Time needed: 5 – 10 min
Why? A mind-map describes a cognitive technique that can be used for example for opening up and displaying a visual subject or topic, or to plan for transcripts. Hereby, the principle the association should help, thought to develop freely and to use the abilities of the brain. The mind map is created according to certain rules and read.
When? Mind Maps can be used for many different things. It can be used for presentations, speeches, lectures and posters. In terms of themes, there are basically no limits.
Collection of ideas and brainstorming:
For collection of ideas and brainstorming mind maps are used to so well because each keyword can further associate. Through these associations can be built up large-scale Mind-Maps.
Factual structure:
To structure a bit confusing factual texts, such mind maps are also good because they combine so all upper concepts clearly and focus on an issue, but they are still extensively by large branching.
Presentation design:
For the planning of lectures or speeches they are good to use because each subject area can be detected by its cross-links. The presentation can be accommodated flexibly to the key concepts, which are arranged around a theme, without losing the thread. For lectures are also so-called “structure chart”, the order the generic terms with each other and are then connected by a line from top to bottom. To the right of the preambles are then accumulated the topics.
Protocol:
Contents of telephone conversations, meetings, lectures, interviews can be recorded with a Assoziogram, summarized and documented. Temporal sequences can be represented for example clockwise. Here too, supports the graphical representation of a sustainable remembering.
Planning and Organization:
For planning and organizing mind maps are helpful because they can clearly summarized them in all important areas. In this “Task List” can also be added later always things without big strikeout or paste brackets would be necessary.
Learning, exam preparation:
Preparation for the exam, the Mind-mapping is therefore well suited as creative steps in a handy representation approach is developed, and later strengthened further by a systematic study of these repeated playback of the learned material. Such a clear arrangement of the semantic structure of knowledge promotes memorability stable over long periods. When building the mind-maps should a branch not more than seven sub-branches are assigned. This promotes that you look at the mind map photographically during learning and noted in the exam situation in thought systematically goes through. This also allows extensive information such as lecture notes and the like reproduce.
Foreign languages:
Also for the learning of foreign languages, foreign words and technical terms mind maps are suitable. The combination of words and phrases with pictures and each other helps to keep.
How? Formally mind maps consist of labeled tree diagrams. Additional notes explain the content and processes. Relationships are represented by reciprocal links.
In contrast to brainstorming, which produces a number of unsorted terms and then sorted by the Board Chair will be created in the mind map from the start, a crosslinked structure. A mind map is also suitable for documenting the outcome of a brainstorming session, so the sorted text. With the metric evaluation of the knowledge itself is illustrated a relationship to Informetrics, created the intellectual capital.
Any risks? Criticism is that the various positive aspects highlighted are the application of a mind map while plausible, but not scientifically proven. In particular, the hemisphere concept, which underpins the theory of mind mapping, have proven to be incorrect or restricted as to.
Furthermore, replies, mind maps are basically just a tool for its author, and not for the reader, because the chosen keywords is often very individual and not for others of course, would be to structure the information is often only for the author of insightful and the same problem concerning the symbols and colors would. In other words is a mind map is not self-explanatory, so the reader must be presented and explained, but still suitable for (commented) presentations. Mind maps can quickly lose their clarity when aspects are classified under several keywords, or stand on key words in different relationships. The levels – the hierarchical classification of concepts – are only in simple cases immediately clear. Often be changed in the editing stage hierarchies, so it is generally necessary, is very long and hard to deal with the structure of a Mind Map to create a logical and consistent mind map – but this is in certain respects quite an advantage of the method.
