However, based on our training experiences we find that many students claim that freestyle mapping is too effortful to be used on a regular basis. Consequently, attention has also been focused on the teaching side of the educational coin with the exploration of information maps.

Freestyle mapping has also been successfully used as an alternative to traditional writing assignments in undergraduate courses (Czuchry & Dansereau, 1996). Furthermore, it has been shown that exposure to freestyle mapping training itself is sufficient to promote better text learning even when the technique is not explicitly used (Chmielewski & Dansereau, 1998).

Generally, college students using freestyle mapping performed at significantly higher levels than those using their own approaches (Long, 1976; Holley, Dansereau, McDonald, Garland & Collins, 1979; Dansereau, Collins, McDonald, Holley, Garland, Diekhoff & Evans, 1979; Dansereau, McDonald, Collins, Garland, Holley, Diekhoff & Evans, 1979; Dansereau & Holley, 1982). The results and implications of these early studies have been reviewed by Holley and Dansereau (1984) and Lambiotte, Dansereau, Cross, and Reynolds (1989).