![]() Mind maps can help you to break down complex information and issues, making them easier to understand.Here are some of the additional benefits: So, are there other advantages of using mind maps to organise information, other than just to do a ‘download’ from your busy mind? Yes. I could even make other mind maps which branch off from this one, focusing on ways to make money for university, the pro’s and con’s of each university or which course to take. If I was heading to university next year, I would keep referring to my mind map and work my way through all the things I needed to research and do. Now, there is so much information out there online that it can be confusing, but the Prospectus should still be your go-to booklet for university planning because it has everything in one place. The only resource I used to make this map was a University of Otago Undergraduate Prospectus booklet (5) which contains essential reading for about-to-be-first-year students.īack in the 1990’s, before internet searches existed, the Prospectus booklet was the only source of information for planning a university degree. If I was making this mind map for my future use, next I would colour it in and draw lines between parts that link together, but I didn’t want to make it too messy for you. Here is a rough draft of a mind map that I made in about 20 minutes, as if I was thinking about going to university for the first time next year, in 2021: So instead of sticking your head in the sand, take a deep breath, pick up a pen and try making a mind map. No one else is going to do the work for you this time. It may all become too hard, so you do nothing, hoping it all sorts itself out. All of a sudden, you may start to feel a little overwhelmed because you know almost nothing about anything related to university, yet you feel like you should know more. The problem is, as soon as you think ‘university’ you start to think about all these other things like degrees, money, deadlines, careers, scholarships, applications, hostels, etc. It’s completely normal to start thinking about university in your last year or two of school. By the time you have made a mind map, you will probably find that your brain has done a download of some (or all) of that information, leaving you free to focus on other things or to take action.Īs a demonstration of how mind mapping can work, at least for me and my mind, I decided to choose a topic that I haven’t had to think about for 26 years but which most senior school students will be thinking about all the time: going to university. This map is made by you, for you, in order to safely navigate the often confusing situation of being swamped with too much information. No one can tell you that your mind map is wrong, because they can’t see inside your brain where your thoughts and neurons are firing rapidly during the mind mapping process. You create it in your own way to visually represent information that is in your mind. The most important thing to remember is that a mind map is yours, not anyone else’s. This mind map would be useful to refer to regularly as a good reminder when you’re not focused. Lines may also be used to connect different branches of the map to show links between ideas, concepts or subtopics.Įxample of a mind map about how to stay focused in a digital world:Īs you can see in the mind map above, the creator (4) has chosen a cartoon-like approach with colours, graphics and words to illustrate their ideas about how to stay focused. Splaying out from that central topic are a number of subtopics, and branching off those are more notes or diagrams. At the core of a mind map is a central idea, topic or issue. They are not just random words thrown together on a page. Mind maps also comprise a network of connected and related concepts (3). Both of these descriptions should paint a picture in your mind of words and ideas splayed out across a page in a meaningful visual way. We can define a mind map simply as ‘a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts’ (1) or ‘a creative and logical means of note-taking and note-making that literally “maps out” your ideas’ (2). In this month’s blog, you can learn about what mind maps are, why they could be useful to you and how research has proven their benefits for higher education. Or it’s even possible that you’ve missed the mind mapping bus altogether. Maybe you scribble them on paper regularly when you’re trying to make sense of something complicated. Perhaps one of your teachers or lecturers asked you to make one for a complicated topic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |