My English Pages

How to use a mind map
A mind map is a graphical tool used to represent words, ideas, tasks, images or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. In other words, it is a visualisation of  what happens in our minds. It helps people to:

better analyze
generate,
visualize,
synthesize,
comprehend,
recall,
structure,
and classify ideas,

It is generally used  in

study,
note taking,
brainstorming,
summarizing,
revising,
organization,
problem solving,
decision making,
and writing.

Tony Buzan, the British popular psychology author,  presents in this video his ideas about mind mapping. He says that the brain is radiant; it thinks centrally and explodes in …

Problem solving
The integration of problem solving skills in education seeks to produce competent problem solvers who are willing to take action and come up with creative ideas. In fact, encouraging our students to be able to come up with new original solutions to problems is one of the key elements in any successful educational system. These skills constitute a major step in training learners to face the challenges of the real world.  Here are some tips that can help learners in the process of  generating better ideas.

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a very effective technique to generate ideas. To understand what exatctly brainstorming is and how to use it in EFL and ESL classes, have a look at these previuous posts.

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a tool that uses a relaxed, informal atmosphere combined with lateral thinking to solve problems. In spite of its importance in the generation of new ideas, many students do not have enough training to use it. This activity will teach students to brainstorm effectively. It can be carried out in a one-period session.  No materials are required apart from a pen or pencil and sheets of paper.

What is Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a combination of  a relaxed, informal approach to problem-solving and lateral thinking. People are asked to find ideas and thoughts that can at first seem to be a bit irrelevent. The idea is to use some of these ideas to form original, creative solutions to problems. Even some seemingly useless ideas can spark still more ideas. The goal of brainstorming is to direct people to new ways of thinking and break from the usual way of reasoning.