Pedagogic Applications of Argument Maps to Enhance Critical Thinking: Thought Seeds, Argument Mapping, Collaborative Mapping

Sruti Narra


Abstract
Argument maps are used extensively in Natural Language Processing (NLP), for training Large Language Models (LLMs) to analyze and generate arguments coherently. This paper discusses the pedagogic applications of the concept of argument mapping to enhance critical thinking in learning within educational contexts. The approach was found to be useful for shaping the thinking process during thesis writing and project courses and can be applied in higher education. In the age of rapid Gen AI advancement, it is important to embed critical thinking into education and such approaches can address challenges like AI overuse and potential loss of key skills and competences in learners. Argument mapping necessitates learners to visualize their thinking and while doing so, they not only achieve clarity of thought, but also make distinct connections between concepts in the form of arguments. Such clarity is at a much higher level compared to that achieved through concept or mind mapping as learners need to think in terms of well-formed claims and connections between them. In addition, collaborative argument mapping tasks could give learners opportunities for peer learning, and to concretize the abstract ideas through visualization and discussion.
Anthology ID:
2026.teachingnlp-1.2
Volume:
Proceedings of the Seventh Workshop on Teaching Natural Language Processing (TeachNLP 2026)
Month:
March
Year:
2026
Address:
Rabat, Morocco
Editors:
Matthias Aßenmacher, Laura Biester, Claudia Borg, György Kovács, Margot Mieskes, Sofia Serrano
Venues:
TeachingNLP | WS
SIG:
Publisher:
Association for Computational Linguistics
Note:
Pages:
7–10
Language:
URL:
https://aclanthology.org/2026.teachingnlp-1.2/
DOI:
Bibkey:
Cite (ACL):
Sruti Narra. 2026. Pedagogic Applications of Argument Maps to Enhance Critical Thinking: Thought Seeds, Argument Mapping, Collaborative Mapping. In Proceedings of the Seventh Workshop on Teaching Natural Language Processing (TeachNLP 2026), pages 7–10, Rabat, Morocco. Association for Computational Linguistics.
Cite (Informal):
Pedagogic Applications of Argument Maps to Enhance Critical Thinking: Thought Seeds, Argument Mapping, Collaborative Mapping (Narra, TeachingNLP 2026)
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https://aclanthology.org/2026.teachingnlp-1.2.pdf