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LangLit
A
n International Peer-Reviewed Open
A
ccess Journal
Vol. 7 Issue 3 74 February, 2021
Website: www.langlit.org Contact No.: +91-9890290602
Indexed: ICI, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Academia.edu, IBI, IIFC, DRJI
ISSN 2349-5189
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MIND MAPPING AS A STRATEGY TO
DEVELOP READING COMPREHENSION
DR. P. ARUL NEHRU
Assistant Professor in Pedagogy of English
Regional Institute of Education (NCERT),
Mysuru
ABSTRACT
In the twenty-first century, Reading is a fundamental skill required to function
in today's society reading is an essential skill as a critical component of
functional literacy. Reading comprehension is a complex cognitive process of
simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning (Snow 2002). Many
researchers argue that graphic information organizer aids the comprehension
process. Buzan also says that mind mapping is a visual way to capture
thoughts and helps to record information graphically while reading. The brain
works with key ideas and association that helps us to understand what we read
and remember. This paper reports a study that attempted to investigate the
effect of mind maps on reading skills of Higher Secondary Learners. This is a
single group experimental study and the statistical analysis shows the
performance of learners in the post-test was better than pre-test. The results
indicate that pre-test mean is 43.86, whereas post-test mean is 60.45, and a
two-tailed paired sample t-test revealed that mind map had more effect on
developing reading comprehension and creating a positive attitude towards
mind mapping.
Keywords: ABL, ALM, Concept Map, Graphic Organizer, Mind Map, Reading
Comprehension
Introduction
In the context of second language learning, Reading is an inevitable skill. As far as the
English language teaching in India is concerned, reading skill occupies a pivotal position in
the second language curriculum across the country. It is recognized as basic for literacy,
knowledge, and power in the society. Michael West is one among the earliest few who
propounded that reading ability is a general power (Tickoo, 1988). Research findings in
applied linguistics and reading research consistently show a strong correlation between
reading proficiency and academic success for all ages - from primary school right through to
university level (Pretorius, 2000). Teaching learners to read helps them to develop their
language skills and the complex learning process and functions of the brain (Restak, 2011).
Researchers have been continuously searching different ways to enhance reading skills of the
learners.
LangLit
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n International Peer-Reviewed Open
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ccess Journal
Vol. 7 Issue 3 75 February, 2021
Website: www.langlit.org Contact No.: +91-9890290602
Indexed: ICI, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Academia.edu, IBI, IIFC, DRJI
ISSN 2349-5189
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61
The present study attempted to investigate the effectiveness of using mind maps on
developing reading skills of Higher Secondary Learners of Government Higher Secondary
Aadi Dravider Welfare (ADW) School, Semakkotai at Panruti in Cuddalore district of Tamil
Nadu. The study is based on the assumption that mind maps can be used to enhance reading
skills of the learners, specifically their ability to locate main ideas and supporting details form
meaningful connections among different parts of a text, connecting new ideas with their prior
knowledge, comparing and contrasting ideas in the text and, arranging text ideas in nodes and
links making relation between ideas clearer. Thus, it is expected will lead not only to better
reading comprehension but also improve retention of information. It has been realized by
educationists and teachers that there is a need to improve reading skills of all learners which
in turn it will help to raise the literacy level of the society. Mind map techniques are expected
to help learners become good readers and also enjoy reading in English since they help
represent information in a graphical way. Buzan (2003) says that researchers have found that
the mind map is an effective tool for facilitating the learning process, since it is based on how
the brain functions – integrating information received from multiple modes like images,
sounds, smells, etc. and storing in different parts of the brain.
In the following sections we briefly discuss the importance of English in India, and theories
that explain the skills of reading and the current scenario of school education in Tamil Nadu.
