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.
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Concept Space

Concept space illustration

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 *
Activity diagram

*Diagram of Vygotsky’s Activity Theory.

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.

Features bg
  • 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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Explore case studies

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

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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