We at MindManager like to think of our software as a Swiss Army knife. No matter what your business or personal needs are, there’s likely a tool or function in MindManager that will help get the job done. One of the industries in which this versatility proves particularly useful is education. As anybody who has gone through school likely knows, there is no one method fits all approach to educating students — each person is unique and has their own learning style that works best for them. Discovering that learning style, and having the right tools to support it, can lead to amazing results for students and teachers alike.
One of our valued customers — Sutarto Sutarto from the Bunda Mulia School in Jakarta, Indonesia — took this concept and ran with it, using MindManager to help his students thrive in the difficult subjects of Physics and Mechanics.
We recently had the privilege of sitting down with Sutarto for a case study to discuss how he uses MindManager in his day-to-day teaching.
Here’s his story.
[Free eBook] Why (and How) to Use Mind Maps for Online Teaching
Identifying the Problem and Finding the Right Solution
As a Physics and Mechanics teacher, Sutarto is well aware that many students find his classes and subject matter challenging. For months, many of his students were receiving below average to failing grades, despite strong work ethic and a concerted effort by Sutarto to work with students in need. After trying many different options, including changing his lecturing style, incorporating more hands-on experiments, and so on, Sutarto began to realize that he needed to try something drastically different.
After talking to some teachers in his school, one of his colleagues recommended that Sutarto try using diagrams or visual representations for his classes, rather than the standard lectures or textbook work. Intent of finding the right solution, Sutarto took to the internet to find different tools that could help spark his imagination. After stumbling upon and testing different mind mapping software, he settled on MindManager as his tool of choice due to its ease of use and ability to quickly organize and structure complex ideas and concepts.
Implementing the Solution
Using MindManager, Sutarto was able to create step-by-step breakdowns of his lessons, and easily draw links and relationships between different concepts. This visual technique allowed his students to visually understand complex concepts and calculation-based problems much better than before.
Additionally, Sutarto uses the Export and Publish features in MindManager to share maps with his students the night before each lesson. They can either keep the maps on their phones and laptops, or print them out for their notebooks. This allows them to easily and quickly scan and study complex topics much more efficiently than is allowed with a textbook or notes from a lecture.
Measuring the Results
After only a few short weeks of using MindManager for his lessons, Sutarto began to see dramatic and consistent improvement in not only his students’ grades, but also their overall understanding and enthusiasm for his course material. Students who were below average before were now getting much higher grades. And students who were failing before were now either just below or at the borderline and making steady progress towards a passing grade.
Not only that, Sutarto says that MindManager has allowed him to exponentially reduce the amount of time he spends preparing lessons. Before adopting MindManager, Sutarto would spend between two and three hours preparing for a single lesson. Now, it only takes him 15 minutes to prepare for a class. That’s a 90% reduction in prep time and, as Sutarto puts it, much more time he can spend with his family!
Read Sutarto’s Full Story
Want to read more about how Sutarto helped improve his students’ grades and reduce his prep time using MindManager? Click here to read the full case study.
If you’re intrigued by Sutarto’s story and would like to try MindManager for yourself, you may be interested in our free 30-day trial!
Why (and How) to Use Mind Maps for Online Teaching
Download this free eBook to learn why mind maps for an excellent tool for online teachers. Get insights into common challenges that you and your colleagues are facing, and learn how mind maps can help make your life easier.
