Expertise and creativity have enormous value. They often determine the success at work. Learn how to stimulate creative thinking and find innovative ways of learning.

For centuries, our civilization has accustomed to linear ways of teaching. What does this mean? The information was given, and hence absorbed, one after the other, in the way established by the person ordering it. It was forced by the way of communication - text written in the book can be described as a sequence of consecutive messages. The order of putting them is according to existing between them logical or chronological relationship: one thing is clear from the second or is followed by it in time (the latter type of relationship concerns for example traditional history textbooks). The reality, however, usually turns out to be so complex that it cannot accurately reflect such a simple system of dependency. A fact is associated with many others. Togethe,r they form sort of network rather than a line. The network of associations - this is how our mind works. Therefore, modern methods of listing, organizing information and promoting creativity, focus on forming this complex relationship. Below, you will find a description of three of them. I hope they will be useful in your intellectual work.

MIND MAP

It is a graphical way of creating and structuring ideas. It is designed to store new information, but also to test them, and is aimed at problem solving or even taking decisions. Making a mind map is a kind of drawing connections between the relevant facts or ideas. We begin by placing a key element in our notes. Around, we write another sentences from which, in turn, we create a branch for further, related key words. And so, until all of the issue is analyzed.

The result is a visual note of the idea of​​successive levels of sub concentrically organized around the main idea. This way of writing the knowledge down allows having a good look at the connections of its elements and their position in the hierarchy. Such an approach stimulates the awareness, or creation of new relationships, and thus fresh and creative approach to problems which with the traditional, linear writing are proposed to be solved in one and the same way.

For this reason, the mind map is intended to reflect and stimulate the work of our brain, when you create it is recommended to combine both text and graphics. It is worth to enrich it with drawings (icons symbolizing a particular piece of information) and apply the colors. Thanks to this, note will activate both hemispheres of the brain, while the traditional text stimulates just left. So at least say the creators of the method - Tony Buzan and Barry Buzan. An additional advantage is that graphic listing engages our mind, allows to avoid boredom, and thus facilitates the systematic study.

Mind map can be used everywhere, where we do mental work. Some of the possible uses of graphic recording are:

• making notes from the lecture
• planning public speech
• analyzing the problem,
• stimulating brainstorming,
• organizing knowledge,
• consolidate knowledge,
• learning.

The effectiveness of mind maps comes from the fact that it is a reflection on the card of association structure, we have in mind. It also shows some limitations - it is a very subjective way of making notes and a map can be rather used only by its author. There are computer programs to create mind maps (also free). However, many people claim that they lack what is the most important in this method, which is subjective, a unique trait of each note.

Mind map is decidedly better than ordinary text in terms of detail. In mind map, we can conclude rather a general outline only, the logical structure of knowledge, not the details. It is a defect, but also an advantage - a mind map looks like lightning, which makes it an extremely effective tool to repeat material and consolidate an already gained knowledge.