#blogtakeover SWISP Lab x WIL | Utilising AI Chatbots Within the History Classroom 

A SWISP Lab WIL Project By: Cormac Wood

Imagine a device that doesn’t just teach students the facts of history, but actively challenges the very foundations of how our historical narratives are taught in schools. A device that allows students to travel and weave throughout the timelines of the past and be an active participant in how history is written. A device that encourages students to consciously engage with and change the past in a myriad of ways to examine the real-time outcomes of various decisions they make – and no, this is not a time machine, but in fact something far easier to create and manage that can be integrated into schools right now.

What I’ve just described is what I’ve been working on for my capstone research project at the University of Melbourne in SWISP Lab – an AI driven chat box for students to engage with in the history and humanities curriculums.  

‘Colossal Cave Adventure’ running on a PDP-11/34 with a monitor (Wikipedia).

The chat box has taken inspiration from various text-based ‘choose your own adventure’ video games from as early as the 1970s. In these games, the player would make decisions that would drastically affect later events within the virtual world. This encouraged players to reflect carefully on their decisions to navigate throughout the world, as well as drastically increasing the replayability of the game due to the numerous different courses the player could take. These old choose your own adventure games did not involve the type of Artificial Intelligence we are used to today, but if they did, the possibilities would be endless.

With a passion for history, and interested in just how far AI can transform teaching, it made me think, why can’t we include these types of games in the History classroom?  

Here is an example of one of the countless ways in which this AI driven chatbot could function in the classroom. This example would be extremely beneficial in a VCE Revolutions classroom.

What I have done during my WIL internship is to program the AI to respond to various decisions made by the students in the context of Revolutionary Russia, responding as different key figures such as Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, etc. This proposed AI chatbot would give the students prompts and they would have to reflect carefully on how they would proceed before deciding. 

These decisions that students will make within the classroom will obviously drastically affect how history turns out, with deviation colors ranging from green being the most like the actual historical timeline, orange a slight deviation with that could either deviate significantly or return to the original timeline, and finally red being a significant deviation from the historical narrative. These decisions are not limited to a certain set of rules and can be used within any historical setting.

The idea would be to have every student formulate their own historical adventure and then create a timeline map showcasing each students’ choices, and how each choice interlinks with other students’ responses. Because AI can generate so many different responses, each student would have a completely unique set of circumstances that can be shared. 

The ’Big 6 Historical Thinking Skills’ (Social Studies Educators Network of Canada).

You may be wondering why exactly this type of platform would be beneficial for students to engage with in the classroom. What is the point of learning about historical timelines that are not true?

Historical accuracy is certainly important when gaining a deeper understanding, insight, and context into the past that informs our modern world, but this AI driven chat bot is aiming to challenge that traditional format. The linear, scientific, ‘Thucydidean’ methodologies of historical thought that are traditionally used by modern day historians and teachers have forgotten the chaotic randomness of the lived human experience that students revel to engage with. This speculative game aims to rekindle the element of storytelling that informs us about ourselves, the past, and the future. 

By utilising an AI driven chatbot such as this one, students can develop several key skills that are fundamental to historical thought processes. Such skills include critical thinking/decision making skills when examining the monumental choices they must weigh up, as well as understanding the effects of causation and consequence when they are confronted with their decisions. Students will gain deeper insights into historical perspectives and thus make more informed, empathetic decisions when tasked with engaging with real historical figures. This tool aims to utilise AI within the historical curriculum in effectively challenging the norms of traditional historical thought. With it, students can begin to understand how their choices can impact their future. 

Written by: Cormac Wood
Master of Teaching Secondary (History)
September 2024