1. Mind Mapping (Part 2 - Connections to Brain Research)
Instructional Strategy Created by... Tony Buzan
Shared by Sandra Fraser
YRDSB Curriculum Consultant

2. Connecting Mind Mapping to Brain Research

3. Simplified summary of the basic differences between the two hemispheres:
Parts / Pieces
Words
Sentences
Logic
Numbers
Sequential Thinking
Linearity
Analysis
Lists
Controls Feelings
Sees Whole Picture
Language Comprehension
Image, Emotion, Meaning
Rhythm, Flow
Spatial Awareness
Imagination
Spontaneous Thinking
Colour
Dimensions
Intuitive
Mind Mapping uses both sides of the brain.
LEFT
RIGHT

4. Humans are intensely visual animals
Humans are intensely visual animals. The eyes contain nearly 70 percent of the body’s sensory receptors and send millions of signals every second along the optic nerves to the visual processing centers of the brain... We take in more information visually than through any of the other senses.
- Patricia Wolfe

5. Memory Systems Sensory Memory Working Memory Long-Term Memory
Rehearsal
Sensory
Memory
(1 to 2 seconds)
Working
Memory
(about 18 seconds)
Sight
Sound
Taste
Smell
Touch
Long-Term Memory
Declarative Procedural Visuospatial
Semantic Episodic Skills Priming

6. Rehearsal
Rehearsal is the processing of information which allows us to hold the data in consciousness (working memory) for longer than a few seconds, and to work with the information in such a way as to ensure its transfer to long-term memory. Mind Mapping helps support the transfer of information into long-term memory due to the fact that it is used as a rehearsal tool.

7. Rehearsal It is now part of your long term memory!
According to Tony Buzan’s research, here is the timeline required to ensure that your Mind Map becomes part of your long-term memory. Wow!
Starts in working memory...
Rehearsal
It is now part of your long term memory!

8. Where are Memories Stored?
Memories are reconstructed when called upon. Bits and pieces of a single memory are stored in different networks of neurons all around the brain. Pieces are brought together when a memory is recalled.

9. The Hippocampus as Master Regulator
Without the hippocampus, we could learn and remember nothing, and yet the hippocampus does not store memories. Instead, it acts like a collating machine, filtering new associations. It decides what is important, and what to ignore, and sends packets of information to other parts of the brain.

10. Renate and Geoffrey Caines’ model of brain-based learning includes some of the following principles:
The brain is a parallel processor in that it can perform numerous activities simultaneously.
Learning is a sense-making activity in which new knowledge is acquired relative to existing knowledge.
The brain is a pattern-seeker.
Emotions affect the quality of thinking.
The brain processes parts and wholes simultaneously.
Learning involves both conscious and unconscious processes.
The brain involves multiple memory systems, including the spatial memory and the rote memory.
Can you make any connections to the creating of Mind Maps?

11. The End