ENTENDEU OU QUER QUE EU DESENHE?: MAPAS MENTAIS, MEDIAÇÃO COGNITIVA E ABORDAGENS PARADIGMÁTICAS METODOLÓGICAS NO MESTRADO

Mind maps across various educational levels have shown significant potential in organising ideas and fostering cognitive development. Postgraduate (stricto sensu) programmes naturally require reading and discussion of texts with greater theoretical depth; thus, the didactic mediation sought to make use of mind mapping to promote cognitive mediation, which led to the investigation reported in this article. The general objective was to examine the influence of different methods of constructing and types of mind maps on learning (cognitive mediation) of methodological paradigmatic approaches among Master's degree students in Education. The specific objectives were: to identify how mind maps, in both digital and manual formats, do (or do not) support the organisation and understanding of paradigmatic approaches; to assess the impact of the types of mind maps on the learning process; and to set out students' perceptions regarding the methods and types of mind maps used in the activity. The research adopted a qualitative and descriptive approach, carried out through a mixed-format electronic questionnaire (survey) involving 13 Master's students. The data were analysed and triangulated using content analysis across three thematic categories. It was concluded that mind maps, both digital and manual, enhanced cognitive mediation by linking new concepts with the students’ pre-existing cognitivestructure.