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Designing a Mind-Mapping-Assisted Comparative Literature Course in Chinese Academic Settings

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Diagrammatic Representation and Inference (Diagrams 2024)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 14981))

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Abstract

Comparative Literature, a course for junior English majors in China, demands advanced cognitive skills and critical thinking to navigate diverse literary works. However, English majors in China traditionally receive intensive foundational language training in the first two years, which often hinders their seamless transition to the analytical, synthesizing, and evaluative skills required in the latter stages of their studies. Therefore, within the Chinese academic context, we design a literature-oriented Comparative Literature Course for English majors assisted by mind mapping tools. Commencing with an orientation on course objectives and the integration of mind mapping for literature review assistance, the 16-week course entails students attending 8-week theoretical lectures and delivering 8-week group presentations. The posted comments and interviews after the implementation of the course indicate that mind mapping acts as a scaffold for the enhancement of higher-order cognitive abilities and logical reasoning among junior students. Besides, the visualization feature of mind maps facilitates students’ collaborative learning and interactive communication. Additionally, the paper addresses challenges that may arise in the application of this approach and offering insightful suggestions for its potential implementation in other related courses.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Fujian Social Sciences Fund (grant number FJ2022C013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fuzhou University, 2 North Wulongjiang Road, Minhou University Town, Fuzhou, 350108, China

    Binfeng Chen, Jing Zhao & Lin He

  2. Fuzhou University Zhicheng College, 50 West Yangqiao Road, Gulou District, Fuzhou, 350002, China

    Binfeng Chen & Jing Zhao

Authors
  1. Binfeng Chen
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  2. Jing Zhao
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  3. Lin He
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jing Zhao .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Jens Lemanski

  2. University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Mikkel Willum Johansen

  3. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Emmanuel Manalo

  4. Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brazil

    Petrucio Viana

  5. University of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Reetu Bhattacharjee

  6. West Chester University of Pennsylvania, West Chester, PA, USA

    Richard Burns

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Chen, B., Zhao, J., He, L. (2024). Designing a Mind-Mapping-Assisted Comparative Literature Course in Chinese Academic Settings. In: Lemanski, J., Johansen, M.W., Manalo, E., Viana, P., Bhattacharjee, R., Burns, R. (eds) Diagrammatic Representation and Inference. Diagrams 2024. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 14981. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71291-3_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-71291-3_28

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-71290-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-71291-3

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