The webinar on “Mind Mapping for Effective Learning and Thinking” by Buzan Licensed Instructor Paul Chan Kum Hoe was held on 7 July 2021 via Zoom and Facebook live as part of the Virtual Mind and STEM Festival 2021 programme.

In the webinar, Paul Chan shared what is mind mapping, why is mind mapping important and how to mind map. He introduced Tony Buzan as the creator of mind mapping. “Brain cells also known as neurons help us to think, learn and remember. Mind mapping can help us to use our brain to a higher potential.”

He questioned the participants about the challenges of learning. “Some of the challenges we often face when learning are the difficulty in concentrating; lack of understanding; unable to remember; slow reading; lack of time and boring content. We need to find out how we can overcome these challenges and use our brain potential to the fullest.”

He also talked about association and other related topics on mind mapping. “Whenever we have associations, we tend to remember better. Mind mapping uses association. We use mind mapping because it conforms to how our brain works. In the laws of mind mapping, the central idea is placed in the middle of the paper and it has to be a picture. The branches are thick and the sub-branches are thinner. Do start your mind map ideas clockwise. Symbols and codes are easier to remember as we associate with pictures. Colours in your mind map will boost your memory further,” added Paul Chan.

Paul Chan also highlighted some problems in writing, such as being unable to think of things to write, worrying about grammar and spelling instead of ideas, insufficient time to write something good and unable to express ideas in a logical manner. “What we can do is to use mind mapping as a thought catcher. Remember, a mind map is like a multi-handed ‘thought-ball’ catcher. It gives you a place to put all your great thoughts where and when they pop into your head,” said Paul Chan.