Use of mind maps in dental education: An activity performed in a preclinical endodontic course

Purpose/objectives (1) to assess the ability of dental students to use mind maps to express the relationships of endodontic theory and technique; (2) to explore features illustrated from the highest- and lowest-graded mind maps; and (3) to evaluate improvements in successive mind maps from the same student. Methods A total of 31 second-year students were asked to configure a mind map on root canal cleaning-shaping and then 18 weeks later develop a second mind map on root canal obturation. Faculty visually analyzed the mind maps using a qualitative approach: a multilayered process of thematic analysis. Codes and themes were generated to investigate if students were able to express appropriate and evidence-based ideas on the topics (accuracy of relationships and depth of information presented). Two of the highest- and 2 of the lowest-graded mind maps for each activity were directly compared. Improvement by the same student from the first to second mind map was also evaluated based on trend/style and creativity. Results The majority of the students accurately expressed the scientific basis for root canal cleaning-shaping and obturation. The highest-graded mind maps displayed the biomedical and humanistic conceptions of critical thinking. In comparing the second mind map to the first, nearly 50% of the students incorporated more detail and artistic expression in the second map. Conclusions using mind maps in dental education can benefit students with different learning styles and help the instructor to identify the level of conceptualization that the student had developed about a topic.