Visual mapping

Visual mapping is a critical thinking method in which an idea or problem is illustrated through key words, arrows, images, and shapes. It can use a main concept and show how related subjects branch out from it. Visual mapping is a nonlinear approach to learning and organizing to demonstrate the steps taken from a starting point and leading to other processes. It is also a study method that can break down a main concept into subcategories. Two examples are concept mapping (a top-down illustration that shows connections within a main concept) and mind mapping (a radial diagram with one-word associations or images linked to the central idea).

Background

Note-taking is a primary linear method used for learning and understanding subjects and for memorization. It can be done in fragmented or complete sentences, and is commonly used among students and professionals.

A University of British Columbia student in the 1960s found that taking notes was not working for him in memorizing facts in his studies. This student, Tony Buzan, noticed that his classmates with messy notes filled with doodles and single words were more successful in academics. Buzan researched the study habits of others and found that famous thinkers such as Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein also used images connected to notes. He found that this way of capturing ideas, a term he later trademarked as mind mapping, was more in tune with how the mind operates through visual and verbal cues.

Buzan fashioned a brand around mind mapping and memorization, becoming a figure in popular science and business with claims that mind mapping improves academic, social, and monetary aspects of one's life. He has published more than a dozen books on the two subjects, as well as developed seminars, endorsed mind mapping software, and sponsored licensed training courses and schools around the world. Other figures credited with mind mapping are cognitive researchers Dr. Allan Collins and M. Ross Quillian with their work in semantic networks, with similar tree-like representations, in the 1960s.

In 1972, Joseph D. Novak led a research program at Cornell University on documenting how children understood science, using the learning psychology of David Ausubel. Researchers found it difficult to identify how children linked concepts by interviewing the subjects. However, they did find a way to visually represent their knowledge through the development of concept mapping. Ausubel, Novak, and other researchers advocated the act of meaningful learning, in which the learner is motivated to add new material to their prior knowledge. In contrast, they saw rote thinking as a mechanical method of memorizing facts without gaining knowledge.

Concept mapping showed the connection between general concepts (a learner's prior knowledge) and specific concepts that may be new. Ausubel and Novak saw it as a method that mirrored the brain's thinking process by employing creativity to enhance meaningful learning. They believed that rote thinking was a single-lane method to long-term memory, while concept mapping tapped into several memory systems that interact inside the learner.

Overview

Mind mapping and concept mapping are the two most popular forms of visual mapping. They are used as tools in academics, business, and social sciences. Each method can be applied according to the desired result the creator or team has for illustrating a point.

To construct a mind map, the central idea is written or drawn in the center of the surface. Branches are drawn from the center out, with thicker branches near the middle and thinner, capillary-type lines in the outer edges. On each branch is a key word or graphic that is associated with the main topic and forms other relationships. An example of a link of branches can be from the main topic music. Stemming from this topic can be rock, with a thinner branch with The Beatles and an even thinner branch with Let It Be.

Mind maps are best used for personal studies and note-taking. In a study conducted by Deepali D. Deshatty and Varsha Mokashi and published in 2013, medical students who used mind mapping as a thinking tool scored better than students who used standard note-taking. The mind mapping students believed that the method helped them in organizing information and understanding the topic. The methods can be used in a group setting for brainstorming ideas or triggering questions about a topic. Compared to other methods, mind mapping is more free form in structure, as Buzan encourages the use of colored pencils and graphics.

Concept mapping uses a top-to-bottom approach to string connections to the main topic. Using squares or circles to contain a concept, the map employs arrows and phrases in between them to demonstrate the link. In the music example, the main topic is at the top of the writing surface. Below it would be a rock box with an arrow in between labeled type of. The next box would be The Beatles with a played by arrow, and the next box would be Let It Be connected with a song arrow.

Concept maps are suitable as teaching and study tools as they require users to create a hierarchical structure on a topic. A firm grasp on the topic before constructing a concept map is needed, and according to Novak and research scientist Alberto J. Cañas, while early users may have difficulty applying the method to their work, it is vital to show that concept mapping mimics how the brain organizes memory and thinking.

Other methods include conceptual diagrams and visual metaphors. A conceptual diagram, similar to concept mapping, is an illustration that analyzes a topic in a structure that demonstrates how it works. Elements are shown through categorized boxes with fragments detailing the category, and relationships are established through arrows. The framework may mirror the topic's framework or steps to reaching a conclusion. The diagram's direction may be from left to right or top to bottom. This method is suitable for large-scale presentations in academia or business. A visual metaphor uses a familiar shape or graphic to form associations with a main topic. For example, a tornado shaped with supporting text can be a visual metaphor. A visual metaphor can be used as an accessible way to explain a topic to a general audience.

Visual mapping can be done by hand or through software. Titles such as Bloomfire, Mindomo, MindManager, and Buzan-supported iMindQ are mind mapping software and mobile applications that allow for idea management, collaborative mapping, and brainstorming.

Bibliography

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Deshatty, Deepali D., and Varsha Mokashi. "Mind Maps as a Learning Tool in Anatomy." International Journal of Anatomy and Research, vol. 1, no. 2, 2013, pp. 100–03.

Gordon, Rachel. "Mapping the Brain Pathways of Visual Memorability." MIT News, 23 Apr. 2024, news.mit.edu/2024/mapping-brain-pathways-visual-memorability-0423. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Koblentz, Evan, and Suzanne Kattau. "The Best Mind Mapping Software of 2017." PC Magazine, 17 Jan. 2019, www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2495560,00.asp. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Marvin, Rob. "8 Ways a Mind Map Can Declutter Your Project Management." PC Magazine, 1 Oct. 2015, uk.pcmag.com/word-2007-map-editor-for-mindjet-mindmanager/71616/feature/8-ways-a-mind-map-can-declutter-your-project-management. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

"Mind Maps." Center for Instructional Technology and Training, 23 Feb. 2017, citt.ufl.edu/tools/mind-maps. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

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