Want to learn better? Start mind mapping | Hazel Wagner | TEDxNaperville

Summary

The video script advocates mind mapping as an effective note-taking method that enhances memory by organizing information in a way that aligns with the brain's natural processes. The speaker, a mathematics PhD, shares personal anecdotes and experiences, highlighting the benefits of mind mapping in academia and business. They demonstrate how mind maps, created with a central topic and radiating branches of keywords, facilitate better understanding, retention, and retrieval of information. The script also includes examples of mind maps based on TED talks, illustrating the method's utility in capturing and conveying complex ideas succinctly.

Takeaways

• 📚 Mind mapping is a note-taking method that aligns with the way the brain works, enhancing memory and understanding.
• 🧠 The speaker's personal struggle with memory led them to seek out effective note-taking techniques, culminating in the discovery of mind mapping.
• 🎓 Despite earning multiple degrees, the speaker found traditional note-taking methods, like transcription, to be ineffective for true learning and memory retention.
• 🤔 Mind mapping encourages active engagement with the material, as opposed to passive transcribing, which can lead to missing key points during lectures or readings.
• 🌟 The visual and kinesthetic nature of mind mapping, using hands and arms, helps in better organizing information in a way that is more accessible to the brain.
• 📝 Mind maps start with a central topic and radiate outwards with key ideas and connections, typically using single words or short phrases rather than full sentences.
• 👤 Each mind map is unique to the individual, reflecting personal importance and relevance, which is why no two maps of the same content will be the same.
• 🔍 The speaker emphasizes the importance of being able to retrieve information easily, which is facilitated by the associative nature of mind maps.
• 🌱 The discovery of mind mapping was a turning point for the speaker, who felt regret for not knowing about it earlier and gratitude for its effectiveness in various fields.
• 🏫 The speaker's research supports the benefits of mind mapping, particularly in visual and kinesthetic learning, and its application extends beyond just academia to business and personal development.
• 📈 Mind mapping is presented as a tool to help the brain work more efficiently, using key words and visual connections to trigger larger ideas and concepts.
• 📚 The anecdote about the speaker's granddaughter demonstrates the practical application and success of mind mapping in improving academic performance.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of mind mapping according to the speaker?

The main purpose of mind mapping is to help with note-taking and memory by organizing information in a way that the brain can better understand, store, and retrieve.

Why did the speaker feel regret after learning about mind mapping?

The speaker felt regret because they realized mind mapping could have saved them time and helped them more effectively when taking notes and learning during their academic years.

How does the speaker describe the process of creating a mind map?

The process involves starting with a central topic and building out radially with branches that contain keywords or short phrases. It is free-form and visually organized to reflect personal importance and connections.

What is the significance of using single words or short phrases in a mind map?

Using single words or short phrases helps to trigger the bigger idea in one's mind, making it easier to remember and retrieve the information later.

How does mind mapping differ from traditional note-taking methods?

Mind mapping differs from traditional note-taking as it involves visual and kinesthetic elements, focusing on key ideas and connections rather than transcribing everything verbatim.

What is the speaker's academic background, and how does it relate to their interest in mind mapping?

The speaker has a Ph.D. in mathematics and multiple degrees, which makes their interest in mind mapping relevant as it is a tool that can enhance learning and memory across various subjects.

What role did questions play in Dan Barber's talk about fish, as depicted in the speaker's mind map?

In Dan Barber's talk, questions played a crucial role in driving insights about sustainability and the nature of the fish he fell in love with, highlighting the importance of questioning in understanding complex topics.

How did Sir Ken Robinson's talk on creativity in schools relate to the concept of mind mapping?

Sir Ken Robinson's talk emphasized the importance of nurturing creativity, which aligns with the personal and flexible nature of mind mapping that encourages individual thought and understanding.

What anecdote did the speaker share about their granddaughter's experience with mind mapping?

The speaker shared an anecdote about helping their granddaughter with social studies by using mind mapping, which led to her getting an 'A' on a test for the first time.

What challenge does the speaker issue to the audience regarding mind mapping?

The speaker challenges the audience to practice using mind mapping not only for their own benefit but also to share it with others, which can help internalize the technique and use it more effectively.

