• 6 months ago
Transcript
00:00Happy birthday, buddy ol' pal!
00:07Go ahead, blow it out.
00:10Oh, right, no lungs.
00:17Dear Tim and Moby, what is concept mapping and what can I use it for?
00:22Thanks, Martin.
00:23Well, lots of things, Martin.
00:26A concept map is a tool for displaying your understanding of a topic.
00:31You can personalize your maps with images and all kinds of creative layouts.
00:35That makes them fun to do and useful for all kinds of learning.
00:41Well pretty much anything, taking notes, doing research, brainstorming ideas, even planning
00:46out projects.
00:47For instance, we could, um, the candle.
00:52Have you ever wondered what keeps a flame burning?
00:56Well, we can use a concept map to guide us toward the answer.
01:01Let's start with our focus question to help us stay on track.
01:05Next we'll come up with our main idea.
01:08I'd say in this case it's fire.
01:09I like to use a picture or a drawing to get my mind working.
01:14Now we can brainstorm related ideas.
01:17What do we know, or think we know, about fire?
01:21Right, a flame is hot and it creates smoke.
01:27It's usually colored orange, yellow, and sometimes a bit of blue.
01:35Wood, gasoline, and candle wax all make good fuel for a fire.
01:42Fire needs oxygen, too.
01:44Now, besides breath, what are some enemies of fire?
01:49Yup, wind and water work.
01:53Now that we have some starting concepts, we can start linking them together.
01:58It's good practice to put broad concepts, like fuel and color, closer to the main idea
02:03than specific ones, like wood and yellow.
02:07So fire needs fuel, and these are some types.
02:12Make sure to label your connections, even if it's just a single word.
02:16Since this relationship has a direction to it, let's make it an arrow.
02:19Fuel types we can leave as lines, since it really doesn't matter which way you read it.
02:24And I'll give them a different shape to show that they're examples of a broader idea.
02:29Images and colors can add even more context to your map, making it easier to read.
02:35Nope, these are just my personal choices.
02:38Use whatever makes sense to you.
02:41Let's take care of the rest of these.
02:44Now we have a snapshot of our understanding of the topic, and I'm starting to see where
02:48our gaps are.
02:50Like, what is fire made of, and just how hot can a candle's flame get?
02:57These unknown concepts will help guide my research.
03:00And if I find anything unexpected, I can still include it.
03:05Fitting all this info into my map will help me understand and retain it.
03:10Instead of trying to memorize a list of new ideas, I'll be figuring out how they link
03:13up with what I already know.
03:16In other words, I'll be converting information into knowledge.
03:22Now that we've got a good-sized map, the real fun comes in, discovering cross-links.
03:27These are connections between concepts in different areas of the map.
03:31Like that the colors of a flame come from a chemical reaction, and that smoke is made
03:36of solids from the fuel.
03:39Ideas like these enhance and deepen our understanding of the topic.
03:45It may look a bit disorganized, but it actually mimics how our brains store information.
03:51That's why you might hear these called mind maps, or thought webs.
03:54They're visual models for how we think.
03:57As you learn more, you can keep adding to the edges, fitting your main idea into broader
04:01areas.
04:02Like, where does firelight fall on the light spectrum?
04:06And since heat's a form of energy, how does fire fit into that picture?
04:11Your map can also help you investigate more specific questions, like why does blowing
04:15on the candle put it out?