Importance of English in India
In India, English holds the status of a second language, medium of instruction and associate
official language. It also has the status of library language as most modern knowledge of
science and technology and a major chunk of world literature is all in English. Nehru said
that English is our major window on the modern world (Tivari, 2005). Secondary Education
Commission (1952-53) headed by Dr. L. S. Mudaliar has emphasized the need for English in
high schools and universities. In the three-language formula, English is given a prominent
status. The Indian Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari
recommended English to be the link language and the medium of instruction in universities.
They highlighted its importance as an international language. The Official Languages Act of
1963 provided for continued use of English for an indefinite period. It also recommended the
continuance of English in the interest of national integration and therefore a strong
foundation in the English language to be laid at the school stage. This envisages compulsory
study of English as a second language (Aggarwal, 2008).
The 1986 policy on education recommended that teaching of English should be strengthened
as it is the language of science and technology. This visualizes the role and importance of
English language in all walks of human life and essentially for higher secondary learners to
continue their further studies. All these policies stressed that teaching English should be
strengthened and that developing reading skill is the basis for literacy advancement of the
country. As earlier mentioned, reading is a basic life skill in today’s world. It is a cornerstone
for a child's success in school and throughout life. Without the ability to read well,
opportunities for personal fulfilment and job success inevitably will be lost (Richard C.
Anderson, Elfrieda H. Hiebert, 1985). Students must become effective readers to meet the
demands of literacy and learning for the 21st century. However, the reading process requires
continuous practice, development and refinement.
LangLit
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Vol. 7 Issue 3 76 February, 2021
Website: www.langlit.org Contact No.: +91-9890290602
Indexed: ICI, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Academia.edu, IBI, IIFC, DRJI
ISSN 2349-5189
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61
Literacy has been the focus of a great deal of work over the last few decades. The teacher of
reading is in the business of attempting to improve literacy. Literacy is considered to be a
resultant factor of acquisition of skills in five areas: written and oral communication,
mathematics and related skills, problem solving, workplace attitude, and job-seeking abilities.
Venezky (1990) discusses literacy as a complex set of skills, and mentions reading, writing,
numeracy and document processing as four skills areas grouped under literacy.
What is Reading?
Reading is surprisingly complex to define. The skill of reading has generally been described
as extracting information from a text. Richard Anderson (1985) defines reading as the process
of constructing meaning from written texts. Understanding a written text means extracting the
required information from it as efficiently as possible (Grellet, 1981). Reading is a complex
cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning. Readers use a
variety of reading strategies to assist decoding and comprehension. One of the strategies is
note-making as visual representation of ideas and concepts through mind mapping strategy
enhances reading comprehension. Certain abilities must be developed that work together to
create strong reading skills (The Little Red Reading Book, 1997).
Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension can be defined as an active thinking process through which a reader
intentionally constructs meaning to form a deeper understanding of concepts and information
presented in the text (Nevfeld, 2006). To comprehend, readers must use information they
already possess to filter, interpret, organize and reflect upon the incoming information from
the page. Efficient interpretation of text involves a combination of appropriate strategies such
as locating the main idea, making connection, questioning, inferring and predicting. Reading
comprehension involves at least two people: the reader and the writer. The process of
comprehension involves decoding the writer’s words and then using background knowledge
to construct an approximate understanding of the writer’s message. Reading, like listening, is
a decoding process. It is a complex process involving several physical, intellectual and often
emotional reactions. It involves the ability to recognize graphic symbols and their
corresponding sounds. There are three important components in the reading skill namely,
recognition of the graphic symbols, the correlation of these with formal linguistic elements,
and the correlation of these with meaning. McCardle et al. (2002) suggest that the
comprehension process draws on many cognitive and linguistic abilities most notably,
vocabulary, recalling background knowledge, sentence processing, verbal reasoning,
knowledge of print conventions and working memory. Weakness in any of these abilities can
impair reading comprehension.
