Use of Thinking Maps in Teaching

This is a way of using ways of teaching that involve using the sense of sight and this triggers a particular way of thinking that is helpful in boosting the way the write. Thinking maps uses various tools as well for it to work. These tools are visual tools, implying that they involve sight. They include images, pictures, and videos. These visual tools are incorporated in teaching and the students use them for easier understanding (David, 2014). The teacher may choose the approach that they would like to use to ensure that the students gain as much as possible from what they teach about writing in English. Writing involves many aspects. It is not just an activity; instead, it is an organized way of expressing oneself and also passing information.

Through writing, knowledge is given and this is beneficial to those to whom the information reaches. There are also various topics in which writing can be used to provide information as well as express. The reason for the choice of this topic is the fact that it is an essential field of study as well as part of the surrounding that is usually ignored and not paid enough attention to. A teacher can inspire interest in reading, learning and writing about the topic of sports in the students depending on the approach they use to teach their students in English and other areas as well. Literature Review This literature review will cover the various studies done in the past about the thinking of students using thinking maps (David, 2008).

It also connects the way that students perceive writing in English on the topic of sports. There are various ways of thinking that students can use, but thinking maps is easy and useful as well. While used in the classroom, thinking maps are a way of improving students’ achievement in the classroom regarding the way they understand things. Thinking maps is helpful to students because when a teacher uses them in a class, the students are able to open up their minds and they have better and more detailed and deep understanding of concepts and ides as compared to when teachers used traditional methods. Thinking maps boosts the way students think in a positive way. Due to the way thinking maps involves the use of visual tools, students are able to put their ideas in writing and this helps improve the way they think and the way they write improves as well.

Thinking maps is a good strategy for improving achievement in the classroom. This enables students with learning disabilities to also have a chance to learn just as other students and to have equal chance at achieving good grades as well. The teachers use thinking maps to ensure that all students gain as much as possible. Also, thinking maps is more advanced than traditional methods of teaching and is therefore more suited for the current curriculum and allows for students to maximize on their time in class as well as potential because the students are able to link concepts in theory and in practical sense. While it is used in many fields and subjects of study in schools. It is also used in writing in English regarding various topics.

Therefore, every teacher uses different methods of thinking in teaching their subject. Thinking comes naturally to human beings, but other methods call for training for them to develop and be put in use. For example, memorizing is a skill that has to be practised and learned. This goes to show that many methods of thinking are taught, and teachers can teach them to their students if they need them to acquire them. Thinking involves the use of already learnt and stored information in comparison or supplementation with new information that is being discovered (David, 2014). Various tools are used in the process of thinking. These are things that enhance the process of thinking. In thinking maps, one of the essential tools that enhance thinking is the use of images.

Thinking maps is a way of thinking that involves visual data, and the mind interprets it. Therefore, images are very useful in writing because students use the information that they see and interpret it in their way and put it in writing. Concepts are therefore crucial, and for this reason, a teacher should pay attention to the content that a student gets in contact with, directly and indirectly, to ensure that they think in the right way with the correct perception of the subject and everything it may entail. Finally, language is also considered a tool of thinking that influences significantly the way a student thinks and expresses themselves (David, 2008). The way that a student thinks is influenced by their mother tongue, and it impacts the way one thinks because people think in their first language.

A student's language may also affect the way in which they interpret stimuli or data they receive and in turn, also affects the way the information is expressed. There are many tools of thinking. In areas of reading and grammar, the thinking maps tool of thinking comes in handy because it involves skills like the use of memory, and also requires comprehension. There are various sources of visual information that accrue to thinking maps. The information is accessed from multiple sources, some of them being electronic sources like computers and televisions. The topic of sports is an area that requires data from various sources, both visual and audio and even written material. There are multiple ways of incorporating the information into useful data during writing or presenting the data in various ways.

It requires imagination as well. Some of the skills acquired and put in use in thinking maps are also required while writing. It is, therefore, necessary for the teacher to employ thinking maps in their teaching in writing in English because the students learn other things as well that help them in writing and other areas as well. Thinking maps is a source of information as well as excellent skills. For example, one of the skills learned and used while using thinking maps is organization. While learning to write in English on the topic of sports, thinking maps is a popular tool of thinking because it only concentrates most on how the student views the topic and the data and information provided.

Students can learn the skill of writing in English. Besides, students can structure their thoughts in line with the topic of Sports and students are more open to new writing ideas. In this case, students can twist and use different ways of writing through using thinking maps as a tool of thinking (David, 2014). The teacher can also train students through the use of thinking maps, to organize their work regarding ideas and presentation. This method of research is characterized by the absence of numerical data and the means of data collection that are used (Creswell & Creswell, 2015). The ways that are used in accumulating data in the qualitative are open-ended surveys, interviews, observation and analysis of content. This study used interviews mainly in the collection of data.