How can mind mapping be beneficial in business settings according to the speaker?

Mind mapping can be beneficial in business settings by providing an effective way to take notes during meetings, understand complex topics, and communicate ideas clearly to others.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Power of Mind Mapping for Enhanced Memory and Learning

The speaker introduces mind mapping as an effective note-taking method that aligns with the brain's natural organization, contrasting it with traditional transcription which often fails to engage deeper cognitive processes. They share personal experiences of struggling with memory despite earning multiple degrees, highlighting the inefficiency of merely transcribing information. The essence of mind mapping is presented as a visual and kinesthetic approach, starting from a central topic and radiating out key points, which are personalized to the individual's focus, thus enhancing memory and retrieval. The speaker emphasizes the importance of capturing key ideas and connections rather than detailed transcriptions, which is more in tune with how our brains store information.

05:03

🌟 Mind Mapping's Universal Application and Academic Benefits

The speaker discusses the universal applicability of mind mapping across various subjects and its particular benefits for academic understanding, supported by their 1975 research on the visual and kinesthetic aspects of learning mathematics. They advocate for mind mapping as a tool to work in harmony with the brain, allowing for compact, one-page representations of information with keywords triggering larger ideas. The speaker's personal journey from academic to business settings is shared, demonstrating the method's versatility in meetings and customer interactions. Practical advice on creating a mind map is provided, including the use of a horizontal layout and the importance of capturing connections between ideas.

10:05

🐟 Mind Mapping in Action: Examples from TED Talks

The speaker provides concrete examples of mind mapping by analyzing TED Talks, such as Dan Barber's discussion on sustainable fish and Sir Ken Robinson's insights on creativity in schools. These examples illustrate how mind mapping can capture the essence of a talk, making it easier to recall and convey key points. The speaker emphasizes the importance of questions in driving understanding and the use of mind mapping to organize and remember complex ideas. The examples serve to demonstrate the practical application of mind mapping for both personal learning and communication with others.

15:07

👧🏫 Encouraging Mind Mapping Practice and Its Impact on Learning

The speaker concludes with a personal anecdote about teaching mind mapping to their granddaughter, which led to her achieving the first 'A' grade in social studies. This story underscores the potential of mind mapping to transform learning outcomes. The speaker challenges the audience to practice mind mapping, suggesting that teaching it to others can further internalize one's own understanding and proficiency. The summary encourages the audience to embrace mind mapping not only for personal development but also for sharing with children to enhance their learning experiences.

Keywords

💡Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a visual technique that aids in organizing information and ideas in a way that reflects how the brain naturally processes information. It involves creating a central idea or topic and branching out with associated subtopics or concepts. In the video, mind mapping is the central theme, and it is presented as a method to enhance memory and learning by organizing notes in a manner that is more aligned with neural pathways, as opposed to traditional linear note-taking.

💡Memory

Memory refers to the ability to encode, store, and retrieve information. The video discusses the speaker's personal struggles with memory and how mind mapping can be a tool to improve it. The script mentions that mind mapping helps in better organizing information, which in turn aids in the retention and retrieval of that information, especially when preparing for tests or recalling details from lectures.

💡Kinesthetic

Kinesthetic learning is a method of instruction that involves physical activity and engages the sense of touch. The script highlights the importance of kinesthetic learning in mind mapping by emphasizing the use of hands and arms to create a visual representation of information, which helps in better understanding and remembering the material.

💡Academics

Academics in this context refers to scholarly activities, particularly in the fields of learning and research. The speaker mentions the benefits of mind mapping for academic purposes, such as taking notes during lectures, studying for tests, and organizing complex information in a more digestible format.

💡Note-taking

Note-taking is the act of recording information during lectures, meetings, or while reading. The video script contrasts traditional note-taking methods, which are often linear and transcribe information verbatim, with mind mapping, which encourages selective and organized recording of key points to enhance understanding and recall.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability, as discussed in the context of Dan Barber's talk within the script, refers to the ability of a system to maintain its processes over the long term without depleting resources or causing harm to the environment. The speaker uses the example of fish farming to illustrate the concept of sustainability and how mind mapping can capture the key points of such a discussion.

