Mind	
  Mapping	
  for	
  Training	
  and	
  Development	
  of	
  Student	
  Interns

Challenge

I	
  work	
  in	
  an	
  ins+tu+on	
  of	
  higher	
  educa+on	
  where	
  my	
  department	
  is	
  responsible	
  for	
  the	
  growth	
   and	
  development	
  of	
  student	
  interns.	
  Our	
  supervisory	
  staﬀ	
  consistently	
  struggles	
  with	
   iden+fying	
  key	
  ways	
  to	
  both	
  celebrate	
  the	
  hard	
  work	
  and	
  dedica+on	
  of	
  the	
  student	
  interns,	
   while	
  also	
  developing	
  their	
  leadership	
  skills	
  and	
  competencies.	
  Finding	
  a	
  balance	
  of	
  their	
   development	
  and	
  streamlined	
  training	
  has	
  proven	
  diﬃcult	
  due	
  to	
  lack	
  of	
  +me,	
  limited	
   resources,	
  and	
  the	
  part-­‐+me	
  availability	
  of	
  student	
  interns.	
  Feedback	
  taken	
  aAer	
  an	
  ini+al	
  four-­‐ week	
  training	
  program	
  oAen	
  shows	
  that	
  our	
  department	
  could	
  beBer	
  serve	
  the	
  needs	
  of	
  our	
   student	
  interns	
  through	
  organiza+onal	
  culture	
  and	
  climate	
  changes	
  that	
  promote	
  growth	
  and	
   through	
  the	
  improvement	
  of	
  ongoing	
  training	
  programs.	
  My	
  goal	
  is	
  to	
  strategically	
  implement	
  a	
   mind	
  mapping	
  ac+vity	
  to	
  address	
  this	
  challenge.

Selec:on

Mind	
  mapping	
  provided	
  direc+on	
  for	
  iden+fying	
  themes	
  and	
  paBerns	
  within	
  my	
  organiza+onal	
   data	
  in	
  rela+on	
  to	
  training	
  and	
  development.	
  As	
  men+oned	
  in	
  the	
  mind	
  mapping	
  video,	
  this	
   tool	
  is	
  useful	
  in	
  moving	
  from	
  the	
  “what	
  is”	
  to	
  “what	
  if”	
  stage	
  of	
  design	
  thinking	
  and	
  seemed	
  to	
   be	
  a	
  tangible	
  step	
  forward	
  for	
  this	
  design	
  thinking	
  challenge.	
  Mind	
  mapping	
  invites	
  par+cipants	
   to	
  ac+vely	
  engage	
  in	
  the	
  process	
  of	
  synthesizing	
  data	
  as	
  a	
  team,	
  which	
  will	
  hopefully	
  create	
  a	
   sense	
  of	
  ownership	
  by	
  the	
  staﬀ	
  seeking	
  to	
  beBer	
  serve	
  our	
  student	
  interns.	
  It	
  also	
  is	
  a	
  tangible	
   ac+vity	
  for	
  a	
  team	
  to	
  feel	
  that	
  they	
  can	
  willingly	
  par+cipate,	
  while	
  hearing	
  the	
  needs	
  of	
  the	
   students	
  they	
  lead.	
  I	
  believe	
  that	
  this	
  will	
  give	
  the	
  greatest	
  sense	
  of	
  vision	
  for	
  future	
  training	
   and	
  development	
  sessions	
  because	
  the	
  supervisory	
  staﬀ	
  will	
  feel	
  that	
  they	
  were	
  a	
  part	
  of	
   providing	
  overall	
  direc+on	
  for	
  the	
  program

Applica:on

Working	
  through	
  sa+sfac+on	
  surveys	
  from	
  our	
  summer	
  training	
  program	
  for	
  one-­‐hundred	
   student	
  interns,	
  mind	
  mapping	
  provided	
  a	
  way	
  to	
  lay	
  out	
  the	
  data	
  that	
  represented	
  our	
   departmental	
  climate	
  and	
  address	
  the	
  paBerns	
  within	
  the	
  feedback.	
  U+lizing	
  the	
  post-­‐it	
  note	
   ac+vity	
  described	
  in	
  the	
  video,	
  I	
  had	
  four	
  members	
  of	
  the	
  supervisory	
  staﬀ	
  who	
  had	
  read	
   through	
  the	
  data	
  begin	
  to	
  pick	
  out	
  key	
  posi+ve	
  themes	
  and	
  place	
  those	
  on	
  posters	
  on	
  a	
  wall	
  in	
   our	
  oﬃce.	
  Next,	
  the	
  team	
  went	
  through	
  and	
  wrote	
  down	
  insight	
  statements	
  that	
  emerged	
  from	
   the	
  data	
  and	
  could	
  be	
  grouped	
  with	
  main	
  themes.	
  We	
  had	
  mul+ple	
  clusters	
  that	
  formed	
  that	
   related	
  back	
  primarily	
  to	
  training	
  and	
  development	
  strategies.	
  These	
  key	
  themes	
  included	
   “apprecia+on	
  events”	
  and	
  “developmental	
  opportuni+es”	
  split	
  into	
  four	
  categories:	
   professional	
  development,	
  personal	
  development,	
  mental/spiritual	
  development,	
  and	
   leadership	
  development.

