Mind map

 Mind maps

(Class)

Last year I attended a seminar on mind maps. We were all sitting at our desks when our teacher asked us the following question; "What do holidays mean to you?" Immediately, a wave of hands appeared in the classroom, with people throwing out words like: sun, beach, airplane and sunglasses. The teacher, using a mind mapping software, created in front of our eyes a mind map using every single words that we had told...

Similarly, in Prac, my cooperative teacher used the same program on the interactive blackboard. this time the subject was a little bit more academic : Colours and Vincent Van Gogh. Year 1 students came out with incredible words and ideas and therefore created a very interesting mind map that the teacher than printed out and handed out to the students after class.

I immediately saw the potential in this method. Being a visual learner I couls see how a complicted subject can be simplified using a mind-map. For example, to write an essay, my brainstorming takes shape in a mind map. Also, we have been told in PE2 that lessons on a new subject  should always begin with a brainstorming session and I think it is a wonderful way to take into account every students' idea about a subject in a clear and precise manner.

This is what we did in our PE3 class. We were in groups of 3 and we had to create a mind map about learning technologies. Ours isn't finished but it gives you an idea of what can be done with a simple mind map...