Mind Mapping: Impact on Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills (Mind mapping)

Visualizing Thought Through Mind Mapping: A Randomized Controlled Trial on Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills Among Nursing Students

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the mind mapping method in enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills among nursing students. The study will be conducted with 65 nursing students enrolled in a "Critical Thinking in Nursing" course at Gazi University during the 2025-2026 academic year. Participants will be assigned to experimental and control groups using stratified randomization based on pre-test scores from the "Marmara Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale" and the "Problem-Solving Inventory."

The five-week intervention focuses on five clinical case studies: infection control, medication administration, patient safety, ethical issues, and systematic approaches. While both groups receive the same theoretical content, they follow different practical methodologies:

The Control Group will engage in standard case analysis methods. The Experimental Group will work in small teams (4-5 students) to create and present visual mind maps for each case study, using either traditional or digital tools.

Following the intervention, both groups will complete post-tests to assess changes in their critical thinking and problem-solving competencies.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Nursing Students; Critical Thinking; Mind Mapping
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Mind mapping

Detailed Description

Mind maps consist of a network of interconnected concepts designed to uncover creative connections between ideas. As two-dimensional visual learning tools, they bridge a student's prior knowledge with newly acquired information. This note-taking technique emphasizes creativity and visual representation and has increasingly transitioned into computer-based environments with technological advancements.

This study employs a randomized controlled experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of mind mapping in enhancing nursing students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. A power analysis was performed using the G*Power Version 3.1.9.7 program based on the 80 students enrolled in the course during the 2025-2026 academic year to determine the sample size. In a similar study in the literature the mean and standard deviation data for the pre-test (94.52 ± 24.11) and post-test (84.26 ± 19.95) for the experimental group, the effect size was determined to be 0.4559608. Based on a 5% margin of error and 95% power parameters, the t-test for dependent groups determined the minimum sample size to be n=54. Taking into account potential data losses that may occur during the study process, a 20% margin was added to the sample group, and the study was planned to begin with a total of 65 participants.

Data will be gathered using a "Demographic Information Form," the "Marmara Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale," and the "Problem-Solving Inventory." Researchers developed five distinct case studies covering infection control, medication administration, patient safety/medical errors, ethical issues, and systematic approaches. Each case includes specific questions regarding fundamental nursing roles and risk areas.

All students will complete the demographic form and pre-tests. Eligible volunteers will then be randomized into experimental and control groups, stratified by their average pre-test scores.The intervention will span five weeks during the scheduled "Critical Thinking in Nursing" course. Following a 40-50 minute theoretical lecture, the groups will move to separate classrooms:

Control Group: Students will continue with the standard curriculum, analyzing the cases using traditional methods under the instructor's guidance.

Experimental Group: Students will be divided into small groups (4-5 members) to create visual mind maps for each weekly topic. They will have 20-30 minutes to develop their maps-using either paper and pen or web-based tools-followed by group presentations and discussions.

After five weeks, post-tests will be administered to all participants. Data will be analyzed using SPSS version 23, with a significance level set at p < 0.05.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 65
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Evrim EYİKARA SARITAŞ; Phone Number: +905435061405; Email: evrimeyikara@gmail.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Students who are enrolling in the Critical Thinking in Nursing course for the first time and
• who volunteer to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Students who have previously taken the critical thinking course
• The student's refusal to continue participating in the study or failure to complete the data collection forms.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: control group; They will conduct the course using traditional methods over a five-week period.
Experimental: mind mapping; They will create mind maps on five different topics. The primary intervention is mind mapping; no additional medical drugs or devices are used in this study.	Other: Mind mapping; They will create mind maps on five different topics.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Marmara Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale	The Marmara Critical Thinking Tendencies Scale, consists of 28 items and 6 subscales. The scale uses a 5-point Likert scale, with responses ranging from 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = usually, to 5 = always. The scale's subscales include: reasoning (items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), reaching a judgment (items 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), seeking evidence (items 13, 14, 15, 16), truth-seeking (items 17, 18, 19, 20), open-mindedness (items 21, 22, 23, 24), and systematicity (items 25, 26, 27, 28). Scores range from a minimum of 28 to a maximum of 140. A high score on any of the scale's subscales indicates that the individual possesses the trait associated with that subscale, and a total score for critical thinking tendencies can be obtained from the scale. The scale's Cronbach's Alpha value is 0.91.	one week and five weeks after the intervention
Problem-Solving Inventory	The Problem-Solving Inventory was developed to measure not only how individuals perceive their own ability to solve problems but also the dimensions of problem-solving methods. In the scoring of the scale, items are rated on a scale from 1 to 6, ranging from "I always behave this way" to "I never behave this way." The lowest possible score on the scale is 32, and the highest is 192. A low score indicates high problem-solving ability, while a high score indicates weak problem-solving ability. The scale is a six-point Likert-type scale consisting of 35 items. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient for the original scale was .90, while the reliability coefficient found in the Turkish adaptation study was .88.	one week and five weeks after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Gazi University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): April 22, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 29, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 29, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 17, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 17, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): April 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 29, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 23, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: E.1500206

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No