IDENTIFY THE ROLE OF MIND MAPS IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING A DISSERTATION FOR A THIRD YEAR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

Abstract

There has been a vast amount of research completed in the field of pedagogy over the years. Despite this, as a student in the 1970’s, Tony Buzan found that there was a lack of literature or guidance on how to use the brain effectively (Buzan and Buzan, 2000). Consequently, Tony Buzan developed a set of laws for mind maps, which were specifically designed to mimic the structure and function of the brain. The aim of the current study was to identify the role of mind maps in the process of writing a dissertation, for a third year, undergraduate, pedagogy student, at a university based in South Wales. Focus groups were conducted with eleven undergraduate students and an interview was completed with a pedagogy lecturer. The results of this study indicated that mind maps are a useful teaching and learning tool with regards to planning and providing feedback. Furthermore, the use of Buzan’s IMind Map software can realistically be considered as a viable resource in this area of study. However, it must be mentioned that the preconceptions of the participants was sometimes a limiting factor to the success of this learning tool. This would suggest that mind maps introduced at a young age will become established as a sustainable learning habit, developing with the individual.