Mapping Out Math

As a statistics instructor, I spend a lot of time trying to get students to think correctly. I encourage them to make a flow chart illustrating the concepts of the chapter. If they do it, I haven't been able to know. But now, I can make an assignment for them to do just this with Mindomo. Mindomo is an online concept mapping tool that is free and easy to use. View this video to see how to create a map and to get some ideas on how to use it in your math or other classes.



My original thought was to have students build a map on a topic like probability. I wanted them to layout each of the formulas to be used in a flowchart fashion. The map would include notes listing definitions and the formula to be used on each branch. In addition to having my students list the definitions and formulas, I wanted them to give an example of each type of problem. That's where I ran in to the problem. I realized that not all students would have the ability to create their problem in a format so that it was viewable from the web. So instead, I decided that I would create the videos myself and provide students with the links to these unlabeled videos. Then the students could link to each video in the appropriate places on their maps. This would ensure that 1) the students looked at the videos and 2) if linked correctly, they had some understanding of the concepts. Look for a later post to find out how this worked out for my students.