What are Mind Maps?
Mind mapping can make thinking come to life in a visual way in your classroom. If you don't understand something, you can't successfully mind map it. You can take advantage of the visible and concrete nature of the process to understand just how well a learner understands something new. It can help anyone to learn better and faster: to become a good learner.
Thinking with Pictures allows you to mind map in a hierarchical form as well as the freer form many of you are used to. This allows relationships to be clearly identified and connections to be made. Using mind maps in this way can support the development of word and concept skills to develop good learners.
Thinking with Pictures can provide children with a framework for topics and concepts. Using this as a tool for introducing a topic, allows work to be followed through by:
- Highlighting areas of the mind map
- Adding information to the mind map as it is discovered, introduced and discussed
- Connecting ideas and relationships between different parts of the mind map
- Refining the mind map as the topic progresses
Mind mapping provides children with a powerful visual framework where they can see how the knowledge they have acquired hangs together. This reinforces learning, and taken a step further, can be used to show understanding by encouraging children to create their own mind maps.
Get the most out of mind mapping
The MapWise and Eye Q courses offered by Model Learning will teach you how to get the most out of visual thinking tools in your classrooms. Discover how visual tools develop best practice in the areas of Literacy, Thinking Skills and Assessment for Learning. Model Learning, the UK’s leading educational exponents on visual thinking, lead regional courses each term throughout the UK. For more information, to book yourself onto a course, or to arrange an INSET click here. |