The	
  strategy	
  of	
  mapping	
  student	
  intern	
  feedback	
  based	
  on	
  their	
  training	
  and	
  development	
   journey	
  thus	
  far	
  was	
  beneﬁcial.	
  While	
  the	
  ac+vity	
  provided	
  clear	
  direc+on,	
  it	
  could	
  have	
  proven	
   more	
  eﬀec+ve	
  if	
  I	
  had	
  set	
  more	
  clear	
  boundaries	
  on	
  +me	
  for	
  various	
  transi+ons	
  in	
  the	
  mapping	
   ac+vity.	
  In	
  fact,	
  we	
  had	
  to	
  cut	
  oﬀ	
  the	
  mapping	
  process	
  early	
  because	
  the	
  formulated	
  insights	
   were	
  extending	
  beyond	
  the	
  mee+ng’s	
  +me	
  allotment.

Insight

In	
  using	
  mind	
  mapping,	
  we	
  were	
  able	
  to	
  see	
  that	
  a	
  couple	
  key	
  themes	
  emerged	
  more	
   prominently	
  in	
  the	
  data.	
  This	
  	
  made	
  the	
  daun+ng	
  task	
  of	
  addressing	
  the	
  challenge	
  seem	
  more	
   manageable.	
  In	
  fact,	
  it	
  allowed	
  for	
  greater	
  understanding	
  of	
  our	
  student	
  intern	
  feedback	
  and	
  a	
   springboard	
  for	
  the	
  conversa+ons	
  of	
  future	
  developmental	
  strategy.	
  By	
  mapping	
  our	
   organiza+on's	
  posi+ve	
  successes	
  and	
  a	
  few	
  key	
  failures,	
  we	
  were	
  able	
  to	
  see	
  direc+on	
  and	
  set	
   aBainable	
  goals	
  as	
  we	
  move	
  forward	
  in	
  addressing	
  the	
  gaps	
  in	
  our	
  training	
  program.	
  The	
   greatest	
  indicator	
  of	
  success	
  in	
  using	
  this	
  tool	
  was	
  the	
  fact	
  that	
  the	
  team	
  of	
  staﬀ	
  members	
  were	
   making	
  the	
  discoveries	
  and	
  displayed	
  ownership	
  in	
  how	
  they	
  addressed	
  posi+ve	
  themes	
  and	
   posi+ve	
  direc+on	
  in	
  weaker	
  areas	
  of	
  the	
  program.

Approach

Mind	
  mapping	
  proved	
  extremely	
  eﬀec+ve	
  in	
  allowing	
  the	
  team	
  to	
  work	
  through	
  a	
  signiﬁcant	
   amount	
  of	
  data	
  with	
  clear	
  direc+on	
  and	
  with	
  a	
  key	
  goal	
  in	
  mind.	
  I	
  was	
  impressed	
  at	
  the	
  ability	
   to	
  siA	
  through	
  major	
  themes	
  to	
  ﬁnd	
  key	
  insights	
  that	
  would	
  truly	
  have	
  been	
  lost	
  in	
  the	
  midst	
  of	
   the	
  survey	
  responses	
  if	
  not	
  for	
  this	
  ac+vity.	
  This	
  tool	
  proved	
  valuable	
  in	
  this	
  stage	
  and	
  can	
   actually	
  be	
  used	
  again	
  as	
  we	
  implement	
  change	
  and	
  then	
  move	
  forward.	
  However,	
  I	
  would	
  also	
   like	
  to	
  try	
  using	
  the	
  storytelling	
  tool	
  to	
  integrate	
  the	
  “cause”	
  with	
  some	
  of	
  these	
  themes.	
  By	
   using	
  the	
  stories	
  of	
  our	
  student	
  interns	
  to	
  depict	
  how	
  the	
  major	
  themes	
  of	
  our	
  mind	
  mapping	
   session	
  emerged,	
  we	
  could	
  beBer	
  connect	
  our	
  students	
  with	
  the	
  future	
  training	
  and	
   development	
  sessions	
  to	
  come.	
  Pairing	
  storytelling	
  and	
  mind	
  mapping	
  seems	
  like	
  a	
  natural	
   partnership	
  for	
  future	
  projects	
  in	
  this	
  area	
  for	
  my	
  organiza+on.

