Mind mapping software to aid academic writing: Pre-service English language teachers using i‑Think maps

Tay San Yee and Phang Biao Li
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia

Academic writing is a key determinant to be successful in higher education institutions, and graduation requirements often involve students producing theses and dissertations using academic writing skills after conducting research. The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected pre-service teachers' learning in higher education institutions, and with the continued existence of problems in both writing and academic writing, this research investigates mind mapping software to aid pre-service teachers in writing academically. It aims to determine whether i-Think maps through software help pre-service teachers to perform academic writing, and explores their perceptions of learning academic writing with this software. Sequential explanatory mixed methods were used where single-subject experiments and online interviews were employed. Twenty pre-service teachers from a private university in Malaysia have participated in the research. Findings show that pre-service teachers experienced significant improvement in academic writing after i-Think maps and software were introduced; the pre-service teachers interviewed generally agreed that the software incorporating i-Think maps is useful for learning academic writing, and academic writing is a skill that must be mastered throughout the study. Practical and clinical suggestions related to academic writing and the findings obtained are provided.
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Authors: Tay San Yee (Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia) is a graduate with a Bachelor Degree in English Education from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. While she continues to participate in the field of education, she is interested in researching ways to improve students' writing proficiency in the English language. Email: kristentay31@gmail.com Phang Biao Li (corresponding author) (Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia ) obtained his Master of Philosophy (Social Science) from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. His current interest is in teacher education, inclusive of all aspects happening in teacher education. He is interested in collaborating with others on social science and educational research. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1754-4907 Email: rene_phang@hotmail.com Please cite as: Tay, S. Y. & Phang, B. L. (2022). Mind mapping software to aid academic writing: Pre-service English language teachers using i-Think maps. Issues in Educational Research, 32(1), 394-412. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/tay.pdf