Pedagogy and Professional Development

Exploring the use of the personal meaning mapping method in dress and textiles scholarship

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Abstract

Gaimster (2011) acknowledges mind mapping as a useful technique for brainstorming ideas about a research problem in fashion scholarship. Recent literature has provided evidence that variations of mind mapping (see Buzan, 2003) and concept mapping can also be used as a research method. Personal Meaning Mapping (PMM) is a recently developed data collection technique “designed to measure how a specific learning experience uniquely affects each individual’s understanding or meaning-making process” (Adams, Falk, & Dierking, 2003, p. 22). The purpose of this paper is to share my introductory use of the PMM method in dress and textiles scholarship and explore other options for its application. I used the PMM method as a data collection tool to investigate the role of dress artifacts and displays in learning about a historic event (in this case, Titanic) in museums.

Keywords: research method, learning, mind mapping, personal meaning mapping

How to Cite:

Reeves-DeArmond, G., (2013) “Exploring the use of the personal meaning mapping method in dress and textiles scholarship”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 70(1).