Add a Mind map to your practical activity to help your students visually organize their thoughts.
The Mind map provides an excellent space for individual brainstorming. Start with a main idea in the middle and add more bubbles branching out from there. A mind map is a great way to introduce a new concept or to begin a practical activity, as it helps the student organise their existing knowledge and identify gaps that can be answered through research and exploration.
Click to jump straight to a section or keep reading below:
- How to set up the Mind map;
- How students interact with the Mind map;
- How to review student responses.
How to set up the Mind map
The Mind map widget can be found in the Questions section of your content bar in Prepare mode. If you can't see the content bar in your Lesson, click on the Add content tab sticking to the right edge of your page.
When writing the question, you have access to the full rich text toolbar that includes options for formatting, special characters, and mathematical notation. Click here for a complete tutorial on what's available. You may want to help your students with some visual cues, such as writing keywords in bold or highlighting details with italics.
If your Lesson is an Assessment, then be sure to adjust the number of marks. All Stile questions are worth 1 mark by default and this can be changed to whatever you like. If the Lesson is not an assessed quiz or test then this box can be ignored.
You can fill in the first bubble or two to help guide your students, or leave it blank for them to create their own structure. Click on the Main idea bubble in the middle of the Mind map to get started and enter a word or phrase for your students to work from. To add sub-idea bubbles, click on the bubble you want to branch from and then click the (+) button at the top of the Mind map.
You also have access to the Undo and Redo buttons (left- and right-pointing curly arrows) and the Delete button (rubbish bin).
The model answer can be written next. Click the Model answer tab below the question text box. Model answers mimic student responses, so your tools for creating the answer will be exactly the same as those provided to the student. This includes a Reset button, which will erase the model answer and bring the Mind map back to the starting point.
The nature of the Mind map question means there is likely no right answer, and that each student's response will vary. Because of this, the Model answer space can be used to show an exceptional example of a student effort on the Mind map, or you can include key topics/phrases that you hope the students will consider. This will help you later when you review their work.
In the Settings tab you can flag the question as a Key question or Challenge. These flags are optional and should not be used on every question in a Lesson. Key questions demonstrate student understanding of a stated learning goal, and Challenges are typically more difficult to answer than the rest of the Lesson. You can learn more about Key questions and Challenge questions here.
Click the blue Done button in the lower right corner of the widget when you are satisfied with the question's setup.
How students interact with the Mind map
Students working through your Lesson will see the question as you've written it followed by the Mind map as you have prepared it. In the example above, the teacher input the main idea of "Tomato growth factors" to get students started. Students have access to the same tools as teachers: add and remove bubbles, type in bubbles and Undo/Redo buttons. Up to three levels of sub-ideas can be added.
The student will be able to see more information after you review the student's work and release answers and feedback. Releasing answers allows the student to see the marks they earned, any comments you've made on their response, and the model answer to the question. You must deliberately release answers for your students to see them, but on a non-assessed Lesson your comments will appear in real time.
How to review student responses
Teach mode allows you to view and manage your students' responses during class. You can also make it a collaborative activity in which your students give you suggestions and you type them into the Mind map. Click on View responses to open Quick review and anonymously review students' Mind maps with the whole Class. Student names are hidden by default so there is no bias when publicly displaying student responses.
In Analyse mode, Mind maps only display the question. Click on View responses to open Quick review and see each student's collection of responses individually.
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