Der Begriff "freestyle maps" bezeichnet nicht eine bestimmte Art von graphischen Darstellungen, sondern eine Vorgehensweise: Lernende zeichnen selbst ein graphische Darstellung ihres (Vor-)Wissens. Es bestehen keine inhaltlichen, sondern nur formale Vorgaben (welche Darstellungsform verwendet werden soll).

Freestyle maps are produced by a learner or user (sometimes in conjunction with an expert, teacher, or counselor) to transform material presented in verbal format or to express personal knowledge. A format sheet that provides easy reference to link types, node shapes, and content structures can serve as an aid to free style mapping. This type of mapping is a form of knowledge visualization.

Dansereau (in this book) distinguishes three types of nodelink mapping approaches with different practical use:

• Information maps are expert generated maps used for the presentation of information, as well as for orientation and navigation,
• guided maps are maps constructed by novice users with the help of a construction template,
• and freestyle maps are maps generated by users in a self-regulated manner.