A generative framework for critical thinking, reasoning and writing built for the age of AI enhanced learning.

Version: 0.1.0 | License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 |

The Universal Structure Toolkit (UST) is a cross disciplinary framework for teaching structured reasoning, critical thinking and communication through film based narrative principles and discipline specific structures.

ust/ ├── build/ # Obsidian ready and mm format ├── docs/ # White paper & supporting docs ├── guides/ # Workflow guides ├── src/ # Stage 1–4: scripts, prompts, mm, json ├── CITATION.cff ├── INSTALL.md ├── LICENSE.md └── README.md

UST transforms learning into structured inquiry, where narrative design and disciplinary logic cultivate creative, critical and AI empowered thinking. Writing becomes a reflection of thought, not the starting point.

Traditional writing instruction often emphasizes form over thought, leaving learners unprepared to analyze, synthesize and reason across contexts. UST bridges this gap with an intuitive generative toolkit that empowers learners to:

• Think critically and adaptively before writing.
• Apply structured reasoning across academic, creative and professional domains.
• Reframe prompts as thinking scaffolds to explore any material or scenario.
• Integrate AI responsibly to enhance understanding, insight and exploration.

• 34 structures: 12 narrative frameworks from film storytelling and 22 discipline specific structures across major academic and professional fields.
• 4 learning levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Meta/Expert.
• 1000+ structured concept tagged prompts designed for reasoning and critical thinking.
• Concept based tags to scaffold thought processes (e.g., Intention, Agency, Focus and Metaphor).
• Obsidian ready and Freeplane compatible formats.

• Educators and curriculum designers fostering critical thinking and structured reasoning.
• Students developing adaptive reasoning, analysis and learning skills.
• Writers, researchers and innovators seeking structured frameworks for thought.
• AI developers building tools for generative reasoning, problem solving and thinking scaffolds.

• Prompts act as flexible stems to analyze, synthesize and reason across any context.
• Supports thinking first workflows with writing as a tool to articulate insight.
• Encourages transferable reasoning skills bridging disciplinary silos.

• Compiled Vaults fully ready for Obsidian
• Full Generation Pipeline (Stages 1–4) — scripts and source files to regenerate the release from original .mm mind maps. Users may start from Stage 1 for full reproducibility or skip directly to the compiled vaults for immediate use.

For full methodology, theoretical framework and design principles, see the White Paper.

See INSTALL.md for setup instructions and workflow.

The UST workflow is organized in four stages for clarity and scalability:

1. Stage 1 – Mind Map Generation
   Create .mm files representing 34 structures and question sets using Freeplane. Full regeneration takes ~10 hours (AI generation + curation), but most users can skip directly to the compiled vaults.

2. Stage 2 – Cleaning (Optional)
   Concept tags from AI generation are mapped to the closest concept in the concept list. Output: clean versions of .mm files (~1 hour processing).

3. Stage 3 – JSON Conversion
   Convert mind maps to JSON ready for markdown automation.

4. Stage 4 – Obsidian Markdown Integration
   Generate linked Markdown notes for use in Obsidian (~5 minutes automated).

Clean Graph	Raw Graph

The Clean Graph shows the polished curated structures ready for reasoning and critical thinking, while the Raw Graph shows the original AI generated output.

Follow these steps to begin exploring UST immediately:

1. Download the Compiled Vault or .mm Files

   • For beginners, the .mm Freeplane files can be used directly to explore structures and thinking pathways without concern for tags or Obsidian integration.
   • For immediate use with full linking and tagging, download the compiled vault.
   • Extract the folder to your preferred location.

2. Open in Obsidian (Optional)

   • Launch Obsidian.
   • Open the compiled vault folder as a new vault to take advantage of linked notes, graph view for reasoning connections and concept tags.
   • Beginners can skip this step and explore the .mm Files directly in Freeplane.

3. Explore Structures and Questions

   • Navigate through the 34 structures.
   • Click on individual nodes (in Freeplane) or Markdown notes (in Obsidian) to see scaffolded reasoning questions.

4. Visualize Relationships

   • In Obsidian, use graph view to see connections between questions, concepts and reasoning pathways.
   • In Freeplane, view the structure tree directly to understand sequence, hierarchy and inquiry flow.

5. Optional: Regenerate UST from Source

   • For advanced users, follow Stages 1–4 in the pipeline to regenerate the entire toolkit from .mm mind maps.
   • This allows full reproducibility and experimentation with modified structures or thinking scaffolds.

Tip: Beginners can start with a single structure in Freeplane to get familiar with the approach before moving on to Obsidian or advanced workflows.

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Universal Structure Toolkit (UST) v0.1.0 © 2025 by L. M. Peter Chung is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

If you use the Universal Structure Toolkit (UST) in your research, please cite:

Chung, L. M. P. (2025). UST: This One Framework Could Change How We Think Forever (0.1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo.

BibTeX:

bibtex
@misc{chung2025ust,
  author       = {Chung, L. M. P.},
  title        = {UST: This One Framework Could Change How We Think Forever (0.1.0) [Data set]},
  year         = {2025},
  publisher    = {Zenodo},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.16898898},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16898898},
  note         = {Available at https://github.com/thePeterChung/ust}
}

• guides
• build

To provide feedback, suggest contributions or explore partnerships:
📧 [email protected]
🌐 https:www.linkedin.com/in/thepeterchung