Understanding the Thinking Map

Thinking Map Overview

Have you ever seen an organizational thinking map and wondered, “how on earth do you use that?” Or do you advise students to use them without being able to quite put in words why they're useful? A recent post on social media that I found will help. I watch social media closely and it's my job to share some of the hot topics on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other outlets that teachers, principals, students, and parents are contributing.

Alex Corbitt recently posted an infographic explaining thinking maps on his Twitter account. The infographic provides an image of the graph, its basic function, and a way to contextualize that graph's usage. It's a one-stop-shop to understanding thinking maps. You can see the image below.

It's all pretty self-explanatory. The charts are used to help during brainstorming, to help break a complex idea down into simpler parts, to help yourself and students contextualize ideas through a visual, and more.  By knowing all of the charts available and how to use them, you'll be doing yourself and your classroom a favor.

Were there any charts you haven't heard of before? Have you ever used these in a classroom project before? Were there any charts you've used in the past that weren't included on this infographic?

Tori Pakizer is the Social Media Editor at SimpleK12.com. She writes regularly about the use of educational technology in K-12 classrooms, and specializes in how teachers use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and other social media. You can follow Tori and SimpleK12 on Twitter @SimpleK12. If you have ideas for using social media in schools, please send your information or tip to editor@simplek12.com.