The Sub-skills of Reading
Reading is a major skill that comprises a number of sub-skills. Successful and efficient
reading means a reader is equally expert in all or most of these sub-skills, discussed below:
The following list is taken from John Munby’s Communicative Syllabus Design (1981)
LangLit
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Vol. 7 Issue 3 77 February, 2021
Website: www.langlit.org Contact No.: +91-9890290602
Indexed: ICI, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Academia.edu, IBI, IIFC, DRJI
ISSN 2349-5189
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61
1. Recognizing the script of a language
2. Deducing the meaning and use of unfamiliar lexical items
3. Understanding explicitly stated information
4. Understanding information when not explicitly stated
5. Understanding conceptual meaning
6. Understanding the communicative value (function) of sentences and utterances
7. Understanding relations within the sentence
8. Understanding relations between the parts of a text through lexical cohesion devices
9. Understanding cohesion between parts of a text through grammatical cohesion
devices
10. Interpreting text by going outside it
11. Recognizing indicators in discourse
12. Identifying the main point or important information in a piece of discourse
13. Distinguishing the main idea from supporting details
14. Extracting salient points to summarize (the text, an idea etc.)
15. Selective extraction of relevant points from a text
16. Basic reference skills
17. Skimming
18. Scanning to locate specifically required information
19. Transcoding information to diagrammatic display
Purpose of Reading
Reading serves multifaceted purposes. People read books for a variety of reasons. They read
to comprehend a text and answer comprehension check questions, to do grammar activities,
to improve language ability, to achieve pleasure and information, such as to know the
instruction of using a particular tool, to be familiar with a particular country or place, etc. The
reasons and purposes of reading a text differ from person to person because of their different
purposes, opinions, backgrounds, experiences and schemata (Nuttall, 1996). According to the
purposes of and reasons for reading, Grellet (1996) says there are two reasons for reading:
reading for pleasure and reading for information.
We read for entertainment and to enjoy, because pleasure comes from the variety of feelings
presented in the text. Intention for seeking pleasure from a text makes readers read more and
more text which ultimately leads them towards a better understanding. According to Nuttall
(1996), teaching reading should enable students to enjoy reading. A reader enjoys a book
when she or he gets pleasure reading it.
Grellet (1996) states that people read books in order to find out something or in order to do
something with the information they get. Nuttall (1996) believes that we read because we
want to get something from the writing. He states that reading for information in English is
one of the most important purposes that the learners may have in learning English. Students
read books for information also because of the fact that they want answers to certain
questions upon certain issues, and they need to confirm their inferences.
LangLit
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Vol. 7 Issue 3 78 February, 2021
Website: www.langlit.org Contact No.: +91-9890290602
Indexed: ICI, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Academia.edu, IBI, IIFC, DRJI
ISSN 2349-5189
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Reader and Text
Reading is a skill that a reader uses to search for knowledge, understanding and
entertainment. Reading is a matter of the actual interaction between the reader and the text
(Field, 1997). While reading, readers use their past experiences, called background
knowledge, and using this they construct new experiences and acquire new knowledge.
Readers have different schema and applies these experiences to what they read, and it is these
differences that make certain readers comprehend a text quicker and better than others.
The text itself is another factor in the reading process. There are various types of texts, and
each one has a different style of writing, organization, pattern, syntax and grammar,
vocabulary, cohesion, and purpose. It is the readers’ responsibility to know the differences
between different texts in order to understand what the writer tries to convey to them. The
text and the reader are two factors that are essential to the reading process. The reader reads
the text to comprehend it and the interaction between the text and the reader is another
important factor in this process. Thus, different readers may get different meanings from the
same text.
What is a Mind Map?
