Mind Mapping

Above are the 3 mind maps I created. The first is with paper and pencil and is the topic map. The second is with Mindomo, a web tool and is the lesson map that I based off of my topic map.

Here are 5 potential benefits of using this visual technique in instructional design:

1) It can help ESL learners:
a. When you use a visual to help illustrate how information is connected and pictures to help the student understand vocabulary, it helps them learn. Students that are labeled as ESL often need the visual connection along with written and spoken word. For example, if I went to France and was looking for a bathroom, I would find one much quicker if the universal men’s room sign was posted, the man standing with his arms at his sides. I might also see the French word for restroom next to the picture, which can help me learn the how to say bathroom in French, just in case the next place does not have a sign with a picture.
2) It can help visual learners:
a. Students that are visual learners will be able to not only hear you talk about the topic at hand, but also see the topic and visually connect it to other subtopics.
3) It can help activate background knowledge:
a. When beginning any lesson it is always beneficial to activate student’s background knowledge. That way it gets them on the right train of thought, where they can mix their old and new ideas. Mind maps allow the teacher to begin with a central topic, and include subtopics as the students share their previous knowledge of the topic. It feeds discussion and also allows the teacher to go back in the closing of a lesson to add newly learned information.
4) It can help plan an essay
a. Creating a mind map in the form of a tree map can help students organize their thoughts into main topics, subtopics, and details for their paragraphs, or even sentences if the students are young enough. This will help them keep their writing straight and to the point and hopefully cut down on the amount of revisions they will need to do.
5) It can help a student get as many thoughts out on a topic as possible before writing an essay, poem, or story.
a. When a teacher gives an assignment for a piece of writing, sometimes students are able to choose their own subtopic. By having students create a circle map, another type of mind map, they are able to write all of the ideas they have before using them in their writing.. They might use one keyword they wrote down, or many. Either way it is a useful tool for brainstorming.