Research proposal: To examine the students' perception of learning writing in English using thinking maps in the topic of Playing Sports in School. Research question: What are the students' perception of learning writing in English using thinking maps in the topic of Playing Sports in school. Is the thinking maps tool of teaching effective in learning English? Research tool. Semi-structured interviews The tool that was used in this study was semi-structured interviews. This was considered the best way to find out how the students viewed the idea of learning to write in English using thinking maps and writing about sports. This method of data collection is prevalent in qualitative research. It involves the use of questions that a researcher uses during an interview (Creswell & Creswell, 2015).

In this study, the results were compared and the answers were used to analyze data by using inter judgement agreement. In this case, the results are compared and a percentage is drawn out of the extent to which the results of the students agree and sync. According to the results, we came up with 3 main categories and subcategories as influenced by the students’ answers to the interview. Some of the statements shared by the students are listed below: 1. Thinking maps is effective 2. Teachers use visual tools while teaching 13. Teachers use visual tools while teaching 14. This method teaches many skills 15. It has helped me to gain organization skills in English 16. It has helped me to gain organization skills in English 17. Thinking maps is effective in English 28.

The traditional methods are more effective 29. The teachers use it in English 30. It’s better that traditional methods 31. It is effective 32. Please describe the atmosphere while learning English in this way. Answer: The atmosphere is lively and interesting. How ahs learning helped you develop your English. Answer: It has helped positively. Explain. Answer: The advantages of learning using thinking maps in learning are: It makes understanding concepts easier, it is suited for all students and students learn many skills. Specific Questions 6. Please explain the process of __thinking maps____________. Tell exactly what you did. Thinking maps help in learning. Please address other issues that have not been mentioned in this conversation. Answer: Other ways that thinking maps can be used. Special events that took place before, and during the interview.

My personal feeling as an interviewer. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The inter judgement agreement shows that most of the students thought that the method of teaching and learning English helps the students and they use the skills they learn from it to study and write English. The second category consists of female students. The subcategories include: the female students’ perception of thinking maps and the second sub category which includes the perception pf the female students on how often the teachers use thinking maps in teaching English. The third category consists of teachers and the subcategories include the teachers’ opinion on thinking maps and also the effectiveness of thinking maps and traditional methods. Male students 1. Perception on thinking maps The 3 male students all perceive thinking maps as a good method of teaching in class.

” The students have seen and already used the thinking maps method of learning in the classroom. Female students 1. Perception on thinking maps The 3 female students who participated also had positive thoughts and perceptions about thinking maps. One of the female students said, “Thinking maps is a good method of teaching. ” The students claim that thinking maps is interesting and that they understand more easily when teachers use thinking maps. ” Thinking maps is also recommended by teachers saying it is effective in bringing about better achievement of the students in very aspect as well as in English. Another teacher said, “Thinking maps teaches students many helpful skills that can help them in English and also in other subjects. ” Discussion The study’s focus was to find out different opinions and perspectives on learning using thinking maps as a tool of thinking used in schools and classrooms.

The opinions were compared between male students, female students, and their English teachers. Male students From the data findings after interviewing the 3 male students, the students perceive thinking maps as a good way of learning. Teachers The teachers support thinking maps and as the findings show, the students already confirm that the teachers use thinking maps when teaching the students. The teachers also claim that thinking maps is effective and that it is also very helpful in helping students that are slower at grasping and remembering concepts. These findings are in agreement with more of David Hyerle’s study that shows that thinking maps helps students learn skills that help in English and in other areas as well. Some of these skills are organization and creative thinking David, 2014).

Conclusion Thinking maps is popular among students and it helps in understanding and remembering things learnt. When a teacher uses visual tools when teaching, I enhance the ability and possibility of a student to remember, and this is very useful in writing because writing is about recording events and describing them. In the topic of sports, for example, writing is mainly reporting and describing events. This is highly aided by the ability to remember and use of thinking maps by the teachers while teaching English. Also, studies have also shown that by teachers using thinking maps when teaching about writing, the students get exposed to more content and by seeing them, their imagination gets more developed and open. Creativity is a crucial necessity while writing in English and this is one of the reasons why teachers should use thinking maps while teaching (David, 2014).

Limitations The study produced reliable results, and the research question was answered. However, some limitations were encountered. One of the limitations of the study was that the participants were few and the information could be more detailed. Secondly, the study was conducted only in one school, and this could have caused some bias in that the findings could be different if other schools were involved as well. Different schools could use different approaches in the way they teach their students, and this is why using just one school could fail to give adequate findings. Cottrell, S.  Critical thinking skills (p. Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan Creswell, J. W. Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Enhanced Pearson eText with Loose-Leaf Version--Access Card Package.