Concept Space | Research & Studies

The Foundations of Concept Spaces

Concept Space is a tool to enhance communication, learning, and problem-solving by extending cognition beyond the brain. Developed since 2010, it's built on research in cognitive science, collaboration, and pedagogy.

Hypothesis

If we can design a means to naturally and efficiently map out the evolving understanding of concepts that closely matches how the brain works, then we can provide a structure:

for teachers to help assess levels of learning by accessing a much deeper view of the current state of knowledge acquisition,

for students to scaffold their learning on prior knowledge.

Design Requirements

Coherent with human cognition

Represent levels of abstractions,
Represent different types of relations between information.

Flexible, semi-structured

Build from a partial understanding,
Reorganize as things make more sense,
Support divergent and convergent thinking (creativity processes).

Efficient for a large amount of knowledge

Structures multiple thousands of concepts and relations,
Use the strength of the visual system, but avoid overload.

Smooth usage, multimodal

Stay in the flow,
Good first choice for most tasks to centralize work.

Collaborative

Support co-creation,
Build a common vision, up-to-date.

Concept Space

A graphical workspace aiming to represent and manipulate mental representation in a way that closely resembles mental structures as informed by cognitive science.

** It is pretty different from a concept map!

Research

Several areas of research are at the source of the design of concept space:

Epistemology
Cognitive Science
Socio-constructivism
H.M.I. (Human Machine Interface)
Group Problem Solving
Artificial Intelligence
Expertise
Vygotsky’s Activity Theory *

*Diagram of Vygotsky’s Activity Theory.

Articles and Publications

Foley, David (2025, June), The Development of Concept-Space, a Digital Workspace that Mirrors How the Brain Organizes and Expands Knowledge, Reveals Positive Impacts for Learners, Teamwork and Teachers Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Foley, David (2022-11-01). Discovering Concept-Space to Improve Student Experience and Teaching in Design Projects. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA).
Foley, David (2022). L'espace conceptuel : un dispositif pédagogique inédit. Agir ensemble dans l'enseignement supérieur: enjeux et perspectives - Sciencesconf.org. AIPU. Rennes (France).
Foley, David; Charron, François; Plante, Jean-Sébastien (2018). Potential of the CogEx Software Platform to Replace Logbooks in Capstone Design Projects. Advances in Engineering Education.

Conferences and Presentations

Concept Space Opens New Frontiers

A better communication of your thoughts can help you learn, collaborate and communicate better. This is why Concept Space was created.

- Develop a shared vision;
- Co-create in real-time or asynchronously;
- Centralize team knowledge;
- Demonstrate individual progress;
- Maintain your personal workspace.
The efficient communication obtained with Concept Space allows teams to build a well-defined vision. It also provides a real-time collaborative space.
- Grasp quickly the direction of a project;
- Visualize the contribution of each individual;
- Provide targeted feedback;
- Appreciate depth of ideas.
Through an accurate representation of how individuals and teams understand knowledge, the supervisor can quickly identify the gaps in their progress.
- Extend your cognition with outside representation;
- Visualize the big picture;
- Increase your knowledge by adding on to your existing knowledge.
Concept Space lets you offload your knowledge and further your understanding, solving, or creating.
- Develop a shared vision;
- Co-create in real-time or asynchronously;
- Centralize team knowledge;
- Demonstrate individual progress;
- Maintain your personal workspace.
The efficient communication obtained with Concept Space allows teams to build a well-defined vision. It also provides a real-time collaborative space.
- Grasp quickly the direction of a project;
- Visualize the contribution of each individual;
- Provide targeted feedback;
- Appreciate depth of ideas.
Through an accurate representation of how individuals and teams understand knowledge, the supervisor can quickly identify the gaps in their progress.
- Extend your cognition with outside representation;
- Visualize the big picture;
- Increase your knowledge by adding on to your existing knowledge.
Concept Space lets you offload your knowledge and further your understanding, solving, or creating.
- Develop a shared vision;
- Co-create in real-time or asynchronously;
- Centralize team knowledge;
- Demonstrate individual progress;
- Maintain your personal workspace.
The efficient communication obtained with Concept Space allows teams to build a well-defined vision. It also provides a real-time collaborative space.

What our Users Have to Say:

