Survey the effect of drawing and implementing of concept map in a group method with a computer on the divergent thinking of nursing students

Introduction: Concept map is one of the effective methods in the evolution of medical education, which leads to the development of learning problem solving, group skills and creativity. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of drawing and implementing of concept map in a group method with a computer on the divergent thinking of nursing students. Materials and methods: The present study was experimental and population enter to study in consensus method. 102 nursing students participated in this study. Using the random allocation method, 51 people were in the intervention group and 51 people were in the comparison group. The intervention plan of drawing and presenting a concept map was done in a group method using Mind Mapper software during 7 sessions that each session was 90 minutes. Peter Hani's questionnaire was used to measure students' divergent thinking. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22 software. Findings: The mean and standard deviation of divergent thinking scores of students in the intervention group were 5.68 ± 1.22, 8.23 ± 1.35 and 8.70 ± 1.18 before, after and one month after the intervention. The mean and standard deviation of divergent thinking scores of students in the control group were 3.41 ± 0.66, 3.41 ± 0.66 and 3.33 ± 0.62 before, after, and one month after the intervention, and there was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of divergent thinking. (P<0.001). Conclusion: The average of divergent thinking score of the students in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group, which shows the positive effect of drawing and implementing a concept map in a group method with the computer, so it is suggested to use this student-centered method in the teaching and learning process in higher education program.