Going With the Flow

What is the best way to internalize the information that I am studying and make it into a practical application? I think this is a question that students, regardless of discipline, have been asking for years. One method that I have used in my classes is the flow chart. It is my opinion that: if you know where you are going, then you should know how to get there. (Course if we did the GPS would not be the hottest electronic doo hecky going.) It is this reasoning that is behind my use of flow charts.
Critical thinking, using flow charts, allows for the student to internalize information with out simple regurgitation. For example: Blood Flow through the heart. You could memorize that blood to the Right atrium to Right ventricle is without oxygen and that blood to the Left atrium to Left ventricle is with oxygen and that it then goes to the body. This is the basic information and it will probably get you through the test. However, if you picture the heart as a four room house with doors and that the flow pattern through the house is only in one direction, then it adds a second dimension to the learning process. Now, if we add to that that you are the blood and you are looking for your best buddy "oxygen", now you have set the stage for active learning.