Manon Couture
Physical Education Teacher
Teacher for 30 years, Manon chose Relate to share her expertise with the next generation of teachers. As she approaches retirement, she's proud to leave a valuable legacy, helping younger teachers avoid the mistakes she herself encountered early in her career.
By sharing her experience, she helps improve the quality of teaching tomorrow.
Anthony St-Cyr
Vice-President
Technopub
Relate is the only platform that is able to make a distinction between surface and deeper work. People often show me pretty diagrams that give the impression there was reasoning behind, but no! Often when we dig, we realize there is no foundation behind theses ideas.
With Relate we can access the deeper layer allowing to easily show the thinking behind every blocs of a presentation if there is any question. We would see quickly if someone hasn't done their homework.
Lotfi Gharbi
Educational advisor
CSS des Hauts-Cantons
Visually organizing my Relate projects allows me to create mind palaces (a memorization technique).
This approach transforms information management into a more fluid, engaging, and satisfying experience. It creates a clearer mental space, conducive to better concentration… and, most importantly, to planning a quality education.
Read the whole testimony
Emma Riendeau
Natural Science
Cégep of Sherbrooke
I would recommend Relate to any student, in any program.
For studying and taking notes, really, it makes it so that when you study before the exam, it's easier to review and go through the course content rather than having to search through paper notes where there are lots of things and words that do not necessarily have a connection between them.
Watch the complete testimonial
Marie-Pier Bonneau
Mechanical Engineering
University of Sherbrooke
We had a complex team project to work on and Relate really allowed me to develop and organize information in a way that the other team members could rapidly understand what I was doing and where I was going.
See the whole case study
Maxime Léveillé
Biochemistry
University of Sherbrooke
I have a Relate for every important thing that I do, my music projects, my pole vault trainings, all my classes and my research.
I am able to go deeper in the material while I am learning and when it is time to to prepare for exams, I can easily see the big picture. Studying is a lot faster and I can understand better what I'm learning.
See the whole case study
Cathel Zitzmann
Teacher-Researcher
EPF Engineering School
When I discovered Relate at a conference, I said to myself: “It’s the digital tool I no longer thought I’d find.”
For me, Relate is human, visual, adaptable: everyone can use the tool according to their own way of structuring information.
Read the whole testimony
Jérémy Lafrenière
Kinesiologist
Simple, Powerful, and Essential for Client Management
Relate helps me centralize and track all my client interactions in one place. Before using it, I constantly had to dig through scattered notes, wasting precious time. Now, every file is organized, clear, and instantly accessible. This drastically improves the quality of my knowledge, helps me respond faster, and increases client satisfaction. I save time, avoid mistakes, and feel much more structured.
Read the whole testimony
Manon Couture
Physical Education Teacher
Teacher for 30 years, Manon chose Relate to share her expertise with the next generation of teachers. As she approaches retirement, she's proud to leave a valuable legacy, helping younger teachers avoid the mistakes she herself encountered early in her career.
By sharing her experience, she helps improve the quality of teaching tomorrow.
Anthony St-Cyr
Vice-President
Technopub
Relate is the only platform that is able to make a distinction between surface and deeper work. People often show me pretty diagrams that give the impression there was reasoning behind, but no! Often when we dig, we realize there is no foundation behind theses ideas.
With Relate we can access the deeper layer allowing to easily show the thinking behind every blocs of a presentation if there is any question. We would see quickly if someone hasn't done their homework.
Lotfi Gharbi
Educational advisor
CSS des Hauts-Cantons
Visually organizing my Relate projects allows me to create mind palaces (a memorization technique).
This approach transforms information management into a more fluid, engaging, and satisfying experience. It creates a clearer mental space, conducive to better concentration… and, most importantly, to planning a quality education.
Read the whole testimony
Emma Riendeau
Natural Science
Cégep of Sherbrooke
I would recommend Relate to any student, in any program.
For studying and taking notes, really, it makes it so that when you study before the exam, it's easier to review and go through the course content rather than having to search through paper notes where there are lots of things and words that do not necessarily have a connection between them.
Watch the complete testimonial
Marie-Pier Bonneau
Mechanical Engineering
University of Sherbrooke
We had a complex team project to work on and Relate really allowed me to develop and organize information in a way that the other team members could rapidly understand what I was doing and where I was going.
See the whole case study
Maxime Léveillé
Biochemistry
University of Sherbrooke
I have a Relate for every important thing that I do, my music projects, my pole vault trainings, all my classes and my research.
I am able to go deeper in the material while I am learning and when it is time to to prepare for exams, I can easily see the big picture. Studying is a lot faster and I can understand better what I'm learning.
See the whole case study
Cathel Zitzmann
Teacher-Researcher
EPF Engineering School
When I discovered Relate at a conference, I said to myself: “It’s the digital tool I no longer thought I’d find.”
For me, Relate is human, visual, adaptable: everyone can use the tool according to their own way of structuring information.
Read the whole testimony
Jérémy Lafrenière
Kinesiologist
Simple, Powerful, and Essential for Client Management
Relate helps me centralize and track all my client interactions in one place. Before using it, I constantly had to dig through scattered notes, wasting precious time. Now, every file is organized, clear, and instantly accessible. This drastically improves the quality of my knowledge, helps me respond faster, and increases client satisfaction. I save time, avoid mistakes, and feel much more structured.
Read the whole testimony
Manon Couture
Physical Education Teacher
Teacher for 30 years, Manon chose Relate to share her expertise with the next generation of teachers. As she approaches retirement, she's proud to leave a valuable legacy, helping younger teachers avoid the mistakes she herself encountered early in her career.
By sharing her experience, she helps improve the quality of teaching tomorrow.
Anthony St-Cyr
Vice-President
Technopub
Relate is the only platform that is able to make a distinction between surface and deeper work. People often show me pretty diagrams that give the impression there was reasoning behind, but no! Often when we dig, we realize there is no foundation behind theses ideas.
With Relate we can access the deeper layer allowing to easily show the thinking behind every blocs of a presentation if there is any question. We would see quickly if someone hasn't done their homework.
Lotfi Gharbi
Educational advisor
CSS des Hauts-Cantons
Visually organizing my Relate projects allows me to create mind palaces (a memorization technique).
This approach transforms information management into a more fluid, engaging, and satisfying experience. It creates a clearer mental space, conducive to better concentration… and, most importantly, to planning a quality education.
Read the whole testimony
Emma Riendeau
Natural Science
Cégep of Sherbrooke
I would recommend Relate to any student, in any program.
For studying and taking notes, really, it makes it so that when you study before the exam, it's easier to review and go through the course content rather than having to search through paper notes where there are lots of things and words that do not necessarily have a connection between them.
Watch the complete testimonial

Explore case studies

See how students and teachers have used Relate in their projects and what they think of it.

Case Studies

What's Next?

Our latest findings outline a high potential in improving education; we are welcoming everyone that wants to use concept-space, for improving education or for research.

Future research ideas:

Mesure long-term benefits of learning through concept-space construction and organization, including lifelong learning.
Study how concept-space provides an inclusive tool for both divergent and convergent learning styles, creativity.
Provide alternative learning assessment that can't be generated by AI (Chat GPT).
Develop detections of patterns in knowledge construction to help identify ADHD and giftedness (probably AI).

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