Teaching

techniques

Mind mapping as a
teaching resource
Sarah Edwards, Fourth-Year Medical Student at Peninsula Medical School, University of
Exeter, Exeter, UK
Nick Cooper, Clinical Senior Lecturer, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry,
Plymouth, UK

Mind mapping
has many
potential
applications to
clinical
education

SUMMARY
Background: Modern mind
mapping has been around since the
mid-1970s, having been developed
in its current form by Tony Buzan.
It works by taking information
from several sources and displaying this information as key words
in a bright, colourful manner. Mind
maps have been described as an
effective study technique when
applied to written material.
Context: This paper looks at how
to use mind mapping as a teaching resource, and was written as a

result of the recent undergraduate

Doctors as Teachers conference
at The Peninsula Medical School.
Innovation: Mind mapping is a
technique not often used or considered by many teachers. This
paper looks at how a busy clinical
teacher can apply this technique
in a practical, useable way. This
allows topics to be more interesting to students and makes
both learning and teaching more
enjoyable.
Implications: Mind mapping has
many potential applications to

236  Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2010; 7: 236239

clinical education, and can be

adapted to many situations. It
can be used as a teaching
resource, as an aid to preparing
and reviewing lectures, and the
technique allows notes to be
written and reviewed quickly, and
most importantly enables information to be easily updated. Mind
mapping can be used in many
situations including problembased learning, small-group
teaching, in a one-to-one
context, as an examination tool
and for personal revision.

This paper will look at how to use

mind mapping as a teaching
resource that will be beneficial to
the busy clinical teacher. This
paper has been written as a result
of the recent undergraduate
Doctors as Teachers conference
at The Peninsula Medical School.

Mind mapping
can be used as a
teaching
resource to
facilitate the
teaching
experience

MIND MAPPING AS A
TEACHING RESOURCE
There are several areas in which
mind mapping can be used as a
teaching resource to facilitate the
teaching experience. The following topics will be discussed.

Figure 1. How to mind map.

INTRODUCTION

ind mapping is loved by

some; loathed by others.
Modern mind mapping has
been around since the mid1970s, and was developed by
Tony Buzan (http://www.
thinkbuzan.com). Mind mapping
works by taking information from
several sources and then displaying information as keywords
in a bright colourful manner. A
key, central idea is placed in the
centre of a page, and is often

surrounded by a memorable picture (e.g. myocardial infarction,

surrounded by a heart). Extending from the key central idea are
several main branches, and from
each of these main branches
more detailed information is
added (Figures 1 and 2; the
software used to create these
figures is Buzans IMINDMAP, for
more information see http://
www.thinkbuzan.com). Mind
maps have been described as an
effective study technique when
applied to written material.1,2

Preparing and reviewing

teaching sessions.
Teaching and using mind maps
during lessons.
Using mind maps for examinations.
Preparing and reviewing
Life is inevitably busy, and if it is
possible to keep a set of notes
that takes only minutes to review
before each session, this can
make preparing for a teaching
session less demanding on time.
There are three ways in which

Figure 2. Mind map example.

 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2010; 7: 236239 237

It is possible to
use a mind map
as a prompt, i.e.
as a set of cue
cards

the students to see a topic and

how everything within this topic
links together. As the students
get involved in creating this map
it retains their interest, as they
are involved in the development
of the topic.

mind maps can help you, as a

clinical teacher, prepare and
review your teaching sessions:
writing notes, updating notes and
reminding.

ing sessions are as up-to-date as

possible. Also, you can, when
reviewing these mind maps,
remind yourself by reading these
maps.

Before the initial teaching

session of a new topic, mind maps
would allow notes to be made
from key texts and papers very
quickly. After reading key
information, you would be able
summarise all that information on
several sheets of paper, as
opposed to copying paragraphs of
text verbatim. Taking this information from several sources and
condensing it to several pages of
key topics, and keywords, allows
consolidation of the work. Using
both sides of the brain and
mapping the information out
allows you, the teacher, to see
how the information interrelates.1
Conversely, if you were given a
topic with several key headings to
follow, you could use each of
these key headings as a central
idea, allowing you to map the
information, ensuring all key
information was present.

