Abstract—Critical Thinking (CT) is essential for the Physician Assistant (PA) as they seek to provide patient-centered treatment. Mind Mapping (MM) is an innovative learning strategy used to enhance critical thinking skills. This paper describes the effectiveness of mind mapping as a learning strategy and the different aspects of promoting critical thinking in PA students. PA students who made mind maps for nine weeks indicated that mind mapping assisted in memory, analysis, understanding, organization, and integration of information. All of which are essential for CT.PA students emphasized the vital role faculty play in promoting CT by employing active and innovative learning strategies to facilitate learning and reinforce ideas. PA students reported that active learning strategies contribute to the development of CT skills, and they are interested in learning new strategies primarily to improve learning, performance, and retention of knowledge. Together these findings suggest that PA educators can optimize Learning that fosters CT using strategies like mind mapping.

 

Index Terms—critical thinking, mind mapping, learning strategy, physician assistants

Cite: Cynthia Israel, Genevieve Pinto Zipp, Michelle Lee D’ Abundo, and Deborah Deluca, "Qualitative Analysis of the Use of Mind Mapping in Physician Assistant Students," International Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 73-81, June 2021. doi: 10.18178/ijlt.7.2.73-81