💡Creativity

Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to produce something new and valuable. The video references Sir Ken Robinson's talk on creativity in schools, where he argues that the educational system can stifle creativity. The script uses mind mapping as a tool to capture and explore creative ideas, emphasizing its utility in brainstorming and idea generation.

💡Key Words

Key words are the central or most significant words in a text, speech, or discussion that encapsulate the main ideas or themes. In the context of mind mapping, key words are written at the end of branches to represent main points or concepts, serving as memory triggers for the larger ideas discussed in the video.

💡Personalization

Personalization refers to tailoring something to meet individual needs or preferences. The script mentions that each person's mind map will be different because what is important to one person may not be to another. This personalization is a key aspect of mind mapping, allowing individuals to focus on the information most relevant to them.

💡Visual

Visual refers to the use of images, diagrams, or spatial arrangements to convey information. The video emphasizes the visual aspect of mind mapping, which involves creating a diagram that starts from a central point and expands outwards. This visual representation is said to better align with how the brain processes and remembers information.

💡Practice

Practice is the action of performing an activity repeatedly to improve or maintain one's skill in it. The speaker challenges viewers to practice mind mapping as a way to internalize the technique and improve their ability to use it effectively. The script includes a personal anecdote about helping a granddaughter improve her social studies grade through the use of mind mapping.

Highlights

Mind mapping is a method to improve note-taking and memory by organizing information in a way that aligns with how the brain naturally works.

The speaker struggled with memory issues and took thousands of pages of notes during their academic career, which was not an efficient way to retain information.

Traditional note-taking methods like handwriting or typing are often just transcribing without truly processing or organizing the information.

Mind mapping involves creating a visual, radial diagram with a central topic and branches for key ideas, which is more engaging and memorable.

Each person's mind map will be unique, reflecting their personal interests and what they find important to remember.

Mind maps use single words or short phrases rather than full sentences, mimicking how the brain stores information as images and key ideas.

The speaker discovered mind mapping after earning four degrees and found it to be a valuable tool that they wish they had known earlier.

Mind mapping is not just useful for academics but also for business, including meetings, customer interactions, and sales.

The visual and kinesthetic aspects of mind mapping, as proven in the speaker's 1975 research, significantly aid in understanding and retaining information.

A mind map is compact, with all information on one page, using keywords and phrases that trigger larger ideas and concepts.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of being able to retrieve information easily, which is facilitated by the mind map's organization.

Mind mapping can be done free-form, allowing for the addition of ideas even after the initial creation, reflecting a flexible thought process.

Examples of mind maps from TED Talks by Dan Barber and Sir Ken Robinson are provided to illustrate the method's effectiveness.

Dan Barber's talk on sustainable fish farming and the importance of asking questions is summarized through a mind map, showing the method's ability to capture key insights.

Sir Ken Robinson's discussion on creativity in schools and the stifling effect of traditional education is outlined in a mind map, highlighting key quotes and ideas.

The speaker shares a personal anecdote about helping their granddaughter improve her social studies grade through mind mapping, demonstrating the method's practical benefits.

The speaker challenges the audience to practice mind mapping to better understand and utilize it, as well as to teach others, which can reinforce one's own learning.

Mind mapping is presented as a versatile tool applicable across various subjects and situations, from academic learning to professional development.

Transcripts

[Music]