A mind map is a diagram representing ideas, with related concepts arranged around a core
concept in a visual / graphical outline format. Tony Buzan (2003) defines that mind map is a
thinking tool that reflects what goes on in our head. It’s a graphic technique that generates
and organizes ideas using associations through a graphical representation. It illustrates ideas/
concepts and their connections. Mind mapping is a form of visual thinking done by writing
one's ideas down in the form of pictures or other graphical representation in order to get as
clear a picture of the topic as possible. Mind mapping is the method of putting ideas into a
paper and linking information using colours, words and pictures. Tony Buzan says that mind
map is the language of the brain. Every single person remembers and learns by images. As an
example, he says that when we say ‘apple’ to a person, he will not get “A-P-P-L-E”, but he or
she gets a picture of an apple in the brain. So pictures are the brain’s language. The brain
speaks with the language of images and associations. A mind map starts with the central
image which represents the topic. From that image colour branches are drawn which hold
each key idea. Organic radiant branches grow out to the larger ones to make a tree, further
dividing the key ideas. Colour and images are key features in mind mapping. When a mind
map is finished, the visual picture and key words are much easier to remember than linear
notes.
When it comes to learning, our brain manages all the information whether it could be
thoughts, images, memories, music, or sensations. Mind mapping uses the full range of
cortical skills – word, image, number, logic, rhythm, colour and spatial awareness in a
uniquely powerful technique. Right hemisphere provides with spatial perception, colour,
dimension and more. On the other hand, left hemisphere provides us with logic, linear
reasoning, words (language), lists, analysis and more. With mind mapping, both sides of your
brain could be utilized– the more logical left-hand side and the more creative right-hand side
– to create a tremendous synergetic effect on the brain power. Tony Buzan claims that
everyone is potentially brilliant, that the mind map is only a tool that allows the brilliant to
LangLit
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n International Peer-Reviewed Open
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Vol. 7 Issue 3 79 February, 2021
Website: www.langlit.org Contact No.: +91-9890290602
Indexed: ICI, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Academia.edu, IBI, IIFC, DRJI
ISSN 2349-5189
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61
flower. It is about helping students to unlock the true potential to learn better. Dr. Anthony
Seldon (2009), Headmaster Wellington College says that learning is a boring experience with
children, because learning is about recording, recall and memory. It is not about something
active. Naturally people get bored, if they are not actively engaged in learning themselves.
Mind map and other active forms of learning could help children to participate actively in
learning better. Mind map gives a more active form of learning; it is about making learning
more enjoyable. In educational field, most of the schools and teachers in England support and
use mind maps in teaching and learning.
Mind map is not a very new mapping technique for learning; it has been present for a very
long time. It was found that the first record of the underlying principles of information
mapping was used by a philosopher Porphyry of Tyros in the 3rd century BC. Historians and
researchers found that Leonardo da Vinci used information mapping, mostly for note taking.
In the late 1960s, Tony Buzan invented the mind map. He created a set of rules to be used
while mind mapping. Buzan explored the writings of great persons like Einstein, Picasso and
Cezanne, analysed their reading habits, the way of their thinking and the way they recorded
information. He became interested in Leonardo da Vinci who is known for both side
functions of the brain - for his works of art, sculpture, physiology, general science,
architecture, mechanics, anatomy, physics, and invention. Buzan found that his writings were
filled with three-dimensional drawings and images and that he used straight lines, angles,
curves and numbers in notes (Buzan, 1974).
This image (“I think” Charles Darwin – ‘Tree of
Life’), The Original Lives at Cambridge University
Library (Charles Darwin, Evolution sketch from
Notebook B. 1837) given on the right side is the first-
known sketch by Charles Darwin of an evolutionary tree
describing relationships among groups of organisms.
This drawing, with the most ancient forms at the bottom
and their descendants branching off irregularly along the
trunk, reveals that Darwin found that all plants and
animals are related. Below his tree, Darwin wrote firmly,
"I think." Based on a detailed study of the great geniuses,
Buzan believes that every single brain is potentially
brilliant, and claims that mind maps could make people
smarter. Mind maps are multi-coloured diagrams to
organize thought better; he says mind map is like a
photograph of your thoughts. He criticizes traditional
note-making arguing that linear note is a mistranslation
of our thoughts and irrelevant to our memory. He argues
that the brain does not work with sentences since they cannot be stored in our brain. It is
easier to grasp ideas and concepts from a text and remember. But it is impossible to
remember whole sentences of the text. We criticize the practice of rote learning for it
involves taking sentence into the brain (memorizing) and reproducing without
comprehension. He says this is not learning. He argues that no one’s memory works with
sentences. It works with key ideas and association. This helps us to remember what we read
and understand.
