Introduction:

In higher education, students need to develop cognitive skills essential to their academic training. Conceptual maps are considered educational tools to promote meaningful learning by developing in students critical thinking, problem-solving ability, and deep understanding of concepts.

Methods:

Publications from 1992 to 2017 that used the concept maps in higher education were selected and analyzed.

Results:

This paper describes the effects of conceptual mapping used by students in their academic activities, as well as identifies their purposes and relevance to the promotion of learning in higher education. The conceptual maps also present challenges for their integration into the academic practices that are identified and discussed.

Conclusion:

Despite the limitations, conceptual maps are generally well accepted by students as facilitators during the learning process. Conceptual maps are important tools to assist in the learning of students in various areas of knowledge.

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