Mind Mapping as an Embedded Reflection Tool in a Positive Youth Development Program

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Approaches and Challenges to Youth Health and Well-Being

Abstract

This paper offers a case study of mind mapping as a method for assessing shifts in youth place meanings and group identity development over the course of a semester-long environmental stewardship-focused PYD program. The mind mapping occurred as part of a larger study about how environmental stewardship activities supported positive group identities and a rescripting of the Bronx River as a stigmatized place. Mind map data revealed some shifts in meaning making related to place as well as deepened bonds among youth. This manuscript concludes with a reflection of mind mapping as a method in experiential PYD programs.

Author

• Anne Katherine Armstrong, Worcester State University