The Future of Education

Thinking tools that assist by externalizing thought processes and conceptual structures so they can be manipulated potentially improve student learning. We propose the design of a sensemaking assistant that integrates many such tools. Our design emerged from an intensive study of sensemaking by students working on real tasks [1], providing a link from users to developers. Sensemaking is the process of forming meaningful representations and working with them to gain understanding, possibly communicated in a report, to support planning, decision making, problem solving, and informed action [2]. At the heart of our design is a set of tightly integrated tools for representing and manipulating a conceptual space: tools for producing and maintaining concept maps, causal maps/influence diagrams, argument maps, with support through self-organizing semantic maps, importing concepts and relationships from external Knowledge Organization Systems, and inferring connections between texts; further a tool for organizing information items (documents, text passages notes, images) linked to the concept map. The sensemaking assistant we envision guides users through the sensemaking process; for each function it suggests appropriate cognitive processes [3, 4] and provides tools that automate tasks. The comprehensive sensemaking model introduced in [2] specifies functions in the iterative process of sensemaking: Task analysis and planning; Gap identification (tools for both: brainstorming, finding documents on the task); information acquisition, data seeking and structure seeking (search tool: finding databases, query expansion, passage retrieval; summarization tool); information organization, building structure, instantiating structure, information synthesis / new ideas / emerging sense (conceptual space tools mentioned above); information presentation, creating reports (from concept map to outline, guide through the writing process [5], analyze draft writing for coherence and clarity [6]) The system tracks sources.  [7] and [8] give examples of related work. Students using a sensemaking assistant may well internalize good ways for intellectual processes and good conceptual organization in addition to learning a useful application. The paper will provide some evidence from the literature and propose further testing.

Keywords: Sensemaking assistant, thinking tools, computer support for learning.

References:
[1] Zhang, P. (2010). Sensemaking: conceptual changes, cognitive mechanisms, and structural representations. PhD Dissertation. University of Maryland.
[2]  Zhang, P., Soergel, D. (2014). Towards a comprehensive model of the cognitive process and mechanisms of individual sensemaking. JASIST, 65(9), 1733 1756.
[3] ꟷ (2016). Process patterns and conceptual changes in knowledge representations during information seeking and sensemaking. J. Information Science, 42(1), 59-78.
[4] ꟷ (2020). Cognitive Mechanisms in Sensemaking. JASIST, 71 (2): 158 171.
[5] The Easy Essay - . www.theeasyessay.com.
[6] Hemingway Editor. http://hemingwayapp.com
[7] Subramonyam, H. (2019). Designing Interactive Intelligent Systems for Human Learning, Creativity, and Sensemaking. UIST 2019  Adjunct Publication p. 158 161.
[8] Anderson Inman, L.; Arvindam, A.; Oronzio, M. (2015) The Science Behind Ideaphora. Lake Oswego, OR, 13 p.
https://cdn-educators.brainpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The_Science_Behind_Ideaphora_White_Paper.pdf