Concept-mapping to facilitate critical thinking in nursing education: A review of literature

Nursing students are exposed to a vast amount of information and reading material that is very specific, technical, and new to the students. Unless nurse educators provide a learning environment that promotes understanding through interaction, students might only commit unassimilated information to their short-term memory through rote learning, and no meaningful learning will occur. Nursing students must be able to link learned facts, concepts and principles with new knowledge in order to make sound rational decisions in practice (All & Havens 1997:1210, 1213).