Abstract:

The contribution focuses on the use of concept and mind maps in primary education, with a particular emphasis on supporting mother-tongue instruction. It presents the theoretical foundations of conceptual maps, their cognitive and didactic benefits, and the specifics of their use in lexicology, morphology, syntax, and communication training. Special attention is given to how concept maps increase the effectiveness of education—they enable clear visualization of content, systematic organization of knowledge, deeper understanding of relationships between phenomena, and the development of analytical and logical thinking. They also support memory processes, facilitate the encoding of information, and improve recall. The contribution further highlights the importance of maps for inclusive education, as their structured nature helps pupils with special educational needs.

The empirical part presents the results of a study conducted with 194 pre-service primary teachers. The research examined their experiences with using concept maps during their own education as well as their intentions to apply these didactic tools in their future teaching practice. It also investigated the extent to which digital concept-map generators are currently used. The contribution emphasizes that the creation of concept and mind maps can now be easily supported by artificial intelligence tools, which enable efficient generation of map proposals, visualizations, and structural modifications. The study also identifies limitations in the use of maps (particularly the time required for preparation) and offers recommendations for further research and methodological support for teachers, especially in the area of digital and AI-assisted concept-map creation.

The research was conducted in March 2025 using a non-standardized questionnaire consisting of 30 questions, primarily closed-ended items: single-choice questions (14) and multiple-choice questions (11), the latter supplemented with the option to add a respondent’s own answer. The closed-ended items were complemented by open-ended questions (5).

The research instrument was structured into five thematic sections. The first section gathered respondents’ basic demographic information; the second examined respondents’ experience with using concept maps in primary and secondary school; the third focused on their experience with concept maps within their current university studies; the fourth addressed attitudes toward integrating concept maps into respondents’ future teaching practice; and the fifth explored reflections on the benefits and limitations of concept maps in instruction.

Given the structure of the questionnaire, the reliability coefficient was calculated only for selected items. For the scale items focusing on the advantages of concept maps, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.731, which can be considered an acceptable level of internal consistency. For two attitude items in a Likert-scale format, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.549, indicating a lower level of internal reliability (note: two-item scales rarely show high reliability). For the remaining items, Cronbach’s alpha could not be applied.

The questionnaire was distributed via the university STAG system. A total of 643 students were contacted, and the response rate was 30%.

A mixed-methods research design was chosen. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Frequency distributions of individual responses and their percentage shares were calculated.

Keywords:

Conceptual maps, mental maps, the positives and negatives of using mind maps in education, mother-tongue instruction, primary school education, pre-service teacher training, technology in education, AI in education.