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Using Mind Maps to Teach Class Objectives

Presented at 11:45am in Independence on Friday, November 10, 2023.

#38678

Speaker(s)

  • Shari Lanning, Veterinarian, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: Beginner
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Mind Maps are a teaching tool that can be utilized to represent ideas or objectives to help learners that prefer visual representation of material. There are free programs that students and teachers can use to help organize their thoughts for any subject. Neurodiverse students often use Mind Maps to learn. By utilizing Mind Maps in the classroom, one can start to use the principles of Universal Design to teach to all learners and allow them to better succeed in our classrooms.

Abstract

Mind Maps are a teaching tool that can be utilized to represent ideas or objectives to help learners that prefer visual representation of material. There are free programs that students and teachers can use to help organize their thoughts for any subject. Neurodiverse students often use Mind Maps to learn. By utilizing Mind Maps in the classroom, one can start to use the principles of Universal Design to teach to all learners and allow them to better succeed in our classrooms. Following the guidelines and principles to promote a Universal Design within the classroom, I work to support students that are often plagued with anxiety related to the stigma of accommodations and neurodiversity while also following best practices of higher education. Some students prefer the use of mind maps to help make better connections to relevant material, highlight important key words, and connect facts to visual cues within the courses. I created a Mind Map for every lecture in each of my courses that can be converted to PDFs and downloaded by my students, using a free online program. I will show how the program works and how it can be applied to STEM courses or presentations.

Keypoints

  1. Providing students with alternative ways to review course information can allow for more accessible learning.
  2. Online learning provides many ways in which an instructor can allow for Universal Design in the classroom.
  3. Neurodiverse learners benefit when given multiple formats for learning.

Disability Areas

Cognitive/Learning, Psychological

Topic Areas

Alternate Format, Faculty Development & Support, Uncategorized, Universal Design for Learning, Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Shari Lanning

I graduated from Colorado State University in 2006 with my DVM and concurrently received my certification in Veterinary Acupuncture (CVA). I received certifications in Pain Management (CVPP) in 2012 and rehabilitation (CCRT) in 2013. I went on to practice for a few years in small animal medicine before teaching Anatomy, Ethics, Acupuncture, and Case Studies at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine on the beautiful island of St. Kitts. I taught there for 6 years, returning to the stateside to get back into general practice again. After coming back to Colorado, I taught in a veterinary acupuncture course, a Canine Studies course in California, and practiced small animal medicine before returning to higher education full time at Colorado State University. I currently teach in an online Veterinary Histology, undergraduate Histology, and Anatomy course and I am the Program Director for the Veterinary Clinical Care Graduate Program. I focus on Universal Design in online learning. In 2023 I received the Provost’s N. Preston Davis Award for Instructional Innovation. This award recognizes technology-related instructional innovation or the significant encouragement of such innovation. It is named for N. Preston Davis, who retired in 1992 after serving the CSU community for more than four decades.