mind mapping

is a method by which you can make notes

take notes and help your memory because

you're working

in a way that helps your brain instead

of

gets in the way i spent most of my life

worrying about whether i was going to

remember things

i had parents who had wonderful memories

and other people in my family and mine

wasn't

so i went to college

four degrees including a phd in

mathematics

obviously i spent lots of time listening

to lectures

i made thousands and thousands of pages

of notes

i worried so much that i would forget

something

that i felt like i had to write

everything but whether you hand

write it like i did which ended up with

a

callous on my finger or you type it

you're still just transcribing

you're not thinking about what you're

hearing or reading

you're not organizing it the way your

brain needs to organize it

so that it will remember it better

so that you can learn it

store it and then retrieve it when you

want to and that's really important

being able to

retrieve it so also when you

are writing so fast typing so fast

you're not paying lots of attention and

all of a sudden people around me would

laugh

and i go what did he say what did she

say

because i'd missed it you're not really

hearing everything you can't write as

fast as someone

speaks so this is a mind map

this is a handwritten mind map it's the

kind that i recommend to most people to

do

it's much better to do them at least

when you're first learning but even

later with just a plain piece of paper

and a pencil or a pen the idea is

that you are doing something very visual

you're also

using kinesthetic you are using your

hands your arms

you're thinking about this whole thing

as you're going

you're developing something that starts

in the center

and builds out radially so in the center

goes the topic

it could be the name of someone you're

listening to it could be the

title of a book it could be a question

that you're trying to brainstorm

and then you build out just free form

and you

only put down what's important to you so

each person's mind map

even of the same talk of the same book

will be very different

because what you want to remember what's

important to you

is going to be different than someone

else and that's wonderful

it's very personal and notice also

you all you put down single words or

short phrases

this isn't whole sentences or paragraphs

do you think you store in your brain

paragraphs

how about sentences what about those

outlines you know you spent a lot of

time in school

roman numeral 1 a b c

remember that stuff do you think that's

what you store in your brain

i don't think so you store

images you store key ideas

you store the connections between the

things

you're learning and things you already

knew

so shortly after i finished my fourth

degree i learned about

this thing called mind mapping i had

never heard of it before

this as you can see is a piece of a mind

map

in fact it's the part of the mind map

of my talk but there i was

learning about it for the first time and

first i

felt great regret because boy would that

have saved me time and helped me a lot

when i was taking notes and trying to

learn things and especially getting

ready for tests

or being able to tell somebody else

about what i heard

and then i started to get angry how come

i never came across this before

how come nobody had ever shown me this

thing called mind mapping

and as i researched it i found that

there were places around the world where

things were being talked about in

england they were doing a lot of it and

in australia but we hadn't heard very

much about it here

and i finally felt very grateful that i

had

finally because it works like the brain

works

my research published way back

in 1975 proved

how important the visual and kinesthetic

is to people understanding mathematics

and now i had found a tool to apply in

all kinds of curricula

and all kinds of subjects not just

mathematics

so we need to be able

to do something to help our brain to

work with our brain

rather than against it and the way a

mind

map works it's compact it's all on one

page

you only write keywords or short phrases

but those trigger words those key

words trigger for you the bigger idea so

you learn to pay attention

to what you're reading or what you're

hearing and write down what's most

important so it triggers the bigger idea

so later when you want to think about it

and talk about it you can easily do it

i was attracted because of what it does

for academia

but i used it all the years in business

too

every meeting every meeting with a

customer every sales meeting

everyone that you go to fantastic way

to take notes and to explain it to

someone else

so here is how it works you take a piece

of paper

horizontally the reason it's horizontal

is so that while you're writing and

while you're reading the word most of

the words are facing the way we usually

read

by the way it shouldn't have lines but

if you can't find a piece of paper

without lines then don't worry about it

just

put it horizontal and ignore the lines

write down

key words write down short phrases

and very important the connections

between these things

you build out radially so in the center

is the topic or the name or the person

or the question

and you build out completely free form

writing doing your branches and writing

what's on it whatever works for you

and sometimes there was a subject you

were paying attention to and writing

something on one branch

and suddenly later something else comes

up or you think of something you go back

and add it to that branch completely

free form

again very personal the way it works for

you

so you can go back to looking at it

you are thinking you're not blindly

documented you're not blindly

transcribing something you're

thinking about how does it fit together

how does it work and

how will i remember it when i need to

so i'm going to give you a couple of

