Visual thinking guides

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This presents three sources of visual thinking guides: Exploratree, Holt Graphic Organizers and LexIcon.

Exploratree[edit]

Visual thinking    Interactive Flash    Interactive PDF

Exploratree hosts a set of interactive thinking guides. This is a free web resource where you can use the guides, print them, edit them or make your own. You can share them and work on them in groups. It is aimed at schools and students, but has ideas for thinkers of all ages.

Interactive map: Flash (recommended)

     PDF (problem?)

Here are some of the overall categories, names of individual diagram type and an indication of their purposes.

Click the thumbnail to see a full-size image. Click the caption under the thumbnail to be taken to Exploratree’s interactive page for that diagram.

Develop ideas[edit]

Lotus blossom[edit]

Create lots of ideas around an issue then turn ideas into actions


Examine ideas[edit]

Investigate evidence and other views then make new ideas

Use the essence[edit]

Get to the heart of the issue then look for new ideas

Possible futures[edit]

Think about the way an issue may develop in the future

Solve problems[edit]

Knowing trees[edit]

Think through a question and identify supporting evidence

Reverse planning[edit]

Work backwards from the ideal future to a realistic present

Is / is not[edit]

Scope a problem by identifying what it is and is not

Complete reversal[edit]

Reverse a problem to stimulate new thinking when stuck

Digging up roots[edit]

Explore a problem by digging down to its roots

Explore[edit]

Futures wheel[edit]

Think through the consequences and knock-on effects

T.A.S.C.[edit]

Helps you think about and communicate any topics, issues or problems

Question things[edit]

Question everything you read, hear and see

Compare and contrast[edit]

Make comparisons between two topics

A day in the life[edit]

Seeing things as they are experienced.

Analyse[edit]

Tracking an enquiry[edit]

This thinking guide will help you to plan your enquiry


Facts or opinions[edit]

Sort out the facts from the opinions about a particular topic

Making meanings[edit]

Establish what you want to know

Scamper[edit]

Substitute, combine, adapt, modify, rearrange

Traffic lights[edit]

What changes would you make? Analyse a particular situation

Different perspectives[edit]

From a different angle[edit]

Examining a topic through a variety of different lenses

Thinking boxes[edit]

Analyse from different perspectives – local to global

Plus, minus, interesting[edit]

Evaluate by identifying pluses, minuses and interesting points

Compass rose[edit]

Examine things from a variety of perspectives

Gamestorming[edit]

Gamestorming.jpg

Gamestorming presents thinking patterns as games, many of them visual, that will help to make meetings and discussions more fruitful and stimulating.

$ – $100 Test

3 3-12-3 Brainstorm

4 – 4Cs

7 – 7Ps Framework

A – Affinity Map; Air Time Mastermind; Argument map; Atomize

B – Back of the Napkin; Bodystorming; Boundary matrix; Brainwriting; Break; Build The Checklist

C – Card Sort; Communicate This & Stick it here; Context Map; Coriolis Effect; Cover Story

D – Dot Voting; Draw the Problem

E – Elevator Pitch; Empathy Map

F – Fishbowl; Force Field Analysis; Force Field Analysis; Forced Analogy; Forced Ranking

G – Give-And-Take Matrix; Graphic Jam

H – Help Me Understand; Heuristic Ideation Technique; History Map; Homepage Bingo; How-Now-Wow Matrix

I – Ice breaker; Image-ination; Impact & Effort Matrix

L – Low-Tech Social Network

M – Make A World; Mapping Business Models; Mission Impossible; Mood Board

O – Object Brainstorm; Open Space

P – Party Invitations; Pecha Kucha/Ignite; Pie Chart Agenda; Plus/Delta; Post-Up; Poster Session; Pre-Mortem; Pro/Con list

Q – Quaker Conversation

R – Random Inputs

S – Scenario Slider; Show and Tell; Show Me Your Values; Spectrum Mapping; Stakeholder Analysis; Storyboard; SWOT Analysis

T – The 5 Whys; The Anti-Problem; The Blind Side; The Pitch; Trading Cards

V – Value Map; Video Card Family Game; Visual Agenda

W – Welcome To My World; Who/What/When Matrix; WhoDo


Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers[edit]

Holt.jpg

These are described as interactive, and are in the sense that they are PDF files into which you can store your own text, but the underlying diagrams cannot be changed. Once you’ve downloaded a PDF you can type in your own thoughts and either save it or print it.

Generating, Identifying, and Organizing Details[edit]

Cluster Diagram Teaching notes

FreeForm Web Teaching notes

Circle Diagram Teaching notes

Spider Map Teaching notes

Determining Main Idea and Drawing Conclusions[edit]

Main Idea and Details Chart Teaching notes

Main Idea Chart Teaching notes

Determining Main Idea Chart Teaching notes

Drawing Conclusions from Information Chart Teaching notes

Conclusions Chart Teaching notes

Order and Sequence[edit]

Flow Chart Teaching notes

Sequence Chain Teaching notes

Sequence Chart Teaching notes

Rank Order Chart Teaching notes

Comparison-Contrast and Cause and Effect[edit]

Comparison-Contrast Chart Teaching notes

Cause and Effect Chart Teaching notes

Cause and Effect Chain Teaching notes

Cause and Effect Diagram Teaching notes

What if? Chart Teaching notes

Venn Diagram Teaching notes

Process and Cycle Diagrams[edit]

Process or Cycle Chart Teaching notes

Process or Cycle Diagram Teaching notes

How-To Essay Organizer Teaching notes

Concept/Event Map Teaching notes

Evaluating and Making Decisions[edit]

Evaluation Pyramid Teaching notes

Evaluation Organizer Teaching notes

Positive-Negative Chart Teaching notes

Decision Chart Teaching notes

Persuasive and Supporting a Position[edit]

Persuasive Planner Teaching notes

Controversial Issue Teaching notes

Supporting a Position Teaching notes

Fishbone Planner Teaching notes

Vocabulary[edit]

Personal Thesaurus Diagram Teaching notes

Word Map Teaching notes

Miscellaneous organizers[edit]

All-Purpose Planner Teaching notes

KWL Chart Teaching notes

Tree Diagram Teaching notes

LexIcon Interactive Graphic Organizers[edit]

Fishbone

Organization Chart

Time Line

Idea Web

Prediction Tree

Rising Action

Venn Diagram

Balance Scape

Writing Fun Text Organizers[edit]

Example of one of the guides

The text organisers at Writing Fun have a limited graphical component, but have been included here because they fit well with the function of others, presented above. Students can use them on line, or download Word files for local use.

They cover writing well-structured:

  • Information Reports
  • Procedures
  • Explanations
  • Persuasion (exposition)
  • Discussions
  • Narratives
  • Responses
  • Descriptions

and other forms.

Alternative uses of graphic organizers[edit]

Teachers sometimes give underachieving students partially-completed graphic organizers. All the students have to do is finish them.

For free information about the hundreds of
visual thinking tools available, visit the

Visual Thinking Center