included the evaluation of other students’ concept maps in terms of their level of understanding and structure. The summative assessment was connected to the final course assessment and focused on the quality of the concept map in terms of how effective it was in reflecting the most important concepts, relationships and results of the literature review, to be included in the educational proposal.

Methods

A mixed methodology was applied, in which quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used. The quantitative method involved the use of an anonymised online student questionnaire. The questionnaire included sections that were used to evaluate the pre-service teachers’ experience of using concept maps during the course, on a Likert scale (1: completely disagree, to 5: completely agree). Questions included the conceptualisation phase of the RBL activity, as well as aspects of usability and transfer of skills to their future role as teachers. The quantitative data gathered from the questionnaire was analysed by exploring descriptive statistics using SPSS version 26.

The qualitative method included analysis of the open answers in the student questionnaire and evaluation of the semantic aspects of the concept maps. Since the text field for open answers was optional, not all the pre-service teachers completed it, and in some cases the text provided was very short. This represents a limitation of the analysis concerning the qualitative data items. The data analysis was done using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006): first in a deductive manner based on the items in the quantitative part of the questionnaire, and secondly in an inductive manner in order to identify themes within the data.

The qualitative analysis of the semantic aspects of the concept maps was based on the validated rubric developed by Prats et al. (2018), after completing translation and adaptations for the current learning activity (see Appendix B for the translation of the original rubric). The adaptation for this study included deleting three of the secondary evaluation criteria that were not applicable, namely the convergence with an expert map ¹ (one was not provided to the pre-service teachers in this instance), the quality of linked concept maps, and the quality of the examples (these two aspects were not a requirement for the task). The adapted rubric also simplified the description of the evaluation criteria related to the “quality of the resources”. The original rubric included evaluation of the quality of the resources based on the diversity of sources and their association to the concept. The adapted rubric considered only whether the resources that were used were adequately connected to the concept map – there were no specific requirements regarding diversity of sources. The distinction between a grade of “very good” and one of “good” lay in how closely the resources used were related to the focus question and whether or not it was directly answered through the map. A score of zero for this evaluation criterion meant that no resources were attached. Since this was not a generalised application of the instrument, and it was applied instead to a small sample specific to the requirements of this study, no weights were applied. This was done in order to facilitate comparison between results of the various evaluation criteria, as recommended by the authors of the rubric. Limitations of this method are subjectivity when applying the rubric, and the need for expertise in the subject matter in order to use it effectively.

Ethical issues were addressed by explaining the research goals to the participants, asking for their voluntary participation in the questionnaire, and making it clear that their participation would neither be connected to the evaluation nor used for any purposes other than the current study. Voluntary written consent was also obtained from the pre-service teachers to use their concept maps for research purposes.