Coalescing Mind Maps as a Learning Aid cum Formative Assessment Tool for Effective Teaching and Learning of Computer Architecture and Organization Course

In order to keep up with the booming technological explosion and the revolution of Industry 4.0, the students of Gen Z are expected to be up to date in the digital era. This necessitates the teachers to employ multivariate pedagogical strategies to uphold the attention of students and provide them with a longterm knowledge base. One such strategy involving visualization and supporting active learning is the mind mapping tool. Mind maps can be employed as a teaching aid along with other active learning strategies in order to unleash the in-depth associations between related concepts. Through its innate visual structure, it helps the students to organize and assimilate concepts by looking into the broader picture. Mind mapping not only aids as a longterm memory technique but also promotes design thinking and lateral thinking skills. In this paper, exploiting mind maps throughout the teaching and learning process of Computer Architecture and Organization course for the undergraduate students of the third-year engineering programme is elaborately discussed. Through the case study presented, the mind map is showcased to take various facets like ‘Storm a brain-map’, ‘Break the ice-map’, ‘Fill the neurons’ and ‘Unit wise summary map’ in different sessions of the teaching learning process. It was not only used as a teaching aid, but also served as an effective formative assessment tool for evaluating the students’ understanding of the subject matter. The schema for scoring the mind maps and its relevance to the anticipated summative performance of the students is discussed. Thus, mind maps help in transforming the delivery mechanism and thereby promotes a radical learning environment. Keywords— Interconnections; mind maps; neurons; formative assessment; learning aid; STEM education; Radical learning environment;