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The effect of mind mapping on listening comprehension and vocabulary in

early childhood education

Conference Paper · August 2017

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Monica Koster Femke van der Wilt

Utrecht University Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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Claudia van Kruistum Chiel Van der Veen

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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The effect of mind mapping on listening comprehension and vocabulary in early
childhood education

Monica Koster, Femke van der Wilt, Claudia van Kruistum & Chiel van der Veen
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Abstract (100-250 words)

In a quasi-experimental study with a pre-posttest design we examined the effect of a mind mapping
intervention on listening comprehension and vocabulary of preschoolers (aged 4-6) in the Netherlands. Two
classes (n=39) participated in the study. In the intervention condition (n=17) the teacher applied repeated
interactive book reading, accompanied with co-constructing a visual representation of the story in the form of
a mind map. In the comparison condition (n=22) interactive joint book reading was applied. Results showed
significant positive effects of mind mapping on both vocabulary F(1,36) = 18.70, p < .001 and listening
comprehension F(1,36) = 5.88, p = .02, compared to the comparison condition. Hence, mind mapping seems a
promising approach to improve preschoolers’ listening comprehension and vocabulary. This is an important
finding, as listening comprehension and vocabulary are essential for the development of future reading skills
and reading comprehension. Furthermore, adequate language skills are a necessity to be able to participate
fully in today’s society.

Extended summary (600-1000 words)

The aim of the current study was to investigate if listening comprehension and vocabulary acquisition of Dutch
kindergarteners could be improved through a mind mapping intervention. Previous research has shown that
visual aids like mind maps and other graphic organizers are effective in supporting students to get a better
grasp of the content, structure and concepts of a text (Birbili, 2006; Darch & Eaves, 1986). Graphic organizers
offer students a framework to relate new knowledge to existing knowledge, which supports the processing of
new information (Carney & Levin, 2002; Vekiri, 2002). Hattie (2008) showed that jointly constructing a concept
map aids students’ reading comprehension. However, the effect of graphic organizers on preschoolers’ story
comprehension and information processing has not yet been investigated.
In our study we used a pre-posttest design, comparing two conditions: a comparison condition (n =
22) in which the teacher applied repeated interactive book reading; and an intervention condition (n = 17) in
which the teacher applied repeated interactive book reading, accompanied with constructing a visual
representation of the story in the form of a mind map. The mind map is constructed during three consecutive
sessions on the basis of three central questions: 1) who are the characters in the story, 2) where do the events
take place, 3) what are the problems and solutions in the story. The answers to these questions represent a
‘branch’ in the mind map. Participants were teachers and children (aged 4-6) from two preschool classes from
different schools.
Children’s vocabulary and listening comprehension were measured before and after the intervention.
Vocabulary was measured using the Thematic Vocabulary Assessment Test (TVAT) (Adan-Dirks, 2012). The
TVAT measures children’s productive and receptive knowledge of 25 words (nouns/verbs/function words)
related to the theme of the book. Children’s listening comprehension was measured using ten items from a
standardized test for language assessment in preschool (Cito Taal voor Kleuters [Cito Language for
Preschoolers], 2012). The test leader reads out loud a short story after which the child has to choose from four
pictures the picture that best represents the story.
The findings of the study show that mind mapping significantly improved both vocabulary F(1,36) =
18.70, p < .001 and listening comprehension F(1,36) = 5.88, p = .02, compared to the interactive book reading
comparison condition. Hence, it seems that even very young students benefit from the use of graphical
organizers when processing new information. This is an important finding, as listening comprehension and
vocabulary are essential for the development of future reading skills and reading comprehension. For the
development of listening comprehension and vocabulary it is of vital importance that these skills are
systematically taught, in a structured way (Justice, Mashburn, Hamre, & Pianta, 2008). However, little research
has been done to identify effective didactical approaches (Bonset & Hoogeveen, 2011). This is a major cause
 for concern, as a large national assessment showed that, in the Netherlands, at the end of elementary school,
students’ performance on listening comprehension is below the desired level (Van Berkel, Van der Schoot,
Engelen, & Maris, 2002). As adequate language skills are essential for participation in today’s society (Menting,
van Lier, & Koot, 2011), it is important that these children are supported to develop these skills through
didactical approaches that have proven to be effective. This study shows that the use of mind maps to improve
kindergarteners’ listening comprehension and vocabulary is promising. However, more and larger replication
studies are needed to draw any firm conclusions.

References:

Birbili, M. (2006). Mapping knowledge: Concept maps in early childhood education. Early childhood research
and practice, 8(2).

Bonset, H., & Hoogeveen, M. (2011). Mondelinge taalvaardigheid in het basisonderwijs. Een inventarisatie van
empirisch onderzoek [Oral language skills in primary education schools. A review of empirical research] SLO,
Enschede, the Netherlands.

Carney, R. N., & Levin, J. R. (2002). Pictorial illustrations still improve students' learning from text. Educational
psychology review, 14(1), 5-26.

Darch, C., & Eaves, R. C. (1986). Visual displays to increase comprehension of high school learning-disabled
students. The Journal of Special Education, 20(3), 309-318.

Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.

Justice, L. M., Mashburn, A. J., Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2008). Quality of language and literacy instruction
in preschool classrooms serving at-risk pupils. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23(1), 51-68.

Menting, B., Van Lier, P. A., & Koot, H. M. (2011). Language skills, peer rejection, and the development of
externalizing behavior from kindergarten to fourth grade. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(1), 72-
79.

Van Berkel, S. V., van der Schoot, F., Engelen, R., & Maris, G. (2002). Balans van het taalonderwijs halverwege
de basisschool 3. Uitkomsten van de derde peiling in 1999. [Present state of language competency halfway in
elementary education 3. Results of the third assessment in 1999]. Arnhem: Cito.

Vekiri, I. (2002). What is the value of graphical displays in learning?. Educational Psychology Review, 14(3),
261-312.

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