Best Mind Mapping Methods and Tools for Learning
Mind mapping is useful for increasing productivity in everyday tasks, but it’s also a widely used method in studying. A mind map isn’t just a diagram representing tasks, but a visualization of the interrelationships of ideas. Seeing key concepts represented by shapes and their connections through lines can help you better understand the material as a whole, especially if you’re a more visual learner. Here’s what you need to know when using mind maps for studying and how to make their creation significantly easier.
What are the benefits of mind mapping for learning?
A mind map helps you generate ideas based on their connections to other concepts, as well as better remember information. First, you place the central idea in the center of the page, then draw branches for other ideas. For example, if you need to write an essay about the Civil War, you write it in the center, then add branches such as “causes,” “participants,” and “results.”
Each of these related concepts can and should have its own branches. From “Participants,” you could draw two lines branching off to “Union” and “Confederacy.” Below them, you could list the states that were on either side. Obviously, these maps can get quite long quickly, so while I generally recommend using pencil and paper for study because they help you remember information better , a mind map is an exception to the rule. Apps and digital templates are better because you won’t have to waste time erasing and crossing out to make room.
You can prepare for this lesson by carefully taking notes during class and jotting down the most important keywords. You can even use mapping as a standalone note-taking method , branching off related ideas and words as you listen. Again, this can quickly become confusing, so only attempt this if you’re already relatively familiar with the material or are comfortable quickly revising and redrawing the map in real time.
As you build your mind map, keep expanding. For example, in the example above, the “causes” include slavery, of course, but also various economic policies, cultural values, and opinions about how far the federal government should influence itself. Use different types of lines to connect all the related ideas; all three of them are related to slavery in some way, so they can be linked not only to “causes” but also to “slavery,” which helps further visually demonstrate that the Civil War was fought primarily over slavery. In this case, you can use dotted lines to represent ideas related to several major components of the material. The method for setting this up is up to your preference; just make sure you have a key somewhere so you remember what a dotted, wavy, straight, or any other line means. Don’t forget to experiment with shapes, too. Facts could be squares, dates could be triangles, and so on. Incorporate all of this into your key.
The purpose of this is to stimulate your creative thinking and help you make connections between ideas and visualise the main themes, which is useful for understanding subjects or planning an essay.
Exploring Use Cases
As I mentioned, you can try this when taking notes in class. Depending on your reading speed and general artistic ability, this may be a good note-taking method for you. But there are other ways to incorporate mind maps into your learning process. For example, some reading comprehension techniques require periodic summaries of what you’ve read. Creating a mind map instead of writing paragraph summaries can be a good way to reframe your thinking.
Another example is the 2357 method, which suggests reviewing and analyzing materials on the second, third, fifth, and seventh days after the initial study. Mixing up review styles helps you approach the material from all angles, so it’s worth incorporating a mind-mapping session on one of these days. You can also create mind maps during dual encoding or practice using audio and visual cues to reinforce the material twice. You can create mind maps while listening to a lecture or speaking the material out loud for a double boost.
The Best Mind Map Templates
You can do this on a piece of paper, in Microsoft Word, or a similar program, using various lines and shapes to connect and outline your ideas. But you know what’s even easier? Use ready-made templates. Here are my favorites:
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Lucidchart is an online program that allows you to create three editable diagrams with the free version. If you need unlimited documents, you can purchase a separate subscription for $9 per month. The free version allows you to create only 60 shapes per document but includes 100 templates. The paid version allows you to create an unlimited number of objects and includes premium shapes and templates.
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Miro is a free tool with extensive collaboration features, making it a great option for group work. It’s easy to use, includes a variety of templates, and works seamlessly across all devices, allowing you to edit your map directly on your phone, no matter where you are. The free version offers 5,000 templates, and, like Lucidchart, allows you to create three boards. However, access to an unlimited number of boards, higher-resolution export, and the ability to organize boards into folders requires an $8 per month fee.
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Of course, Canva , a free online graphics program, is always a good choice for creating mind maps and any other visual tasks. The site has over 1,000 ready-made templates, and it’s incredibly easy to use. I had a professor in graduate school who loved assigning mind maps, and despite my penny-pinching, I always chose this option. It has just over 4,000 built-in mind map templates, which I honestly didn’t know about in school, so if you use them, you’ll already be smarter than me, since I did it all by hand, dragging shapes around the canvas.
My favorite: Xmind
There are apps that work seamlessly not only on your computer but also on your phone. I like Xmind, which offers color-coded templates that are ready to be filled in and dragged and dropped. It’s great for group projects because it allows multiple people to access and edit the same map, and most of its features are completely free.
For free, you can access a three-day version history cache to see previous edits and map versions, as well as an unlimited number of topics and maps, which is rare in the mind mapping industry. Xmind Premium costs $10 per month, and the Pro tier is $15, but an annual subscription is much cheaper: $59 for Pro and $99 for Premium. Pro gives you more options for colors and slides, as well as the ability to add equations, topic links, numbering, tasks, and attachments to maps, so if you study materials that rely on these, you may want to upgrade. You also get custom themes and more export formats. Premium adds AI-generated to-do lists to the package, along with a 30-day version history cache, unlimited storage, and unlimited collaboration features.