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Vol. 7 Issue 3 80 February, 2021
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The next significant aspect of mind maps according to Buzan is the use of colours. He
justifies the use of different colours in mind maps saying that everything in one colour or
monotone signifies monotony and our brain gets bored with what we do monotonously. He
referred findings of research that points out that 80% of students have forgotten what they
learnt in school. He explains that the education system was dominated by industrialization,
but in the 21st century recording our ideas should not be in an industrialized way – which
according to him is an outdated way.
Buzan says that mind mapping is a visual way to capture your thoughts and ideas and it is a
brain-friendly technique to record thoughts. Mind mapping is a thinking tool that reflects
externally what goes on inside your head. Mind map is straight forward. Brain is radiant – it
thinks centrally and explores out in all directions, branches are curved, organic and free
flowing. Brain thinks by imaginations and associations. Therefore, traditional note-taking in
lists and lines does not work; it is counterproductive as it does not make associations. Tony
Buzan says that “If you don’t have associations, you don’t have connections. If you don’t
have connections, you don’t have memory and thinking.” Straight lines are similar, rigid and
give boring experience. We could have realized it that when we lose the link between
sentences while reading, that makes readers to ‘skip’ a line or repeat’ the same lines while
reading. It is because of the missing links and associations in the sentences of a text. The
links and associations are considered to be of great significance in understanding information
from a text and by making mind maps using links and images, the learning process can be
made active and effective.
The following are the different steps to create mind maps given by Tony Buzan (2003) in The
Mind Map Book (p 96).
1. We need a white paper positioned landscape and colour pens to create a mind map.
2. Start in the centre with an image of the topic.
3. Use images, symbols, codes and dimensions.
4. Select key words and write using upper or lower case letters.
5. Draw branches from the central image to record the supporting ideas.
6. The lines must be connected.
7. The central lines are thicker, organic and flowing, becoming thinner as they radiate
out from the centre.
8. Make the lines the same length as the word/image.
9. Develop a personal style of mind mapping.
10. Use emphasis and show associations in mind map.
11. Keep the mind map clear by using radial hierarchy, numerical order or outlines to
embrace your branches.
LangLit
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Vol. 7 Issue 3 81 February, 2021
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Image 2: An example of Mind Map
Current Scenario of School Education in Tamil Nadu
In the state Government schools, The ABL and the ALM methodologies were introduced by
Tamil Nadu Government in response to poor learning levels amongst children and
uninteresting classroom processes. These methodologies were used for motivating the
learners to enjoy learning by involving themselves. In 2007, all schools run by the Tamil
Nadu state government (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan), local bodies, welfare boards, and
government aided schools were directed to implement Activity Based Learning (ABL) in
classes from III to IV. As a learning trigger in the primary education scenario of Tamil Nadu,
ABL is considered as a child-centric teaching-learning methodology. In this method, the
children learn using ‘flash cards’ (also called as ‘activity cards’) through various games,
activities, and exercises independently (R. Akila, 2009). Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’s
independent Joint Review Missions have acclaimed ABL a holistic approach to enhance the
quality of education at the primary level. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has
also acclaimed ABL for innovative and quality improvement in recognition of its successful
spread and reach.
The Active Learning Methodology (ALM) is implemented in the Upper Primary level in the
classes from VI to VIII. Mr. Vijayakumar, State Project Director of the Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan in Tamil Nadu visited schools in 2007 and reported on the mandatory elements of
ALM - underlining key words and finding the meanings of unfamiliar words, raising
questions, drawing mind maps, summarizing, discussion and writing. According to N.
