- About
- Events
- Support
- Project Archive
- Amundsen Fellowship Program
- Disrupting Colonialism through Teaching Program
- Exploring Well-being in Learning Environments Program
- Inquiring into Your Multilingual Classroom Projects
- New Ways of Teaching, New Ways of Learning
- Teaching and Learning Development Grant Program
- Scholarship of Teaching + Learning Projects
- Programs
- SoTL 101: Introduction to SoTL and Teaching + Learning Inquiry
- SoTL 102: Formulating an Inquiry Project
- SoTL Thoughts
- Coffee + Conversation
- Tools for Inquiry: Conducting Inquiry Using CES
- Amundsen Fellowship Program
- Decolonial Teaching + Learning Seminar Series
- Decolonizing and Indigenizing Curricula
- Disrupting Colonialism through Teaching Program
- Exploring Well-being in Learning Environments: An Integrated Seminar Series + Grants Program
- Inquiring into Your Multilingual Classroom: An Integrated Seminar Series + Grants Program
- New Ways of Teaching, New Ways of Learning: Supporting Learning in Online Environments
- Teaching and Learning Development Grant Program
- Conferences
- 2026 Global Students as Partners Roundtable [October 01-02, 2026]
- Cfp: 2027 B.C. Open Education Summit [Deadline: October 18, 2026]
- 2026 SoTL Symposium Conference [October 22-24, 2026]
- Digital Learning Forum [Deadline: October 27, 2026]
- 2026 ISSOTL Conference [October 28-31, 2026]
- 2026 STLHE Virtual Conference [November 13, 2026]
- Call for chapters - Making up time: Towards a pedagogy of living and resisting the economization of time [Deadline: November 30, 2026]
- For Research Personnel
- News + Stories
From Map to Essay: Designing and evaluating DMap features that scaffold linear structuring of argumentative writing
TILT Program: Teaching and Learning Development Grant (TLDG)
Principal Investigator: John Nesbit, professor, Faculty of Education
Project Team: Joan Sharp, professor emeritus, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science; Qing Liu, research assistant
Timeframe: April 2020 - April 2025
TILT Support: $5,000
Courses addressed:
- BISC 102 - General Biology
- BISC 300 - Evolution
- EDUC 220 - Intro to Educational Psychology
- CMPT 320 - Social Implications
- CMPT 115 - Exploring Computer Science
- CMPT 376 - Technical Writing and Group Dynamics
- CMPT 105 - Social Issues and Communication Strategies
Final report: View John Nesbit's final report (PDF)
Description:
The Dialectical Map (DMap) is an open-source Learning Technology Interoperability (LTI) tool designed to support the teaching and learning of argumentation by visually representing argument structure and scaffolding the planning and writing of argumentative essays.This project aimed to examine the pedagogical value of adding two new additional features to the DMap tool and examining their impact on student learning. The first, the DMap-to-Text feature, would enable students to export content developed in DMap to a .txt or .docx file in an outline format. The second involved adding References and Definitions boxes for students to enter and manage sources cited in the argument map and allows students to define key terms used in their DMap.
After prototyping several output formats, the research team found that the DMap-to-Text feature did not improve student learning. None of the formats tested clearly represented relationships among argument components, and automated conversion reduced opportunities for students to make deliberate decisions in their writing. As a result, this feature was not implemented.
In contrast, adding the References and Definitions boxes was recognized as valuable by instructors after several semesters of implementation.
Additional findings further emphasized the importance of information literacy instruction, as well as the benefits of using DMap as a pre-writing tool to reduce cognitive load associated with complex writing tasks. Finally, this project suggests future enhancements to the DMap tool, including support for real-time collaboration and in-class use of DMapping.
Questions addressed:
- What features are essential for scaffolding linear structuring of argumentative writing?
- What are students’ conscious perceptions of the effectiveness of the new DMap features in facilitating argumentative writing?
- How effectively do the designed features facilitate transformation of a DMap into an argument essay?
- What are users’ perceptions of how to further enhance the visual features and functionality of the DMap tool?
Knowledge sharing: The findings presented in the final report have been highlighted at multiple presentations at postsecondary institutions (e.g., SFU, BCIT) and at SoTL-focused conferences (e.g., CEEA, WCCCE). Several journal articles have also been published based on the findings of this project. In conjunction with our broader research on DMapping, these findings will continue to support future presentations and scholarly publications.
Keywords: Dialectical Map (DMap), DMapping, visual learning tool, student experience, educational technology, student learning, student engagement, undergraduate education, writing skills