The food pyramid revisited with a mind map

I revisit with this article the food pyramid with a creative mind map. I extended it to a new piece of educational content that you will be able to use for informing or teaching kids, students or patients. I offer you all the resources and explanations so that you can operate in the classroom or at home in the best conditions, with the maximum of efficiency and return. I propose to revisit with this article the food pyramid with a creative mind map. I extended it to a new piece of educational content that you will be able to use for informing or teaching kids, students or patients. As usual, I offer you all the resources and explanations so that you can operate in the classroom or at home in the best conditions, with the maximum of efficiency and return.

About the food pyramid

This triangle-shaped nutrition guide is divided into sections to show the recommended intake for each food group. The most known food pyramid was introduced by the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans, by developing and promoting dietary guidance that links scientific research to the nutrition needs of consumers. It was updated in 2005 with a program called MyPyramid, and then replaced in 2011 by MyPlate.

Many other countries and organizations have also published food pyramids with different purposes and alternatives (or controversy) in the sections and for different target audiences. Food pyramids are commonly used to teach individuals how to eat a healthy, balanced diet. It’s also widely used in schools under various formats (game, poster, etc) to inform and educate kids.

Although water is typically recommended in plentiful amounts, it is treated in very different ways by different food guides. Some exclude the category, others list it separately from other food groups, and yet others make it the centre or foundation.

Escape from the pyramid
Starting from the food pyramid illustration - the most widely used version of it, excluding water - I have imagined and designed a new creative mind map. Each portion is shaped by a freeform branch radiating from the centre and representing one of the food groups. Sub-branches provide additional information about the importance of a group, the products that belong to it and the role it plays in our daily diet.

The food pyramid revisited with a mind map

Beyond the nice and innovative representation of the pyramid, I have created a true digital mind map file which comes with the following benefits:

• Access, store and share easily
• Edit, modify and customize according to the needs and the audiences
• Ready-to use resource for interactive devices (whiteboard, tablet, projector)

The mind map, along the branches, lets you escape the pyramid while staying connected. As soon as you have this access to the white space, it’s an open door for generating more ideas and connecting more information.

You can download the mind map file for iMindMap from the Biggerplate platform.

Suggestions for home or classroom workshops
I’m offering to you a digital resource that you will be able to operate in various ways, according to your objectives and your target audience (age, business activity ...). Here are a couple of suggestions how to use it in workshops:

#1 - GUESS THE PYRAMID
From an empty picture (only the pyramid outline where all keywords and images are deleted), invite students to guess what are the food groups, what are examples of associated products and what could be the role of each group in the diet. If participants don’t know, you can propose to use the mind map for brainstorming for a while, generating ideas, presenting their findings, dialoguing with the rest of the group, completing the mind map. As a facilitator, your role is to guide them toward the right answers and to ensure they leave the exercise with the expected knowledge and interest. According to the technology installed in your classroom, you may ask the participants to work on the mind map with an interactive or smart device (whiteboard, iPad, laptop, etc), using iMindMap software. If it is not (yet) possible, I hope you will be inspired by the approach for proposing the same kind of exercise on paper. Your audience will remember this moment of collaborative research, interactive content creation and creative learning with a new type of education material.

#2 - THE PYRAMID PUZZLE

For younger audience, organise a puzzle activity that consists to place each food products in the correct food group. I designed the pyramid with a set of product images (all coming from the public domain and royalty free, mainly downloaded from the openclipart.org). Place all the images outside the pyramid and remove the sub-branches. Ask the participants to drag and drop the products on the appropriate section (branch) of the pyramid (map). If you have a projector and a magnetic board in your classroom, you can prepare magnets that can be placed on the projected pyramid (for your paper cut, you can download the collection of images here). If you can project on a table, it’s even better. Ask the kids to bring samples of food or empty package from home. Then ask the participants to place them on the pyramid. You can also use fake products usually coming with a grocery toy. Throughout the game, you will provide additional information about the different food groups and their role. This unique experience will have a higher impact on your participants thanks to the support used (both hardware and software), the visual and kinesthetic learning offered by the approach and the collaborative dimension of the activity.

#3 - PRESENT THE PYRAMID

Another possibility is to use the creative mind map as a support for your lesson or explanation. With projection facilities in your classroom and the presentation mode offered by the iMindMap application, you audience will benefit from a rich content with an engaging support. You may present and discuss the pyramid step by step (branch by branch) without revealing the whole content at once. The creative and artistic side of the pyramid should trigger more interest and arousal than a usual material, which will stimulate the acquisition, the retention and the recall of the lesson.

The future of digital curriculum
I was not surprise and even pleased to hear last week that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has received $1.5 million to support a new centre seeking to integrate the arts into university curriculum and research. It matches pretty well my vision of the future of educational and entrepreneurial worlds. I’m using this triangle of art, science and technology in each piece of work I’m delivering throughout this blog.

From an artistic point of view, I’m always adding a creative dimension to the mind maps, as a vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and ideas, offering you a mean for exploring and appreciating the material. From a scientific point of view, I will more and more explain the mental processes behind the mind mapping activity and how it relates specifically to pedagogy science. Finally, from a technology point of view, I always put my work in perspective with the world of software (e.g. iMindMap) and hardware (e.g. interactive devices), offering opportunities to use the material with the latest technologies with a minimum of investment. 