Ammayappan, District Elementary Education Officer, “The regular class textbooks are taught
using a different methodology that students prepare a mind map which identifies their
difficulties and they ask the class teacher for help” The basic skills that the student needs to
use are browsing, reading, questioning, drawing a mind map of the key perspectives,
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identifying key ideas, summarizing in various ways the key facts, participating in discussions,
making presentations, self-assessment and writing. A key feature of an ALM class is to
encourage each student to prepare a 'mind map' of a particular concept or theme. Realizing
the value of mind mapping, Scholar's League, an organisation involved in human resources
development launched mind mapping programme on ‘flash learning and mind mapping' for
adults to develop learning skills (The Hindu, 2007). Mind mapping as a good learning and
teaching tool, could be extended to higher secondary level to enhance reading skills of
higher-level learners.
Rationale of the Study
The main aim of the present study is to examine the effects of mind mapping techniques on
the reading skills of the higher secondary learners who are not accustomed to the mind maps.
This study is based on the assumptions that mind map can be used as a learning tool to
enhance reading skills and also on the arguments put forward by previous researchers that
those who were taught mind mapping techniques demonstrated improved understanding of
texts and also general reading ability as measured by a standardized reading test (Geva,
1983). Many studies have been conducted on reading comprehension in urban areas, but there
is little focus on the rural context. Several researchers have identified and characterized
problems in reading comprehension - that learners are likely to have gaps in knowledge and
an impoverished understanding of relationships among facts and are unlikely to make the
inferences required to weave the text into a coherent whole (Bransford et al, 1982). Learners
tend to use a listing rather than a structure strategy because they perceive all content as
equally important (Meyer et al, 1984).
Second language reading has been recognized as an essential skill and people need to read
and comprehend to live in this present world. The World Bank report on ALM, discusses that
the upper primary students may also need more guidance in developing the ‘mind maps’. The
team observed that in many cases, the students’ mind maps did not adequately reflect the
deconstruction process and inter‐connections among sub‐concepts. The classroom practice in
the present situation is mostly dominated by the product approach, yet the Tamil Nadu
Government has implemented Active Learning Methodology at 6th to 8th grades. However, in
many cases, students are not encouraged and allowed to use their experience and knowledge
which could be related to what is there in the text. It was observed in the current context, that
teachers and learners still believe that there is meaning in the text alone and that they are
expected to understand it. This could result in the habit of reading is a very difficult process
and students might become uninterested in reading. In most cases, second language
classrooms and teachers are the main sources for the learners to get exposure in English.
Most of the existing reading processes fail to incorporate the components of study skills such
as mind mapping in supporting reading skills of the learners. Learners should be allowed to
read and comprehend the text by using interesting study skills such as making notes using
mind mapping.
Literature of Review
Researchers are enthusiastic about the potential of graphic organizers as a relatively simple
method of collecting information from material and promoting reading comprehension and
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retention of content (Hawk, McLeod, and Jonassen, 1985, Moore and Readence, 1983).
Maestas and Croll (1985) carried out a study on the ‘effects of training in story mapping
procedures on the reading comprehension of poor readers’. It was found that there was an
increase in the students’ ability to answer comprehension questions and increased tendency to
maintain story mapping component in their story recall. Some researchers examining the
effectiveness of having students graphically depict the relationships among major concepts in
text (concept mapping) have found benefits that carry over to related language activities.
Students who used concept mapping as a pre-writing exercise were able to write longer,
higher quality essays (Ruddell and Boyle, 1984).
A study on ‘Using Mind Mapping Technique to Improve Reading Comprehension Ability of
Thai EFL University Students’ describes an investigation into the use of mind mapping
technique, whether it can improve reading comprehension ability, and students’ opinions
towards the use of mind mapping technique. The results suggested that the English reading
comprehension post-test mean score of students was higher than the pre-test mean score at
the 0.05 level of significance; most students were satisfied with their own reading
comprehension ability; they enjoyed working in group and agreed that mind mapping
technique was a useful technique and can be applied to non- English subjects (Siriphanich
and Laohawiriyanon, 2010).
