Background ritical thinking dates back more than 2,000 years at the birth of Western civiliza- C tion. Socrates’ dictum “The unexamined life is not worth living” subsumes the ultimate value of critical thinking in human life. Plato’s Dia- logues epitomizes not only a method Visual Mapping to but also a way of living that is still relevant to our time.1 Critical think- Enhance Learning and ing skills involve the processing of in- formation through analysis, synthesis, interpretation, explanation, evaluation, Critical Thinking Skills generalization, abstraction, application, comparison and contrast.2 Critical thinking skills are, like common sense, not very common. Studies indicate that 70% of high school graduates are defi- cient and only 28% of four-year college graduates possess excellent skills. Yet, it Héctor C. Santiago, OD, PhD, FAAO is considered to be the most important asset sought by human resource profes- sionals.3 Across the globe, many university edu- cators use the lecture format assisted with PowerPoint slides as the main delivery method. More than a genera- Abstract tion of students has suffered “death by PowerPoint,”a term describing the use Visual mapping allows the learner to explicitly explore, analyze, synthesize and of slides cluttered with text, often with share ideas.This paper reviews mapping tools suited for brainstorming and pic- irrelevant embellishments, leading to turing the thinking process (mind mapping), exploring the structure of knowl- student boredom and little meaning- 4,5 edge (concept mapping), developing premises, counter arguments and conclusions ful learning . Although these presen- around a contention (argument maps), exploring the learner’s own thinking pro- tations can be improved, there is an cess (®Thinking Maps), seeking the inter-relation among variables (general sys- inherent limitation to these traditional methods. Lectures and text slides are tems thinking) and developing simulation models (system dynamics).The paper inevitably linear representations that also presents the evidence on the effectiveness of these tools in promoting recall, hide the rich inter-relations among the comprehension and general critical thinking skills. concepts. As Davies explains: “This par- Key Words: critical thinking, recall, comprehension, visual map, mind map, adoxically usually results in less mean- concept map, thinking map, systems thinking, system dynamics ingful learning, not more. It results in linearity rather than connectivity out of which genuine understanding arises … It also fosters a lack of engagement critical to the development of mean- ingful understanding … To meet as- sessment demands, students begin to Dr. Santiago is a Professor at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry. rely on memorization techniques and cramming, not meaningful activities to ensure engagement and learning, and ultimately — via a transformative learning cycle — expertise.”6 David Ausubel, an educational psy- chologist, saw the primary responsibil- ity of the educator as the presentation of learning materials in a meaningful Optometric Education 125 Volume 36, Number 3 / Summer 2011 form, not as a list of facts. He indicated an interlinked network. Furthermore, of these bigger branches grow smaller that educators must find procedures al- note-taking emphasizes the verbal com- branches detailing the information. lowing the learners to tie new knowl- ponent (a left-brain process) while ig- Each branch line should contain only edge into their prior cognitive struc- noring imagery (a right-brain process). one keyword. Ideally, lines closer to ture. He proposed visual mapping as a He concluded that mind maps tap into the center should be thicker than those tool par excellence to promote mean- the natural nonlinear thinking process. far from the center. The use of images ingful learning.7 His view on mean- He also concluded that mind maps po- tagged to the branches is encouraged. ingful learning has been supported by tentiate learning by using both left and The use of color, especially for grouping research on the organization of knowl- right brain capacities. and encoding is also recommended. edge by experts as compared to nov- McClain proposed the use of mind Although mind maps can be produced ices: “Studies in areas such as physics, maps in optometric education. In par- using paper and color pens or pencils, mathematics, and history also demon- ticular, she recommended that students several companies have developed mind- strate that experts first seek to develop be given a skeletal map (with blank mapping software that facilitates draw- an understanding of problems, and this terms) at the beginning of the lecture. ing and allows saving of the maps. The often involves thinking in terms of core Students would be required to fill the original organic version of mind maps is concepts or big ideas such as Newton’s blanks as they listened to the lecture. ©IMindMap. Mind Map is a registered second law in physics. Novices’ knowl- She indicated that mind maps would trademark of the Buzan Organization edge is much less likely to be organized allow teachers to stay on task, allow stu- Limited 1990 (www.thinkbuzan.com). around big ideas; they are more likely dents to add their personal ideas to the An alternative and less organic version to approach problems by searching for topic, and increase comprehension.11 of mind maps allowing for multiple correct formulas and pat answers that words and phrases have been developed fit their everyday intuitions.”8 Paykoc et al. described the successful use of mind maps by faculty members in by ©MindJet (www.mindjet.com). Free Marzano completed a meta-analysis of the process of brainstorming curricular versions of mind maps software include research on instruction and strategies changes. The map was projected to the ©SciPlore (http://www.sciplore.org/ that significantly affect student achieve- group and the progress of the discussion software/sciplore_mindmapping/) and ment. Nonlinguistic representations, was reflected in the mind map.13 ©FreeMind (http://freemind.source- questions, cues and advanced graphi- forge.net/wiki/index.php/Download). cal organizers were among those that The construction of mind maps follows These programs permit the attachment 12 were correlated with effective learning.9 specific guidelines. The map itself has of documents, images and Internet links Prince reported that activities that pro- an organic appearance, similar to a tree to the branches of the maps. mote student engagement like thinking with a trunk, branches around the trunk and smaller branches outgrowing from Figure 1 is an organic mind map (©IMi- about their own learning (metacogni- ndMap) based on an optometric case tion) and explicit instruction in prob- the main branches. (Figure 1) The map 14 is started with an image at the center of scenario. The case was a 9-year-old lem-solving enhance student learning student who came with his mother com- outcomes.10 the page (landscape mode) represent- ing the core idea. Branches are drawn, plaining about poor academic achieve- This paper reviews visual tools beginning at the top right of the page ment that started in the third grade. that can potentially increase and following a clockwise direction. Diagnostic hypotheses included a visual students’comprehension, meaningful The branches contain keywords that problem (related to refractive error, bin- learning and critical thinking skills. are subheadings of the main topic. Out ocular or accommodative dysfunction), Although most tools have received ex- a developmental (information-process- perimental corroboration of their ef- fectiveness in schools, undergraduate, Figure 1 graduate and medical education, there A Buzan organic mind map (®IMindMap Software, www. is still very limited use in optometric ThinkBuzan.com) of an optometric case scenario of a third- education.11 It is hoped that this paper grade boy failing in school. The map is read clockwise, starting will stimulate further study, experi- at the top right. It shows the hypotheses derived from the case mentation and implementation in our history, diagnoses corroborated or ruled-out through testing, schools and colleges of optometry. one additional diagnosis and the final management of the case. Software-derived map used with permission. Picturing the Thinking Process: Mind Maps Mind mapping is the graphical repre- sentation of text content. It has been proposed as a technique to brainstorm and summarize information as well as a study method. The originator and main proponent of mind mapping is Tony Buzan.12 He argued that typical note- taking is linear, while thinking involves Optometric Education 126 Volume 36, Number 3 / Summer 2011 ing) disorder and learning disability. than just a single word) at the branches, A study showing no advantage of mind Case history showed that the boy start- allowing for clearer and easier map in- mapping in college students was com- ed having problems in the third grade, terpretation. Faculty and students can pleted by Shuttleworth using a within- had no word recognition problems, and develop these mind maps from case sce- subjects design. Initially, subjects stud- had good handwriting, ruling out both narios to share their clinical decision- ied a text using their preferred study the information-processing disorder making process. technique. They completed a multiple- and the learning disability. He claimed choice and fill-in-the-blank factual test. that his eyes got tired frequently,