My name is George Robinson.  I am an English teacher currently in training for a Teaching English as a Foreign Language degree in the University Institute of Catalonia. I have been working in a Spanish secondary school as an English teacher for 4 months now and my job mostly involves coming up with and delivering interesting and useful lessons to the students that they will not find in their textbooks. I also have been an English tutor, 5 days per week for the last three months, and I mainly work with primary school children.

I use the technique of Mind mapping.

How did you learn about this technique?

I learned this technique either from my experience as a student in classrooms, from my TEFL degree course manual or from a process of trial and error while teaching a class.

What problems/conflicts/shortcomings did you have in the class that led you to investigate and start to apply the technique with your students?

I use mind mapping to work with students that are having trouble associating terms or ideas with previously learnt topics, so this is used to show them that everything is connected.

Where did you get the information on the technique (website, book, etc)

I either got this information from personal experience, a process of trial and error or from the TEFL course manual that all Expert in TEFL students received in the UIC where I am currently studying.

Did you have any problems in implementing it and if yes which ones?

This technique relies on the willing participation or engagement of the students, sometimes they were reluctant to participate in their own learning, so this falls a little flat. However, that is just the nature of the classroom environment rather than any actual problem with the techniques themselves. As a teacher of a foreign language, creative learning may need to be particularly explicit as to what the students are doing and why they are doing it, depending on the students’ language level. So, while many will understand the point of activities without being told, it is sometimes necessary to make it clear for those with trouble understanding this.

What were the benefits you found when implementing the technique in the classroom?

This technique allows for more creativity in the classes and more engagement and interest from the students in their own learning. Also, it is beneficial to have something different from the usual routine of relying on textbooks for the students learning.

With which subject/levels/courses/modules/VET degrees… Do you use it?

I use this technique in my English classes with secondary school students (aged from 11 to 17) and I occasionally use them with primary school children (aged 6 to 10) in my English tutorials.

How do you evaluate the results of this technique in class?

This technique proves very useful for older secondary school students (aged 14 to 17). Some are more beneficial than others for the younger ages of secondary school students (aged 11 to 13) due to their language levels.

What are the benefits for the students (both in the learning process as well as for their professional careers)

This technique, which allows more creativity in the classroom, allows the students to take more of an interest in their subject. Allowing them to express themselves is good for their own personal development but also, by expressing themselves in another language, they get to really apply their knowledge of their subject in personal and useful ways, promoting further learning, interest and engagement. Also, creating a comfort with their own creativity will, of course, aid their professional development in whatever they do, thinking for themselves rather than wrote learning will create more dynamic and interesting workers.

What do you think it brings to your students? What feedback do you get from them when applying the technique in class?

Allowing the students to be more creative and to have a more active role in their own learning, by using this technique, they will be more interested and motivated in their studies of the subject. The students say the same thing, that they enjoy the diverse classes and the break from wrote learning. However, from a teacher’s standpoint, this technique is not ideal for every class. Some classes, who would behave poorly given the opportunity to break from the regular class routine, need more order and structure than this technique can offer as they will fall behind in their studies otherwise.

If you have any tips or tricks for other VET trainers/ teachers, please indicate them here.

Try this technique and accept that in the process of trial and error you will find if this technique works for a specific class. Make sure to not only rely on this technique because, though mind mapping is good and can promote things that the standard teaching techniques would not, it needs to have a firm base in their knowledge that is built up from traditional teaching styles. Reward the students’ efforts when they really try to participate in classes ran by creative techniques and support and encourage those who did not participate, so they may feel more comfortable to do so in the next class.

Are there any factors to take into account when applying this technique with different classes? (also, more appropriate number of students, appropriate space and age).

If teaching a language, creative learning works better with older students who have a stronger grasp of the language that they are working in. Younger students would need to have the purpose of the activity explained to them. Mind mapping is better for students that are more willing to volunteer answers to the teacher’s prompts to create a meaningful mind map. However, this technique requires a space with a whiteboard or blackboard.

If you encountered problems in using the technique, how did you solve them?

If a problem arises, I repeat the rules and expectations of what we’re doing to ensure that no student is lost. If there are behavioural issues in the classroom, I will restrict the freedom or creativity offered by the technique, to still make use of the benefits in a more controlled fashion.

Do’s and don’ts concerning the techniques

Do not give up on the technique at the first sign of resistance, if it is new for you it is new for them as well, dedicate a certain amount of the lesson to trying out these techniques to see what works and what doesn’t, so stick to this plan and if it doesn´t work then you know that you tried and that you can then rule it out for future lessons. Do read the room, if you have a shy class do not give them a participation reliant activity.