Let’s embark on a fascinating journey into the realm of AI-assisted learning in the history classroom. The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022 as presented history teachers with an incredible opportunity to leverage the power of Generative AI (GAI) to enrich our students’ critical thinking, creativity, voice, and ethical awareness. This amazing technological tool has given teachers an amazing new way to empower their students to engage with their world more fully.
Over the Australian summer end of academic year break of December 2022-Jaunary 2023, I found myself drawn to the multitude of discussions surrounding the implications for the use AI in education, especially the emergence of ChatGPT. Yet, my entry into this technological frontier was not without its questions. How could GAI be seamlessly, safely and ethically integrated into my teaching practice? How could it align with best practices in history education? These thoughts guided my journey as I embraced this transformative tool.
Fast forward from the beginning of the 2023 school year, where my students and I embarked on a new adventure. In my role as a digital pedagogy specialist, my school had taken the bold step of me to allow older students to experiment with the incorporation of AI in my classrooms. My experiences and researched helped to inform the concurrent drafting of school policies and guidelines for the use of AI by teachers and students. I knew that I was part of something bigger, in line with global research that showcased the increasing integration of AI in educational spaces.
By the middle of 2023, research in the United States revealed that 40% of teachers were using ChatGPT weekly, with 84% reporting positive impacts on their classes (Toppo, 2023). This enthusiastic embrace of AI showcased a shift in education, with educators recognizing the potential to reshape their practices. However, while the potential was evident, the integration of AI into subject-specific pedagogies was yet to be fully explored. This was an area in which I was already working.
My HistoryBuddy – a GPT powered study companion for every student!
This is where my partnership with AI began. In my history classes, I introduced my students to AI companions like ChatGPT, BingChat, and my personalized Quora-powered study buddy chatbot, HistoryBuddy. This integration was carefully guided by my pedagogical approach and desire to provide students with a structured AI experience that complemented their learning.
The integration of an AI companions like HistoryBuddy into my teaching of history resonates with the vision posed by Benjamin Bloom’s renowned 1984 research on the “2 sigma problem”. In 1984, Bloom highlighted the incredible potential of personalized instruction but questioned how to achieve it without individual tutoring, which proved highly effective but resource-intensive.
The emergence of AI-powered study companion tools – like my own creation HistoryBuddy – presents teachers with the possibility solving Bloom’s 2 sigma problem. They offer the possibility of tailored guidance and assistance that mirrors the benefits of one-on-one tutoring within a classroom setting and beyond it. This synergy between historical inquiry and AI-enhanced learning not only bridges Bloom’s 2 sigma problem but propels history education into a realm of unprecedented possibilities, where every student’s unique learning journey is nurtured and empowered
The HistoryBuddy chatbot, in particular, is a valuable asset in my classroom. By embedding foundational prompts into the AI interactions, I could ensure that my students engaged with a selected form of AI in meaningful ways. These guardrails served to prompt fact-checking and lateral reading approaches, aligning with the principles of historical inquiry advocated by the Stanford History Education Group.
For instance, when a student questioned the reliability of primary and secondary sources, HistoryBuddy gently corrected misconceptions and encouraged critical analysis. In another instance, when a student expressed concerns about stereotypes in historical sources, HistoryBuddy offered perspective. And as students pondered the subjectivity of history itself, HistoryBuddy reminded them of its complex nature.
Further, HistoryBuddy allowed me to create activities in which my students could engage with the general capabilities of the Australian Curriculum in ways that seemed unachievable to me in the past. Importantly, through this early work with Generative AI in the classroom I found myself quickly developing some simple thinking routines and structures for students engaging with the tool. These thinking routines will be outlined briefly in another blog post.
Practical Considerations for AI in History Education: Evaluating Sources and Perspectives
My journey with AI in the classroom yielded practical insights that I believe can benefit educators eager to embrace this technology. While I have successfully integrated AI tools into my history classes, it’s important to approach this integration reflectively and intentionally. Recognize that some students may already be experimenting with AI beyond your directed activities, and thus, encouraging a discussion on reliable sources and fact-checking becomes paramount.
Moreover, the knowledge of subject matter is crucial when engaging with AI. ChatGPT, for example, is often a wonderful way for students to begin brainstorming a topic but it is not yet a great starting place for beginning a research process. Secondary sources – even general ones – provide a launchpad for the effective use of AI in the humanities. The more students understand a topic, BEFORE using the AI tool, the better they can evaluate AI-generated responses for accuracy. In this space, flipped learning pedagogies can play an important role. Students hoping to get the very best results out of OpenAI style chatbots benefit from already having a level of content knowledge that allows them to frame powerful prompts for the AI tools to respond to. This process naturally opens avenues for conversations about the reliability of information, enhancing research skills, and fostering a culture of critical thinking.
Some Examples of AI Integration into the Process of Historical Inquiry
Let’s delve into a few examples of AI integration in my classroom:
Example 1: Engaging Year 9 students in the relevance of history can sometimes be challenging. A HistoryBuddy was interrogated by students in a brainstorming process. Students then unpacked their own perspectives on the reasons why “history matters” before the class shared their ideas in a yarning circle. The resultant student facilitated discussion on the importance of historical knowledge in shaping the present and future was a powerful learning experience. Students then explored the nature of historical significance before embarking on studies of the French Revolution. Through collaborating with AI, students formulated their own perspectives, fostering active participation and meaningful dialogue.
Example 2: In a Year 10 class, AI played a pivotal role in introducing the context of Australia’s involvement in the Pacific War. HistoryBuddy enabled efficient access to diverse range of content which was then linked to other sources including maps, video footage, and archival materials. Students later used these foundations to commence a small oral history research process with the families. The entire process fostered student engagement and understanding.
Example 3: In a Year 7 class, AI assumed the role of an ancient Egyptian scribe. The scribe’s tomb and his simple biography had already been studied by the class through primary and secondary sources. Students collaborated to interview “the scribe” in a process mediated by me as teacher. They interrogated his perspectives on life in Ancient Egypt.
Example 4: In another ongoing learning activity, students have engaged with – and, at times, challenged – the perspectives of historical figures such as Robespierre, Robert Menzies, Multuggerah, Olympe de Gouges, and Vida Goldstein using HistoryBuddy‘s sibling chatbot HistoryPeeps. Using HistoryPeeps has proved an invaluable way for helping students to recognise both the subjectivity of perspectives in primary sources and the ways in which AI may not give unbiased responses to our prompts.
Conclusion: Transforming Historical Learning with AI
In this era of rapid technological evolution, we stand on the threshold of a new chapter in history education. Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we teach and learn. Tools like ChatGPT and its variations offer unparalleled opportunities to enrich historical learning experiences. However, it’s vital to approach AI integration within a holistic framework that aligns with best practices, embraces ethical considerations, and nurtures critical thinking.
The journey ahead involves refining our approach, developing comprehensive frameworks, and recognizing that AI is a tool that enhances skill development and content knowledge. As educators, we have the privilege and responsibility to guide our students as they navigate this transformative era. Let’s inspire them to harness AI as a means to amplify their voices, cultivate ethical awareness, and engage with history in profound ways.
Together, we’re shaping the future of history education – one AI-powered conversation at a time.
Disrupted History 