Map Your Mind

Martha McCormick on September 7, 2009

I’ve filled about one sketchbook each year with notes since I learned to mind map in the early 1990s. Several years before that I had simply stopped taking notes. In those pre-mind map days, I found myself looking at the yellow tablets I’d been writing in and making little sense of the scribbles. Then at a creativity workshop, Rhonda Wiley-Jones introduced me to mind mapping. This process of “visual note taking” has been an indispensable tool for me ever since! I’ve used mind maps for everything from planning major grants to strategic planning and to do lists.

Mind maps and similar concepts have been used for centuries for learning, brainstorming, enhancing memory, and problem solving by educators, engineers, psychologists…But Tony Buzan made them popular. They are used more in Europe than in the US, but I recommend them especially to kinesthetic and visual thinkers.

Mind mapping has many applications for personal and business use. Because ideas are added into the map radially around a central idea or theme without the implicit prioritization that comes from outlining–summarizing, revising and clarifying thoughts and ideas come naturally to the mind mapper.

Mind maps have been useful to me in a number of ways–

The workshops I facilitate on mind mapping and other keys to creativity, are geared to your unique group, and provide background and rationale, group and individual practice time, ideas for tapping into your creativity and FUN!

–Martha McCormick

Love Your Body

Martha McCormick on August 31, 2009

There’s been a lot of controversy during the last week about a photo of a “normal woman” in the September issue of Glamour Magazine. Body image is certainly an area that trips a lot of women up, and I am one of them. The blog post about the reaction to the photo talks about how important it is for us to see women who look like us to be able to develop healthy self concepts. Being happy in our own skins is something that most women have to continually work on our whole lives.

The Supergirl Dilemma outlines two areas where girls’ attitudes went backward instead of forward between 2000 and 2006–

  • 84% of girls say they are under a lot of pressure to dress the right way
  • 60% of girls say the most popular girls in school are very thin

Dove’s Self-Esteem has a Toolkit and Resources you may find helpful. Here are some other sites you can take a look at–

  • Memoir to My Former Self–This video, written by 17-year-old Katrina Garcia, explores body image, eating disorders, women’s rights and cliques. It presents several viewpoints and delivers a message of developing a strong sense of self. Some processing questions might be–
    • What are the issues facing the girl in the video?
    • Have you had any similar experiences?
    • How did the video make you feel?
    • How do you feel about being female?
    • What would you do if you were the girl in the movie?
    • What would you do if you were her friend?
  • A Girl Like Me–This movie was directed by Kiri Davis, when she was a teen living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York. The film is about an experiment Kiri conducted based on one from the 1950’s. Her film was featured on Media That Matters and is an inspiration to any young woman or filmmaker, present or future.
  • Shea B. invented the #Freshface Friday campaign to combat the pressure she and her high school friends felt to wear makeup. The Miss Representation Facebook page highlights actions like hers that promote healthy body image. Their Web site has a link to a movie and a lot of other stuff you can do about this important issue.

Break the Ice

Martha McCormick on August 31, 2009

Eric Martin and Beth Mensing are masters at this icebreaker. At Chrysalis After-School Facilitator Training, Beth pulled HANDSHAKES (download it here) out of her fertile mind at a moment’s notice and taught it to the rest of the mentors. It works in any size group and is a great way to get your group to mingle and get to know other people.

Make sure you use the guidelines for introductions and have partners introduce each other to the group for some serious, or not so serious, beginning team building. You can tailor the instructions to your theme or audience. I’m using it next month at customer service trainings to focus on how we greet people when they walk in the door.

Go Outdoors!

Martha McCormick on August 24, 2009

The naturalists at Polk County Conservation are some of my favorite people to work with. I’ve facilitated adventure education programs with them, canoed, and learned to use GPS in parks throughout Polk County. Some of the parks make you say, “I can’t believe this place is only 20 minutes from my house!” They work to make kids and adults more comfortable in the outdoors.

The Polk County Conservation staff has facilitated service learning with Chrysalis After-School groups for years–kids like to cut out invasive species. They have taken girls snow shoeing, canoeing, fishing, hiking, geocaching, snow shoeing, winter survival….

You can count on them for innovative programming that involves active learning. They bring all their own stuff for programming like fishing poles and snow shoes, and their programs are FREE all year round but spring and fall are the best times for programs.

Schedule your group by emailing Patti Petersen-Keys or calling her at 515-323-5359.

Review the Chrysalis Report

Martha McCormick on August 23, 2009

As I finish the 2009 Chrysalis After-School Evaluation Report, I am impressed by the hard work and stellar outcomes of this innovative program. The third year of my evaluation work for Chrysalis documents positive outcomes for young women in:

  • Resilience
  • Economic Empowerment
  • Leadership

Girls, facilitators and parents are seeing positive changes in confidence, communication skills, school attendance and work, and in their leadership qualities, skills and behavior. These outcomes are the result of serious work at the front lines–facilitators have attended training, put it into practice and set goals for continuous improvement. They have involved the girls in planning and leading the groups and the girls have stepped up, led discussions, games and committees, and written applications for funding.

The Chrysalis Foundation Board, under the leadership of Terry Hernandez and the Education Committee, have examined the findings from previous years, made adjustments and committed 2/3 of their grant dollars to the program for each of the next three years.