examples and i think it'll help you

really understand how this works

and i chose ted examples because i think

you might be familiar with it

the first example i thought i'd share

with you is dan barber's talk

about how i fell in love with a fish now

here is

the way i would have done it the

old-fashioned way right

i would have written everything down

line after line just

following what he said and how would i

explain that to someone else i have to

read the whole thing

how would i find a particular point that

i wanted to remember

i again i have to read the whole thing

just like

studying and going back through the

exactly the same things you heard the

first time

but here is the mind map

of dan barber's talk how i fell

in love with a fish so if you look at

the branches here

first he was a chef and he certainly

served a lot of fish

and he fell in love with a particular

fish because

he understood it was sustainable and he

did a little more research and he found

out that they were feeding the fish 30

percent

chicken and he decided

ah it's not sustainable and he fell

out of love with that fish

so later he tasted a fish that was

overcooked

and still delicious he fell in love with

fish too

and this fish was so amazing that he

even ate the skin which he said he never

did before because it was delicious

and he went to talk to miguel miguel was

the person

who he understood ran the fish farm and

miguel said i don't really run a fish

farm

i run a sanctuary for birds and there

are lots of fish there

and i don't have to bring any food for

the fish it's all natural they just eat

what they naturally eat and the water is

clean and everything

so dan barber learned a lot about this

and learned a lot about agriculture and

has recommendations on it

but what was most important about his

talk

is that i noticed he asked questions

really really good

questions and it was the questions who

gave that gave him

the insights he asked questions

about what is sustainability

he asked the question how could an

overcooked foot fish taste this good

how could a fish that is overcooked

tastes this good and then he asked why

do flamingos fly so far for their food

so it was about the questions they are

what helped him

understand the whole issue and then be

able to share it with us

and you see a mind map allows me

to explain it to you you can follow what

i am saying

let's do another one sir ken robinson

has done a number of talks

he talked about creativity in schools

and claims that schools are killing

creativity

and here again is my little hand done

mind map and i do recommend that when

people are first learning them

they do that but you'll find even later

even after you get really good at it

just grabbing a piece of paper and a

pencil

that's handy at the moment you want to

take notes

you'll do that all the time you won't

have to worry about doing it so

in any special form but of course

when you want other people to read your

handwriting sometimes it's not so good i

admit that

so i do put it sometimes into a computer

program and there are lots of them

and that allows other people to read it

as well

so ken robinson is the one who talked

about creativity in school

and he said that the problem the good

thing about children

is that children aren't afraid to be

wrong and so therefore they're more

creative

but we kind of schooled some of that out

of them

he also had some wonderful quotes that i

wanted to remember

one of his quotes had to do with the

fact that if

insects were gone he said all life would

be over

but if humans were gone the rest of life

would flourish

i thought that was pretty good and i

wanted to make sure i remembered it so

it's one of my branches

he also talked ab about the

use of jokes and he had lots of jokes in

his

talk and there were so many jokes and i

also wanted to keep track of some of

them so i put a branch out there for

jokes that i wanted to remember one of

them

was imagine for a moment that you're an

english teacher and you have nine year

old shakespeare in your class

how are you going to handle that right

so here i have a mind map where i showed

what was important to me

in his talk and

being able to do that on a mind map

allows you

to be able to pay attention to just what

you want

write down just the things that you care

about

and there they are ready for you to

explain

and he wanted creativity at the top of

the pyramid

along with literacy and i'm reminded of

that

when i look at the mind map

so what about you maybe you're feeling a

little angry too

if you have never heard of this before

maybe you're thinking you could have

been helping your brain

all along or maybe you knew about this a

bit

but never really paid attention and

learned

to use it it takes some practice

anything new that you do

takes some practice

so i challenge you now to practice

using mind mapping and you'll really be

helping your brain i have one last

little

uh story or anecdote to share with you

and that is that some years ago i was

asked to help my

young granddaughter who was not doing

well in

social studies and i went over to help

her

and i showed her how to mind map and she

mind mapped the chapter about the us

government

and the next day she got an a the first

a she'd ever gotten in social studies

it was very exciting so two days ago

i called her and i asked her

hey do you remember that day i came over

and showed you mind mapping

and she said i sure do we had all these

colored pens and we drew this picture

and i really understood that chapter and

i did very well on the test the next day

and

i kept using it in school especially in

high school

so i challenge you not only for you

to practice mind mapping and learn it

better

but share it with some others when you

do that

you will internalize it better and be

able to use it better teach

someone else and especially teach some

children to use mind mapping thank you