Protocol Overview and Instructions: 
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Mind mapping, a technique that is a main-stay in many K-12 classrooms, is both a logical and creative way to generate ideas related to the driving question. Within the mind mapping technique, you start with the driving question in the middle of a large sheet of paper and brainstorm as many ideas that relate to it as possible by writing them down as “branches” coming off of the driving question in the middle.​

Mind-Mapping Protocol Instructions
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Educator Thoughts:
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We worked through the Mind-Mapping protocol as a class. Students met in teams of 3-4 to a group, and took a marker to one of the large posters in the room. We discussed how today we were going to share on paper ideas they had about our project, and then took some time to step back and connect ideas that might be similar or that could work well together. 

“The groups were able to stay on task for a good chunk of time and they came up with such cool ideas. You could feel all their excitement!”

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Student Quote:
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​"What I liked about this activity is that we could keep adding on to other ideas. The poster looked just like our brains with lots of lines connected to other lines. We made a great team!"

Meet the Educator:

Amy is an educator at West Ottawa Public Schools. She teaches 4th grade at Lakewood Elementary.

​    "Integrating curriculum through PBL experiences has sparked a passion for authentic, real world problem solving in my students. My 4th graders are more actively engaged and enthusiastic about the learning process since I began using the Creative Sequence and Design Thinking protocols. They are gaining empathy for those around them and building employability skills along the way. It is thrilling to witness their excitement!"