If you would like to read the entire report, please download it here–

Play Elbow Tag

Martha McCormick on August 23, 2009

This is another great game for mixing up your group and busting cliques. The action gets so frantic that people don’t pay attention to who they’re grabbing onto. You do have to lay some ground rules to keep the game fair though.

  • Boundaries are really important so the “chasee” has to stay in the vicinity.
  • Some groups may need the rule that they can’t grab onto the pair right next to them.
  • Reserve the right to yell “switch” if your chaser is getting worn out.

Everyone in the group gets a partner and links elbows with her.

One pair volunteers or is chosen to split up. One of these two will be “it” and the other will be chased.

Whenever the chasee links elbows with a pair of players, the person on the opposite end of the pair must break off and becomes the chasee. “It” now starts chasing that person. If the chasee gets tagged, they become it.

Play People to People

Martha McCormick on August 23, 2009

This is a great game for any group of more than about a dozen people. I’ve played it outdoors, in classrooms and auditoriums. If you have an even number of people, just add yourself into the mix.

Pair up participants. Start out being the “caller” unless you have someone with experience who is dying to do it. The caller yells out different body parts, such as hand to hand, knee to knee, foot to foot, head to head.  Or they can holler, “hand to knee” or “elbow to hip”. Participants follow these directions with their partners and touch an elbow to their partner’s hip.

The caller calls out several different arrangements. You can have participants hold each pose throughout or just one at a time. When the caller is ready to mix into the game again, she calls, “people to people” and all participants find a new partner while the caller does her best to grab someone who is now solo.

Whoever doesn’t have a partner becomes the new caller and repeats the process. This is a great game to lead into Elbow Tag.

Venture into Social Drama

Martha McCormick on August 23, 2009

Annie Mielke and I met last year and got excited about the potential for working with girls on drama and then training them to work with younger groups as a service project. Annie’s specialty is working with kids with Asperger Syndrome and Autism, so her audiences learn a lot about these mental disorders, the challenges people with these diagnoses face, and how to relate well to them. Adventures in Social Drama visited several Chrysalis After-School groups last year, including McCombs PRIDE.

The goals of Adventures in Social Drama (ASD) are to:

  • establish safe environments in which drama enables individuals to explore creative moments as learning opportunities
  • utilize appropriate forms of social interaction
  • facilitate meaningful participation in a group dynamic
  • coach individuals to express themselves through creative thinking
  • promote positive interpersonal relationships
  • develop self-worth through episodic memories

Adventures in Social Drama specializes in dramatic exploration: Each program is specially designed to meet the needs of your organization. Free initial consultations are available. ASD works with people from 4 years old to adults. Depending on the size and length of the class, the cost is $150-$500.

For more information, contact Annie Mielke, 515-306-0030.

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Learn about Relationships

Martha McCormick on August 20, 2009

Several years ago we were brainstorming about different approaches to adolescent pregnancy prevention, and came up with the idea of an adventure education program framed around healthy relationships. Part of the rationale is that it might be easier to talk about sex and sexuality while you’re busy climbing a wall or getting your group through a giant spider web. We developed Challenge for Healthy Relationships (CHR) and ISU/Polk County Extension has continued the program.

CHR uses trained and professional staff to work groups through a sequence of ice-breakers, cooperative games and problem solving initiatives. The activities are framed around a variety of aspects of relationships including trust, communication, sexuality, goal setting, decision making and healthy choices.  Facilitators process the activities around relationships and the entire sequence is framed around the Full Value Contract as a guideline for healthy relationships–

  • Have fun
  • Be safe, physically and emotionally
  • Work together
  • Achieve personal and group goals
  • Give and receive honest feedback

Participants in Challenge for Healthy Relationships complete an evaluation tool that measures self-efficacy–a person’s belief in their abilities to deal with specific tasks or situations. The tool measures a group’s growth during the program. Challenge for Healthy Relationships creates a safe and encouraging atmosphere tor all participants and can be brought to a group’s site or be implemented at the Adventure Learning Center challenge courses.

Schedule the program by contacting Melissa O’Neil at 515.957.5767.

Explore the Teen Brain

Martha McCormick on August 19, 2009

I became fascinated with brain research more than 20 years ago when science began to really get inside the human brain and explore it. I’ve done my best to keep up over the years as more and more information is added to the body of knowledge. Right now I’m planning a mind mapping workshop; this technique of visual note taking is very helpful for me, as I go through the world as a concrete random thinker.

Instead of driving myself crazy trying to fit into a more sequential world, I’ve learned to build on my strengths and find colleagues who can help me with details and task orientation.  Brain research has helped me grow creatively and professionally. I use research on learning styles and personality types when I do team building and strategic planning. I’ve put together a post with links to a number of inventories besides the one below.

One of my favorite areas is adolescent brain development. Understanding how the young person’s mind is growing and developing helps me understand her mystifying behavior, sometimes. To that purpose, I’ve developed an experiential workshop for teens and adults that explore–

  • Brain development in adolescents
  • Addressing different learning styles in groups
  • Inspiring creativity
  • New approaches to academic gains

Other topics and areas of interest can be included. Schedule one session or more. Please email Martha to schedule the program.

–Martha McCormick