Conceptual mapping as a treatment for developing diagnostic and problem-solving skills¶

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (1 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Drawing on Novak's conceptual mapping (based on Ausubel, Piaget, and Vygotsky) and on systems thinking, the article frames forcing in-depth analysis of technical problems through map construction as a way to develop diagnostic skill. The premise tested was that mapping the student's intentions during diagnosis would increase accuracy relative to expert process maps and make students 'more agile in their thinking regarding ill-defined problems.' Concept mapping is described as a graphical representation where nodes represent concepts and links represent relationships, integral to systems thinking.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

Practice with ill-defined problems within a supportive and instructional environment, and knowledge of how to process information, form and test hypotheses, and make choices based on data

Constraints¶

The experimental data did not support the conclusion that the treatment caused an increase in diagnostic performance; qualitative analysis found the majority of students treated the experience as a trivial academic exercise, seriously limiting their efforts

Target Learners¶

undergraduate engineering and technology students (novice troubleshooters)

Learning Goals¶

diagnostic inference and root cause analysis
systems thinking about technical problems
metacognitive reasoning skills

Claims¶

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

Foster, W. T., Shahhosseini, A. M., & Maughan, G. (2016). Advancing Diagnostic Skills for Technology and Engineering Undergraduates: A Summary of the Validation Data. Journal of Technology Education, 28(1). https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v28n1/

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`design`
`id`	`conceptual-mapping-diagnostic-skills-framework`
`title`	`Conceptual mapping as a treatment for developing diagnostic and problem-solving skills`
`description`	`Drawing on Novak's conceptual mapping (based on Ausubel, Piaget, and Vygotsky) and on systems thinking, the article frames forcing in-depth analysis of technical problems through map construction as a way to develop d...`
`status`	`review`
`generated`	by `process:settle-candidates` on `2026-11-02`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `foster-2016`

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