Mind maps - what are they and how do they help in learning?

Mind maps are a way of taking notes that makes it easier to remember the notes you make. It is a perfect way for working people,

Mind maps - what are they and how do they help in learning?
Mind maps, children learning, personal associations, drawings, human brain,

Mind maps - what are they and how do they help in learning?

Mind maps are a way of taking notes that makes it easier to remember the notes you make. It has a perfect way for working people. But above all for children learning - the most important facts. e.g. historical ones. Written down in this way remembered for a long time by a young or teenage boy. What are mind maps and how do they help in learning?

Mind maps as a way to remember text better developed by British scientists. In their innovative approach to taking notes and remembering, they used the skills of the human brain. Specifically the ability of both brain hemispheres to work together at the same time.

  • How does a mind map work?
  • How to use a mind map?
  • What to remember when creating a mind map?
  • How to create a mind map?
  • How does a mind map work?

As research shows, when writing down texts that we need to remember. The left hemisphere of the brain responsible for analysis, words and numbers works. That is why scientists proposed taking notes in a way that would activate the second hemisphere responsible for three-dimensional, imagination or colors, and thus strengthen the area of the brain involved in remembering.

They came up with the idea that adding graphic elements, colors. pictograms to the written words and arranging them not linearly, but spatially on a piece of paper, would increase the effectiveness of learning and remembering the written content. Their theory seems to confirmed by practice - people who write down important messages in the way recommended by them learn faster and remember information better.

How to use a mind map?

Creating mind maps helps in learning; it is very useful in the learning process for tests, exams or oral answers. Graphically drawn maps allow you to remember the most important information, arrange them in a hierarchy of importance or arrange them in the order resulting from dates, consequences, etc.

It should also emphasized that the mind map must created by the person who will use it, i.e. by the child, not his parent or teacher. Notes and the method of saving them depend on the creativity and needs of the learning few-year-old. Everyone uses those elements, information or associations that seem most important to him, and he uses them in the way that is best and most readable for him.

Usually bystanders cannot use someone else's mind map. Still, there are of course rules to help create it and make it easier to use.

What to remember when creating a mind map?

  • Above all, the map should be clear and transparent. It should have the form of a tree, i.e. contain the main problem from which branches will spread out with additional information. drawn according to the hierarchy of importance.
  • When choosing words worth remembering. The student should first think about the issues related to the topic and choose those that. n his opinion, are necessary to remember
  • A mind map should use only slogans and short notes as well as graphic elements such as arrows, symbols, underlining, numbering, etc. The learner who creates it should use colored felt-tip pens (one color corresponds to one issue), pens of different thickness.
  • It is worth using different typefaces and sizes of letters. Remembering that the more important the word, the bigger and more visible it is.
  • The map should individualized (personal associations, drawings, etc.), then its creation more pleasant, and remembering - easier.

How to create a mind map?

  • When starting to create a map, take a blank sheet of paper, e.g. A4, and arrange it horizontally (this improves perception - the eyes set horizontally. Therefore it has easier to "read" what hs drawn horizontally, not vertically).
  • Put the password problem in the center of the paper. The word or date should written with a colored marker .Bold so that their legibility has as good as possible and that the main problem stands out from other notes. They also recommend that the word  written in three-dimensional letters, which is the element that activates the right hemisphere.
  • Then, from the main entry. We draw radial lines/arrows (they can be thicker for a keyword and thinner for a related note). There should be no more than 9 of them so that the brain fixes them faster.
  • We enter keywords on the lines. Which together with the lines lead to more detailed, more accurate information, from which further branches may depart.
  • Let's introduce graphic elements: let the arrows show us related topics or facts resulting from each other. Symbols illustrating the topic and making it easier to remember.