Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ PhotoReading, Memory Optimizer Is Mind Mapping Effective?

Hi,

I am trying to use mind mapping effectively, but I am not that impressed with it initally (i've been trying to use it for about 2 months now)... I think that it's because they taught us it in elementary and middle school, but it didn't help me that much then (they actually taught us a lot that is being used by L.S. like Wenger's stream of conciousness and mind-mapping (or clustering as they called it) and Gardner's multiple intelligence theory (all of our math classes in high school was done in groups of 4 and we had group tests to encorporate the interpersonal intellegencies in math) and all of the teachers all taught in colors......

but I guess that I wasn't sucessful using any of these strategies in normal school, so I'm having difficulty using any of them now (I think it's cause I don't believe that that creative).

So I guess I'm asking if it is possible for mind-mapping to really still help me even though I've shut it down from as early as elementary school. I've been trying to mind-map for about 2 months now, and it acutally seems more tedious and time-consuming than regular note taking. I've got both The Mind Map Book and Mapping the Inner Space Book. So I'm wondering should I still keep trying to get it right OR since i've not gotten it to work well for 2 months now that I should assume that mind-mapping just doesn't work for me.

If you think that I can still find mind-mapping useful, are there any tips that will help me to see the effectiveness of mind-mapping that people have which are not in those two previously mentioned books?

Thanks for your input,

Alex McClain

I personally used to be anti-MM myself. Now I've revised my stand quite a bit. I should in fact say that MMing was taught to me when I was around 7 myself, and I didn't see much use for it then.
I think you'll find that mind-maps are pretty good for outlines and linking ideas together. It's good for overviews as well. However, if you're using it to understand technical material, well, don't expect it to do the understanding for you would be my stand. Just my take on it.

KWLee

When using MMing with PR, s/r and dip first until you've gained enough familiarity with the material to think it's beginning to gel. Then use MM to organise your thoughts. Used in this way, the MM helps you to see what's missing and what's not and helps gelling.
Another way to use it with formulae would be to just use it to list them. In math class, we used to do this. My teacher used to implement "three wonderful minutes". You were given 3 mins to completely redraw your mindmap from memory. Quite a useful tool after awhile, particularly since this forces you through the recall process and involves soom muscle memory.
If you find that MMing is tedious and time-consuming, you're probably trying to force too much information onto it. It's for linking ideas, not copying books. I'm just guessing here, but I often commit that "crime" myself. For things like derivations, a separate note-taking would probably be appropriate.
When teaching, I sometimes use idea mapping rather than mind-mapping. This one can probably be classified as a version of MMing, but I like to think that I developed it. It's great for showing flows of ideas, which I find MMing cannot do. Tell me if you're interested in this and I'll try to get a description up.

Good luck!

KWLee

MMing is not ideal for material which must follow a particular sequence.

Things like formulars might be better off on individual 3 x 5 cards. You might also be better off using the tree technique or being a very analytical person, the cronin? technique might be more your style (not sure if I got the name right I'm still in middle of research for another article on notetaking. Had hope to have it written today but my computer lost the data again.)

Being analytical numbers oriented by nature Mind mapping would be more difficult to apply. This means a different note taking might be more useful. As already suggested you might try freenoting. http://www.winwenger.com/freenote.htm have a look at that and see if that might help. You can also devise your own.

Alex

Is Mind Mapping effective? I think this is simply a resounding yes and a small no that actually is a yes. When is Mind Mapping not effective? Maybe when you are in a lecture and time is short, yet convert your linear notes into a MM after the lecture. This is your 1st review of the material that you are just beginning to learn..yippee no has become a yes.

I am curious to know what you mean by effective?? This to me means you are wanting to score its success?? How shall you know when it is a success?? Taking exams and mind mapping are not the same thing! Even so, remember for exams, you don’t need to know everything. Listen to your teacher, they shall tell you numerous times what shall be on the exam. MM work well on all types of material, even technical, I know I just passed another IT exam! It is a question of layers of detail, chapters are allowed on more than one sheet of paper! Practice you own symbols, copy the ones from Mapping Inner Space, practising them helped me create my own library. It was a spooking feeling when I remembered seeing a symbol on a map whilst answering an exam question, I can tell you!

Like Pring, I found my success in creating them was the strength of purpose. Why am I mapping? For my exams, my maps where to map the answers for the questions at the end of each chapter. This was pretty mind blowing when all I was doing was super reading and dipping for the answers and any other info, that I might need! Each time began a session I would review that maps I had done previously. This formed a natural reviewing pattern to aid recall.

Another factor for me was to imagine the final step that I had been successful on the exam. I would see, hear and feel my success at passing the exam. I did this each time I sat down to PR and map. Why not do the same for being a successful mapper?.

Finally map anything, practice away from a work environment. This shall skyrocket your success. It is in these moments that you shall develop your own style and symbols

At first I also couldn't get mindmapping to work for me. It's only been 2 weeks since I've made it work. Before that, I used the tree diagram notetaking method I revised from playing around on my computer's registry, and adapting that to notes I took in Microsoft Excel. This is how it works:

Main heading
[tab]subheading
[tab][tab]sub subheading
[tab][tab][tab]sub sub subheading
you get the point. you can go as deep as you want. There would be as many mmaps as you'd want that way, maybe one or two to show general points and all details.

It's like mindmapping on a computer so conventional notetakers would understand it, but each category has subcategories with the extra information in them just like a mindmap. Think of it as a way to bridge the best of conventional notetaking with mindmaps in case you want to move back and forth between the two.