Mapping the problem-solving process

We present a pedagogy based on link-node maps, which are a form of visual representation where nodes denote concepts and links represent connections between concepts. Examples of link-node maps, which have been heavily used in recent years to increase learning and retention, are concept maps and knowledge maps. The use of maps has been shown to be a robust way of increasing knowledge retention in a variety of disciplines. The work in this study focuses on a link-node map that organizes the solution to problems by representing the connections between different subproblems, thereby promoting thinking about relationships between different parts of a problem and making it easy to identify missing parts of a solution. We implemented this pedagogy in a junior-level mathematical physics course. Results suggest that quizzes based on this pedagogy are a better indicator of a student’s problem-solving ability than free-response questions.