My goal (and challenge) is to invite you to consume a new, innovative and creative educational curriculum, made of ready-to-use mind map resources that you will be able to operate within this revolutionary digital world and create unique experience with your audience. Do not hesitate to share some of your success stories and feedback with me and the community. Your ideas about topics that I could revisit are also welcome.

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Five Wives and One Husband in colour

I dedicate this post to Chris Griffiths, CEO of ThinkBuzan, the organisation behind Mind Mapping. Chris is near to publishing a new book. In his book, he will teach you techniques to generate ideas beyond conventional patterns and he will show you how to develop your powers as a creative thinker. What I will give to you this time is perfectly aligned with the book and will bring you one step further to mastering computer based mind maps.

I dedicate this post to Chris Griffiths, CEO of ThinkBuzan, the organisation behind Mind Mapping. Chris is near to publishing a new book – GRASP The solution. In his book, he will teach you techniques to generate ideas beyond conventional patterns and he will show you how to develop your powers as a creative thinker. What I will give to you this time is perfectly aligned with the book and will bring you one step further to mastering computer based mind maps.

The way you define your challenge or problem will influence your chances of finding the keys to success or solutions. I remember what happened during the last team building event we did at work a couple of weeks ago. The facilitator had hardly started to explain what the challenge was, nearly everybody had already started to discuss, prepare and even implement a solution. A lot of important information was missed, nobody took the time to look around whether the context could help, and nobody could remember how much time we had to finish it. During the exercise, nobody looked at the clock or questioned some of the initial statements. It ended in a chaotic situation until we decided to (re-)analyse the problem properly and apply a strategy somehow.

Some exploration is needed in order to better understand the context, identify a couple of alternatives and think about the solution(s). Instead of using plain text, we can use divergent or radiant thinking empowered by mind maps. This improves the overall comprehension of the problem and ensure we keep the focus on the primary goal. It’s by far the best way to generate more and new ideas.

One very useful method for breaking down your problem in a way that maximises your understanding and your chances of finding a solution is called the Five W’s and One H. It consists in mapping out the problem using What? Why? Where? Who? When? and How? pattern. The technique is straight forward and with a mind map, you can easily start your exploration process by setting your challenge or problem as the central idea. Then, each of the main branches will address one of the questions.

Five Ws and One H mind map creative template - Black

You can find a lot of books or websites dealing with the subject as well as some templates for supporting the exercises, including mind maps. However, I insist again on the fact that we cannot just do the work using the same look and feel again and again. Creativity is waiting there to unlock the doors of formalised and standardised outputs. I consider the Five W’s and One H template very easy to implement but I wanted it to go beyond the usual layout and usage. Therefore, I have designed a much more engaging template for you. It is a first example of how a well known practice, used by thousands of people in the world can reach another level of creative thinking, fully supported by the iMindMap software.

By applying different layouts, colours, backgrounds, fonts that match or customize the subject analysed, my goal is to assist and inspire you and make it possible for you:

- Enjoy the process (both creating and reviewing);

- Generate more and new ideas;

- Create a unique reference that can be distinguished from other similar initiatives (from you or others);

- Amaze and engage your audience when presenting.

Let your imagination guide you to different outputs according to your objectives. iMindMap supports background colours and floating images, why not use them. As an example, here are a couple of other mind maps derived from the initial one.

Five Ws and One H mind map creative template - Water

Five Ws and One H mind map creative template - Eco

More practically, if you want to proceed further with the template here is some complementary information which may guide you when filling-in the map.

For consequent problems:

WHAT? Investigate the circumstances of the problem. What are the facts, without assumptions, causing it. Gather a maximum of information and details from the environment (people, systems, ...).

WHY? Look for the conditions or the events that are causing the problem. Without judging or denying, list elements that if eliminated might prevent the problem from occuring.

WHO? Identify the person or people who can help to solve the problem and can be involved in the solution (consultant, expert, family, colleague, ...).

WHEN? Define strictly your deadline and the time frame for the rest of the problem assessment and solution implementation.

WHERE? Determine the best place or environment in which you will work things out or implement the solution. Where would this ideal location be?

HOW? Describe how the problem influence people and activities in terms of tasks, departments, resources, tools, ...

For significant challenges or objectives:

WHAT? Explain what you are trying to achieve. Give the details about your objective, what you want to happen and where you want to get to.

WHY? Give details about the reasons why it is important for you to achieve this goal. By exploring this dimension, you will have a better outlook of what you are aiming, which is important when you will have to take decisions.

WHO? Find a way to become immersed personally in the problem in order to see it from a more concrete perspective. Identify people who may assist before you start to implement the solution.

WHEN? Define when you need to have the goal achieved. Make a plan with intermediary objectives.

WHERE? Describe the location where most of your activities will take place. Find out specifics about the position you will adopt to maximise your chances of success.

HOW? Depict how the challenge impact people and activities, in terms of tasks, resources, products, tools, ...

For those who are interested by the iMindMap file, it is uploaded on the Biggerplate platform and accessible on http://www.biggerplate.com/mindmaps/RHRWydzh/philippe-packu-five-wives-and-one-husband-template-3

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