Effect of Self-Constructed Concept Map with Peer Feedback on Chemistry Learning Outcome

Concept mapping remains widely used in education. However, little is known about how self-constructed concept maps and peer feedback can improve student learning outcomes in chemistry. We investigated the effects of peer feedback on concept mapping and how it improves students' learning performance in a large second-semester, introductory chemistry course. Three hundred and twenty students were randomly assigned to one of two concept mapping conditions: self-constructed concept map with peer feedback and self-constructed concept map without peer feedback. Each group constructed concept maps that depicted the relationship between concepts on the topic of intermolecular force. The results showed that students in the self-constructed concept map with peer feedback condition outperformed students in the no peer feedback condition in chemistry learning outcome. Overall, this study demonstrates that peer feedback enhances the effectiveness of learning with generative concept maps. The implications and future directions are discussed.