Teaching and using mind maps

in lessons
There are many ways that using a
mind map can assist in the
teaching of students, one of
which is as a prompt and revision
tool. It is possible to use a mind
map as a prompt, i.e. as a set of
cue cards. The mind map could be
set to match presentation slides.
As the keywords and key topics
would be clearly identified, this
would help ensure everything that
needs to be taught is taught. A
completed mind map could be
given to students as a summary
for the coming term, tutorial or
lecture. This would allow students
to prepare by focusing on key
topics only, and not diverging on
a tangent.

Updating
Medicine is an ever-evolving,
dynamic subject that changes
constantly. If the topic is one
being delivered, for example in
undergraduate medicine, you
could update the mind maps with
new information as it appears.
This would ensure that all teach-

It is possible to teach a class

by mind mapping. This would in
practice work by giving the key
central idea on a board to the
class. Next, the teacher would
discuss with the students what
they think are the key topics. This
would allow students to become
engaged in the discussion, and
involved by writing-up these
ideas. Each topic would be individually discussed and a mind
map drawn up. This would allow

238  Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2010; 7: 236239

Using mind maps in

examinations
Acknowledging Tony Buzans suggestion that mind maps can be
used as an examination tool, this
can be explored in a medical
context.1 Traditional exams often
work by getting students to
regurgitate facts in the form of
essays or by using multiple-choice
questions (MCQs), allowing a large
breadth of topics to be assessed.
Mind maps could be used in a
similar way to MCQs. A mind map
could be given to the students
with just the central idea: for
example, heart failure. The students, in a given time, would then
have to mind map out everything
they know about this topic, and
how it links to others. Under the
key heading of aetiology, from
the central idea of heart failure,
students would include: ischaemic
heart disease, hypertension,
valvular heart disease etc. From
each of these headings, the
students would be able to explore
these topics in more depth. This
would then show the teacher the
breadth of knowledge each
student has, along with the
depth. These links, and the ability
to link information and present it,
enables the teacher to see
whether students truly
understand the topics they are
covering.

CONCLUSION
Mind mapping can be used as an
effective way of getting information in and out of your brain: it is
a creative and logical means of
note-taking and note-making
that literally maps out your
ideas.1,2 This visual image makes
remembering information easier,
bringing what can be dull information to life; like the classic

cliche, a picture paints a thousand words, a mind map can paint

dull information in a creative, fun
and memorable way. Using mind
maps allows students to become
more actively involved in their
learning process. This approach
can then inspire more interest in
what is being learned.
Mind mapping can be used as
a teaching resource in a variety
of ways: preparing and reviewing
lectures, by allowing notes to be

written and reviewed quickly, and

allowing information to be easily
updated. It teaches students by
allowing them to see how their
topics are linked in a colourful,
clear manner. Finally, as an
examination tool, it allows a
students breadth of knowledge
to be seen. Mind mapping has
the potential to add a new
experience to teaching. Any
resistance to the technique can
be overcome with the motivation

of teachers and students to use

the method.3
REFERENCES
1. Buzan T. How to Mind Map: The Ultimate Thinking Tool That Will Change
Your Life. London: Thorsons; 2002.
2. Buzan T, Buzan B. The Mind Map Book.
London: BBC Active; 2006.

Using mind
maps allows
students to
become more
actively
involved in
their learning
process

3. Farrand P, Hussain F, Hennessy E. The

Efficacy of Mind Mapping as a Study
Technique. Med Educ 2002;36:426
431.

Corresponding authors contact details: Sarah Edwards, 116 Teglan Park, Tycroes, Ammanford, Carms, SA18 3PD, UK. E-mail: sarah.edwards@
students.pms.ac.uk

Funding: None.
Conflict of interest: None.
Ethical approval: Not required.

 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2010; 7: 236239 239