The effectiveness of concept maps in teaching mathematics concepts and mathematics self-concept among elementary school students

The concept mapping as learning- teaching strategy has positive effects on cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of learning and it facilitates meaningful learning. The study examined the effect of concept-mapping on mathematical problem- solving performance and self-concept among 5th graders elementary school students. A pretest and posttest control-group quasi-experimental design was employed to evaluate the instructional effectiveness of this strategy. Thirty boys were randomly selected from two elementary schools located in Bostanabad District of Tabriz city, Iran was used as subjects for the study. One classroom of 15 fifth-grade students made up the experimental group, and 15 fifth-grade classrooms students comprised the control group. The experimental group was taught selected topics in math using concept-mapping strategies, while the control group was taught using the traditional lecture method. The Self-Description Questionnaires (SDQ) and mathematical performance test were used for data collection. Data have been analyzed by ANCOVA and T-test. The result of the study showed that the experimental group performed significantly better in mathematical problem solving than the control group. Also, the findings revealed that the concept mapping promotes students’ mathematics self-concept.