The Use of Mind Maps by Gifted Students in Learning History

This study surveyed gifted students’ attitudes towards the use of mind maps in learning history in a school context. Two main areas investigated including the importance of mind maps for learning history from the students’ perspectives and to what extent the mind maps are used by them. This study was completed in two stages. In the first stage, a set of questionnaires was distributed to 30 students in a Malaysian smart school. In the second stage, five students were individually interviewed. Later, individual interviews carried out to five students in understanding the use of mind maps in learning history. Quantitative data was analyzed by focusing on descriptive statistics, whereas narrative data was analyzed manually by two coders. Results demonstrated that the students had a positive attitude towards the importance of mind maps in learning history, but not students use it. Some students reported that is difficult to understand the mind maps, particularly the mind maps that are created by others. This indicates that the effectiveness of mind maps in learning history is dependent on individual creativity. Implications for teaching History subject is also discussed in this article.