Why use this?
A mind map is a diagram with a hierarchical structure that is used for visually organizing and presenting information, thoughts or ideas and has a lot of uses in the learning process. The following steps are involved in the process.
Method
A mind map is a hierarchical diagram used to visually organize and present information, thoughts or ideas. It can be used for brainstorming, note-taking, planning, studying, and presenting.
Step 1:
Determine the central topic: A mind map is utilized to explore and further elaborate a certain main topic placed in the core of the mind map that later will be mapped out in a number of topics and subtopics.
Step 2:
Branch out your map: The topics or so-called Branches’ are an integral part of mind maps. They are used to define the Most important areas about a certain topic. To put it in perspective, a mind map that in the center has the key subject Travel Plan’ could span out in branches that cover the essentials about planning a traveling – itinerary, accommodation, budget, transport, and agenda.
Step 3:
Expand the branches with sub-branches: Once you have expanded your central topic in different topics, its time to split those further into sub-topics or so-called sub-branches. Every branch Is connected to its sub-branches and all of them, together, elaborate on the main idea put in the centre.
Step 4:
Elaborate and grow the sub-branches: The sub-branches are what make a mind map complete in terms of content. You have to always focus on expanding the mind map and its topics until you are sure that there is nothing left to add to a certain branch.
Fill out the map with ideas and associations of all the information you know and every idea you have on your mind that correlates with the main subject. Once you are finished adding branches and sub-branches, you can go onto the more creative steps – decorating the map with different colours and images which will make it personal and eye-catching.
Step 5:
Choose a font and start coloring the mind map: A mind map becomes a powerful tool once you give its content a suitable font and you embellish the topics and sub-topics with different striking colors.
Using diverse colors when creating a mind map is always a good idea as it will help you to memorize information more easily as you will connect that information with a color. After this, you can choose colors you find the most powerful in order to highlight the content.
Step 6:
Add visuals to the topics and subtopics: Next step is putting images and/or symbols to the content. As we specified earlier, colors help in memorizing things more easily, but when attached to color and content, visuals provide even greater benefit for the brain.
Tip from a Mentor
This tool can be used for a lot of different parts in the learning process, starting from brainstorming and note-taking, to project or event planning, studying and public speaking or presenting.