The Power of a Doodling Brain: Concept Maps as Pathways to Learning

Children begin to emulate writing and what they see around them at a very early age (Byington & Kim, 2017). The simple scribbles they begin to produce are representations of complex cognitive processes occurring. The constant cognitive scaffolding which medical students experience can be compared to the cognitive process children participate in when they doodle, this could be aiding them to visualize and to efficiently create concept maps as adults to learn key concepts and to quickly make connections. The ability to visualize and to understand the relationship of critically important medical concepts remains an invaluable skill which can be reflected through diagramming, concept mapping and doodling.