Campfire Session — Social Studies

Examples and tips for using Flint AI in social studies classes.

Lulu Gao, Head of Teacher Experience at Flint | LinkedIn

Social studies teachers have created some of the most unique and creative activities our teachers have seen in Flint. From role plays to debates to writing and research, Flint can play various personas to make students' learning fun, personalized, and informative.

This session included a demo of Flint's options for review and teachers' shareout about their own experiences. Topics covered included:

1. Creating a Social Studies debate/roleplay activity in Flint
2. Tips for activity creation
3. Chat examples for using Flint on your own as a teacher or student

Slides from the presentation can be found here.

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Introduction • 00:00

• Lulu Gao introduces the session and agenda.

Ice-breaking news • 01:20

• An education report on AI usage is discussed. Statistics reveal disparities in AI adoption among different student majors.
• Concerns about the validity of the data are raised. The need for verification of research findings is emphasized. Encouragement to explore the report after the call is provided.

Activities in Flint • 05:11

• Flint's platform is introduced for social studies activities. The AI prompts students rather than the other way around.
• Activities that could be applied in social studies classes include personalized and differentiated introduction to new topics, debates and role plays with different personas, assessments of understanding through generated practice/quizzes, research mentor, and feedback generator for writing.
• An example activity involving a debate on the Treaty of Versailles is created. The AI assists in setting up the context and goals for the students.
• Suggestions for enhancing student engagement are provided. Ideas include integrating primary sources and historical challenges.

Q&A about activity creation and management • 13:14

• Discussion on uploading materials for social studies activities. Issues with materials not appearing on the manual side were addressed.
• Custom rubrics can be uploaded and referenced for grading.
• Emmett Gallagher raised concerns about content sifting and grading ranges. Suggestions for improving clarity in grading processes were discussed.
• Concerns about content overload are expressed. Suggestions for streamlining feedback processes are discussed.
• Innovative methods for summarizing student work are shared. The use of AI to generate summary documents is highlighted.
• Strategies for creating grading activities within the platform are proposed. The potential for tailored feedback processes is emphasized.
• A discussion about saving activity chats occurs. Suggestions for improving file transfer between activities are made.
• Concerns about disconnects in building activities are raised. The need for better integration and resource attachment is highlighted.
• The idea of adding an avatar for content delivery is proposed. The potential benefits of anthropomorphic characters in education are discussed.

Tips for activity creation • 31:24

• Tips for activity creation were provided. Emphasis was placed on previewing and iterating activities for accuracy.
• Examples of engaging templates for social studies were discussed. Students were encouraged to create their own activities for personalized learning.

Chats in Flint • 35:53

• A lesson plan is created using AI. Various activities and objectives are suggested for teaching migration patterns. AI-generated settings for an activity are discussed. The document includes a table for manual settings to be copied into the builder chat.
• Teachers are shown how their students can use AI to quiz themselves. Fun storytelling elements are incorporated into the quiz format.

General Q&A • 40:09

• Questions about tracking student assignment time were addressed. The system shows submission times and durations for assignments.
• Concerns regarding grading based on student progress were discussed. Adjustments in settings for grading improvement were suggested.
• The potential for creating a social forum within Flint was explored. The development of group chat features is currently being considered.

Teacher shareout • 44:37

• Ned Courtemanche shares his experience with Flint. He screenshares many examples of activities he has created and shares his experience as department head spearheading Flint's adoption.
• Ned Courtemanche discusses the effectiveness of AI in the classroom. He highlights using Flint to create practice problems.
• Ned Courtemanche provides examples of assignments using Flint. He explains how AI can assist in evaluating sources.
• The importance of ease of use is emphasized. Teachers can quickly get started with minimal clicks.
• Creativity and curiosity in learning are highlighted. Students are encouraged to engage in role-playing historical scenarios.
• A culture of sharing innovative ideas is promoted. Educators are encouraged to spotlight effective uses of the Flint platform.

Conclusion • 56:02

• Lulu wraps up the session by sharing the next campfire session topic: research and librarians.
• Lulu also shares QR codes for the Campfire Calendar and Facebook Group.