A study on the ‘use of mind mapping techniques to improve the poor readers’ reading ability
at Rajabhat University’ (Songkhla, 2010) is an effort made to investigate the students’
attitude towards the use of mind mapping techniques to enhance their reading ability. The
results from the study shows that, after teaching mind mapping techniques, the majority of
the students improved their reading ability and their post-test mean score was 12.15
compared to the pre-test mean score which was 11.17. The post-test mean score was higher
than pre-test mean score at the 0.05 level of significance. However, the fact that only 60% of
the students in this study could improve their reading comprehension ability and 22.8% did
not improve made it interesting to unfold why it was the case. It can be argued that due to
their poor reading ability, it was rather difficult for them to deal with the reading at a higher
level such as summarizing reading passages. The students’ inadequacy in many areas such as
vocabularies, grammatical knowledge, finding main ideas can all cause problems.
From the studies reviewed, it becomes quite evident that mind maps have improved reading
skills of the learners very effectively. Different mapping and active methods of teaching
reading comprehension have been tried out by various experiments and proved to make
reading comprehension more effective. So, an attempt has been made in this study to find out
the effectiveness of mind maps on reading skills of the higher secondary learners in the
Indian context, specifically in a school in Tamil Nadu. The findings of this research will go a
long way in helping teachers and learners to use mind map as a teaching and learning tool in
our context.
Research Methodology
The aim of the present study is to examine whether the use of mind mapping techniques can
improve reading comprehension abilities of higher secondary learners. Specifically, this
research sets out to explore and assess the effects of mind mapping techniques on reading
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skills of Higher Secondary Learners, and more specifically, if use of mind maps can help
learners to get more ideas and facts from the text and comprehend it better; help learners
synthesize and graphically map relationships among key concepts; help learners easily to
connect ideas and make association; and makes learner arrange text contents conceptually in
nodes and link related ideas.
The Research Design
The study is single-group experimental in nature in which a pre-test and post-test are given to
a group to measure the effects of mind mapping techniques on reading skills of higher
secondary learners. The tools that were used for the study are the following: Classroom
Observation by the researcher, Learners’ Information Questionnaire, Mind map
Questionnaire, Teachers’ Questionnaire, Informal Interview with teachers, and Pre-test and
post-test.
All the subjects for the present study were selected from Government ADW (Aadi Dravider
Welfare) Higher Secondary School, Semakkottai at Panruti in Cuddalore district of Tamil
Nadu. For the purpose of this study, the researcher selected twenty-two subjects of Computer
Science from Higher Secondary learners. The main reason for selecting this group was that
they had been reading and learning all subjects taught in the regional language (Tamil)
including Computer Science. However, this researcher felt that the knowledge of English
language is very essential not only for advanced and better use of computers but also to study
computer programmes in detail and also to keep abreast with current advances in computer
technology. Many of the teachers also agreed that the learners must learn English language to
advance their studies in the field of computer science. Lack of English also hinders the
students from qualifying the competitive exams which are mainly conducted in English. This
could be one of the reasons that many students dropped out after higher secondary level.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
The collected data were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively, the mean and standard
deviation scores on the pre- and post- tests were calculated to identify the difference in the
performance of the learners on reading comprehension. For the purpose analysing the
significant difference at .05 level, t- test (paired sample) was utilized to determine significant
differences between the pre- and post- tests. The results indicate that pre-test mean is 43.86
whereas post-test mean is 60.45 that shows very clearly that the post-test mean is higher than
pre-test mean.
This could be taken as an indication that after learning the use of mind maps, the learners
were able to comprehend the text better. Mind map techniques seemed to have helped the
learners to improve their reading skills. This is an important evidence for this study evidently;
mind maps seemed to enhance reading comprehension skill of ESL learners at the Higher
Secondary level.
