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MIND MAPPING (Visual learning diagrams)

Note Taking

Take a look at your child’s homework books and what do you see? Nicely written neat paragraphs? Tidy lists of facts and figures? If so, your child’s teacher no doubt has much praise! Teachers like to see neat handwriting – after all, it makes their job a lot easier. But are neat hand-written notes really the be-all and end-all? Are there better ways of stimulating children’s memory and creativity than copying dull lists of words?

The problem with this common or garden note taking is that, in a word, it’s boring! Yes, there is the occasional diagram or graph, but mostly it’s a good old bland sea of sentences. The important key words are buried in fluff and wordy paragraphs with little to stimulate the imagination. In the classroom, when the teacher is trying to ensure that the children have all the information they need, linear note taking and simple copying down may, I suppose, have their place. But if that is the only way the children know, it is naturally what they are going to do when they come to revise those notes before an exam.

What they don’t realize (because nobody has told them yet – but you are about to!) is that getting the information into the brain in a form that will be useful in the exam is a whole new kettle of fish. A kettle of fish that can be cooked in a very different and much more fun way…

What we are looking for is a method of presenting information that capitalizes on how our brains work. Our brains process and remember information by linking. We tend to think that our thoughts are linear, similar to speech or written text. But, learning within the brain is done by linking ideas, questions, words and pictures in huge inter-connecting branches and webs. Your child can therefore study much more easily and effectively by using visual learning diagrams like webs, maps, trees and timelines to incorporate the key words and important facts that he needs to remember, rather than copying out paragraphs of text. This may sound trivial but it makes a very, very big difference to understanding, memory and recall. The best way for you to get a clear picture is to look at these examples of mind mapping:

Clouds Mind Map

Waves Mind Map

Here are some guidelines on using visual learning diagrams. I hesitate to call them rules, because the whole idea is to encourage freedom, imagination and creativity. But these “best practices” give you and your child a starting point. Then if you find your own way, which “breaks” these rules, you have made the method your very own!

Visual Learning Diagram Guidelines

· Tools: Colored pens – felt tips are ideal. Sheets of paper, preferably not lined, A4 or bigger – as big as is practical. Other useful items include highlighters and those plastic templates with arrows and other symbols if your child likes using them.

· Start with a word, picture or symbol representing the topic in question. Put this in the middle of the page. It’s useful to turn the page around so it’s the “landscape” way up.

· From your central topic, draw the main branches out for the subtopics or main ideas. You can write a word representing each sub topic on a branch, or put it in a bubble or box if you prefer. Doing each sub topic in a different color is often a useful visual aid.

· Continue to make smaller branches for keywords relating to each sub topic.

· As you work, keep the paper facing you the same way rather than turning it every which way as some children tend to do – this makes it harder to read afterwards.

· Write in capitals – they tend to be more legible when you come back to read the diagram in the future.

· Use only one word per branch or per bubble. You should be focusing on key words, not sentences.

· Draw pictures, doodles and symbols. Make your diagram unique, stimulating and fun!

Encourage your child to make one diagram for each topic he is studying. It’s also a good idea to make one “master” diagram for the whole subject, showing the high level topics – this helps the child bear in mind how many topics there are for that subject and how they all interrelate.

Cassie

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