The impact of concept map strategy on third intermediate school student’s mathematical achievement

Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of the concept mapping strategy on mathematics achievement among 3rd grade secondary students. a quasi-experimental design with two equivalent groups was adopted. The sample consisted of 3rd grade secondary students from Al-Bayraq Secondary School in Salah al-Din, selected purposefully, with 32 students in the experimental group and 33 students in the control group. To assess the impact of the strategy on students' mathematics achievement, a pre-test was administered to both groups in the second semester of the mathematics curriculum after ensuring the psychometric properties and validation of the test. The statistical analysis of the students' pre-test scores revealed no significant differences between the two groups. Subsequently, concept maps for mathematics lessons were prepared, along with the necessary requirements for the research, and the experiment was applied on the experimental group. Afterward, the post-test was administered to both groups. Using the statistical methods through the SPSS software package, the results indicated significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group, which was taught using the concept mapping strategy, and the control group, which was taught using traditional methods, in favor of the experimental group. Additionally, the study found significant differences in the mean scores of the experimental group, attributed to gender, with male students performing better. The research recommended holding workshops for mathematics teachers to train them in preparing and designing effective concept maps.