The construction of Combinatorics concepts evidenced in mind maps

Innovations in teaching practices in higher education are fundamental to promoting opportunities for students to engage in their training process. This study investigated the use of mind maps as an innovative pedagogical practice for the construction of concepts about combinatorics by maths undergraduates. Twenty-five groups of students from a Maths degree course took part in the research, taking an elective subject on the teaching of combinatorics. As a result, it was observed that the different constructions of mind maps provide indications of the breadth, depth and personal notions of combinatorics presented by the groups, which emphasise the following aspects: the limited variety of combinatorial problems, the evidence restricted to the invariant of order and to the representation of formulas. It is clear that these aspects can be remedied by adopting innovative and collaborative teaching practices to produce mind maps on combinatorics, including as an assessment practice.