The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of diary writing training through mind map on the composition and diary writing attitude of elementary students with writing problems. For this purpose, 20 students with writing problems at the 5th-6th grade level were selected from an elementary school in Incheon, and were divided into an experimental group(n=10) and a control group(n=10). The experimental procedure was composed of pre-test, experimental treatment(15 40-minute sessions), and post-test. The diary was evaluated based on the story content and the length of writing and diary writing attitude was measured using a questionnaire of 5 point Likert scale. The collected data were analyzed by ANCOVA using the pre-test scores as covariates. The results of this study are summarized as follows: (1) With regard to composition, the experimental group showed more improvement in the contents and length of diary writing than the control group; (2) With regard to the diary writing attitude, the experimental group showed more improvement in the response to, process of, and frequency of diary writing but not in perception on diary writing. These results imply that mind map activities are considered to be applicable in the field of education as a teaching method for improving composition and developing positive attitude toward writing in elementary students with writing problems.
Key Words : Mind Map, Students with Writing Problems, Composition, Diary Writing Attitude