So when we look at mind mapping software the people at Zapier, who have reviewed this type of software extensively, tell us to make sure that:
This means that any software you choose to use to help your thinking process has to be invisible, low cognitive load and be designed to make it as easy a drawing on paper so that your attention is on your topic not on how to use the software. They are best suited for the kind of ‘wicked problems’ that have many potential answers or appear to have none. The most important step in the mind mapping process is to let your mind wander as freely as possible around your subject, allowing key words or phrases that trigger ideas to emerge.Īs you can see from the description of the process above, a key use for this type cognitive mapping is to support problem solving in ill-structured domains. A short time attending to your own thinking when trying to synthesise an idea, shows you that your brain uses words, pictures, numbers, symbols, images and colour to create networks of ideas and that these networks are rarely linear or logical. Spoiler alert: they are associated with increased knowledge retention, but motivation to use is an issue as they are seen to require specialist learning to gain the cognitive advantage. If you want to learn about the pedagogical value of pen and paper mind maps, you can read up research here and here. This is how they differ from concept mapping. A map is not linear, but is driven by mind associations their aim is not to create logical network of concepts, but rather a network which represents ideas intuitively. Key words should be replaced with an image or a symbol if possible as part of the creating process. Mind maps are keyword focused and promote synthesis. Central lines are thick, and as lines and words are drawn further from the center, they become thinner. It uses the metaphor of a tree where ideas radiate from this central topic, arranged around trunk as annotated branches represented on thick lines. Mind maps are image centered radial diagrams that visualize ideas arranged around a central theme, which is represented by an image or a keyword or both. Here using ‘mind mapping benefits ’will give you more reliable educational sites than just ‘mind mapping benefits’. If you search in standard search engines you can use advanced search operators to narrow the search. [search terms for more: Google Scholar is best here search for ‘effects of mind mapping, cognitive benefits, meta analysis.