Mindmapping

National Council for Staff, Program and Organizational Development

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Mindmapping

Lori Petersen, Scott Community College, IA

Goal:
To provide a new tool for organizing thoughts.

Program:
This mini-course introduces people to the concept of Mindmapping. First,

participants are invited to share things that they need to organize. As this list is being generated, the facilitator models mindmapping using their responses.

Next, participants are invited to discover what some of the "processes" involved in mindmapping are by analyzing the process that just occurred.

Finally, the participants participate in their own activity to experience mindmapping. They

chose to mindmap a list of things to do, a process, brainstorm an idea, or any number of other possibilities. Having participants actually produce a mindmap draws out questions and concerns that might otherwise remain unstated. It also gives participants something concrete to refer to in the future (and means that they have an automatic application of the mini-course).

This activity has been used at Staff Development Days, meetings, and in classrooms with great success. It is an excellent tool for faculty and staff to use in their personal work. Also, it is an excellent "thinking skills" concept that can be taught to students relatively quickly and easily. Since people must organize information all the time, it is a concept that can be practiced every week.

Cost: Once a person has learned how to do it, there is virtually no cost to putting on a workshop for others. No special equipment, materials, furniture, or arrangements are needed.