The results of the study reveal that students’ reading comprehension improved after learning
mind mapping techniques. The result from t -test is 2.266, higher than the t-value at the 0.05
level of significance. In the other words, the reading comprehension of the subjects in English
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IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61
showed a significant improvement. This shows that teaching mind map techniques helps to
enhance reading comprehension of the learners. A two-tailed paired samples t-test revealed
that mind map had more effect in developing reading comprehension (M2=60.42,
SD2=24.78) compared to the usual reading practices of the learners (M1= 43.86,
SD1=15.42), t-test value is 2.266 higher than the t-value at the .05 level. Statistical evidence
clearly shows that learner performance was better in the post-test after the intervention using
mind map techniques that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test
performance of the learners. To conclude, mind mapping techniques are useful tools to help
learners to get more facts and ideas from the text. They also give freedom to synthesize and
graphically map the relationships among key ideas and concepts collected from the text.
Findings
The results of the study revealed that learning to use mind maps resulted in a significant
difference in interest levels and improved reading skills of higher secondary learners.
Interestingly, the learners found mind maps more useful than the conventional classes that
aimed to provide reading practice in their school. In the conventional classroom practice,
students were not exposed to interactive activities for the development of their reading skills
and they were not encouraged to go beyond the text. The findings of this study indicate that
the use of mind map contributed to the facilitation of the learner’s reading abilities more than
the conventional reading classroom environment.
In a nutshell, the present study yielded the following findings:
• Students could locate the main ideas and supporting ideas from the text.
• Students grew more confident in reading after using mind maps.
• Students demonstrated more active participation in the class and a high interest in
mind maps.
• Students, on their own, tried to use mind maps while learning other subjects as well.
In fact, some other teachers were requested to use mind maps in their lessons too.
• Learners were able to relate text information with information given in the text.
• Learners realized its potential in improving comprehension and started requesting use
of mind maps in their examinations.
Organization and presentation of ideas in the mind map at first was a huge hurdle for the
learners. Problems particularly in executing the sub-skills of reading for information, such as
locating main ideas, establishing the relations between key ideas, etc. also led to problems in
creating mind maps. Before the learners in the current study were not aware of the process of
mind mapping while reading for recording text ideas and concepts. They were therefore
taught and demonstrated how to make mind maps and also informed how it could be helpful
in understanding the information presented in the text. After creating many mind maps based
on the texts provided to the learners, the researcher then asked the learners to make mind
maps in their subjects of interest. Some chose computer science, while others chose biology.
Using mind maps for other subjects made the learners more interested in mind maps and they
quickly learned the basics of the mind mapping techniques in fifteen days. The learners were
encouraged to use mind maps a great deal. This practice enabled the learners to be more
familiar with mind maps and motivated them to record ideas they got through reading. The
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ISSN 2349-5189
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61
results of the study suggest that learning the use of mind maps helped learners in developing
reading skills. The effective use of mind maps also gave learners confidence in reading
English texts.
Motivation plays a very important role in any successful learning, so learners should be
motivated to read in English. If the teacher is able to make the learners see how helpful
certain techniques are in developing one’s language skills, learners would be psychologically
motivated to learn as was the case with the subjects of this study. Students were
psychologically motivated since they were made aware of the effect of mind mapping on
improving reading comprehension. Learners were encouraged by the researcher to create
their own mind maps of any text chosen by them and suited to their learning styles.
Conclusion
The present study leads to the conclusion that the mind mapping techniques could make a
significant improvement in reading skills of higher secondary learners in English. Findings
also show that using mind maps increased leaners interest levels in reading and helped them
take a step towards reading and comprehending on their own. The primary aim of any reading
programme should be for the students to experience reading as pleasurable and useful, so that
the learners may develop an eagerness to acquire newer skills and thus fine-tune their skills
of reading. Mind maps thus seem to be a technique that could help learners become better
readers.
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IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61
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