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Following on from my post on the limitations of reflection, I have turned my attention to potential ways of knowing. Sparrow (2006) suggests that meaning is socially produced and situationally interpreted. He argues that there are many features of thinking that appear to be denied or glossed over such as meaning through collaboration, emotion, and visual thought as outlined in the list below:

Conscious thought:

• Semantic understanding,
• Episodic memory

Subconscious thought:

• Skilled actions,
• Tacit understanding,
• Unconscious leanings

Types of thought:

• Propositional language,
• Image based,

Direction:

• Reasoned direction,
• Fluid and tangential,
• Circular and emotion-tagged.  Basic forms of thought Sparrow (2006)

Sparrow (2006) concludes that maybe if we can appreciate the interplay of emotion, imagery and cognition at work it may help us to harness tacit insights more readily. To an extent I agree with him. As I write-up my EBI project, I have been looking for ways of illustrating my insights and I realised that mind-mapping was going to be a very good way of demonstrating and evidencing my thinking and strains of thought.

I have always used mind maps on paper. I generally write things out in my messy notebook and on the backs of envelopes. I find it easy to add to things as I see the pros and cons of each thought in a visual way. I prefer doing my thinking that way first and then sharing it with others afterwards. I am not keen on group brainstorming sessions. I always find them too competitive and stressful. I can’t think straight. The nice thing about sharing a mind-map with someone afterwards is that you can add their perspective more easily without it colouring your initial thoughts. You can use different colours to illustrate someone else’s opinions, and your own different strains of thought.

It is getting easier to mind-map on the go too. After receiving some mind-mapping software recommendations from an Open University LinkedIn Group, I have bought iThoughts for the iPad and downloaded FreeMind for the PC. I find that I use the iPad a lot now for studying as it is so handy when you are on the go. And using a mind-mapping program means it is much easier to edit and rearrange your strains of thought than big pieces of A3 paper and on the back of text books!

Here is an example of my mind-mapping handiwork so far:

Reference:

Sparrow, J (2006). Beyond Sense-making: Emotion, Imagery and Creativity. Creative Management and Development, 82-97