A New Way to Assess APWH Students’ Content Knowledge and Critical Thinking Skills in the Era of ChatGPT

Relating to Topic 7.8 (Mass Atrocities After 1900)

APWH teachers, I have two questions for you, but to answer these two questions, I first need you to imagine yourself as a sophomore in a high school AP World History class.

Your teacher has recently taught Topic 7.8 (Mass Atrocities After 1900) and has assigned you the task of creating, in collaboration with ChatGPT, a wall exhibit for a local museum, with this exhibit to be entitled “The Response to the Nanking Massacre.”

After creating the exhibit in collaboration with ChatGPT, you are then asked to write the answers to several short answer questions, with a bank of these SAQs appearing after the description of “The Proposed Exhibit” found below.

Your answers to these questions will be graded, and you will be using a lockdown browser while completing them.

THE TWO QUESTIONS:

Do you believe doing this work would give you an opportunity to demonstrate your content knowledge? Critical thinking skills? Think it would teach you to write better?

THE PROPOSED EXHIBIT:

The proposed exhibit is divided into five sections and seeks to provide museumgoers with a comprehensive understanding of the various response to the Nanking Massacre.

Section #1: International Outrage and Witness Testimonies:

This section to:

• Highlight the international response to the Nanking Massacre, including diplomatic efforts, media coverage, and witness testimonies
• Eexplore how news of the atrocities reached the international community, eliciting shock, horror, and calls for justice
• Include excerpts from newspaper articles, letters, and statements by foreign diplomats and journalists.

Section #2: Humanitarian Efforts and Rescue Operations:

This section to

• Showcase the efforts of individuals and organizations who worked tirelessly to provide aid, support, and protection to the victims of the Nanking Massacre
• Highlight stories of diplomats, missionaries, and local Chinese citizens who risked their lives to save others
• Include photographs, personal accounts, and artifacts related to rescue missions, temporary shelters, and medical assistance.

Section #3: The Pursuit of Justice and Accountability:

This section to:

• Explores the quest for justice and accountability in the aftermath of the Nanking Massacre.
• Focuses on initiatives such as the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the efforts to document war crimes and hold perpetrators accountable.
• Include legal documents, photographs of war crime trials, and stories of individuals involved in seeking justice for the victims.

Section #4: Remembering and Commemorating the Victims:

This section to

• Highlights the various ways in which the victims of the Nanking Massacre are remembered and honored. It includes information about memorials, museums, and commemorative events dedicated to the victims.
• Showcase artistic expressions such as poetry, paintings, or sculptures created to memorialize the tragedy.
• Providse information on educational programs (such as the AP World History curriculum) and other initiatives that aim to ensure the memory of the Nanking Massacre is passed on to future generations.

Section #5: Lessons Learned and Preventing Future Atrocities:

This section:

• Focuses on the lessons learned from the Nanking Massacre and how they inform efforts to prevent future atrocities. I
• Explores the importance of education, human rights advocacy, and promoting peace and tolerance.
• Includes interactive displays, educational resources, and information on organizations and initiatives working towards preventing mass atrocities worldwide.

THE FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS

• Briefly describe ONE cause of the Nanking Massacre.
• Briefly describe ONE key difference between the Nanking Massacre and the Armenian Genocide.
• Briefly describe ONE key difference between the Nanking Massacre and the Ukrainian famine.
• Briefly describe ONE key difference between the Nanking Massacre and the Holocaust.
• Briefly describe ONE key difference between the Nanking Massacre and the Cambodian Genocide.
• Briefly describe ONE key similarity between the Nanking Massacre and the Armenian Genocide.
• Briefly describe ONE short-term effect of the Nanking Massacre.
• Briefly describe ONE long -erm effect of the Nanking Massacre.
• Briefly describe ONE key similarity between the Nanking Massacre and the Ukrainian famine.
• Briefly describe ONE key similarity between the Nanking Massacre and the Holocaust.
• Briefly describe ONE key similarity between the Nanking Massacre and the Cambodian Genocide.
• Briefly describe ONE difference between the Nanking Massacre and the Armenian Genocide, focusing on their respective results.
• Briefly describe ONE similarity between the Nanking Massacre and the Ukrainian famine, considering their effects on respective populations.
• Briefly describe ONE effect of the Nanking Massacre on Sino-Japanese relations.
• Briefly describe ONE development that led to the Nanking Massacre.
• Briefly describe ONE reason why the Nanking Massacre is considered a genocide.
• Briefly describe ONE situation that led to the rise of extremist groups in Japan in the years leading up to the Nanking Massacre.
• Briefly describe the humanitarian efforts and rescue operations during the Nanking Massacre
• Briefly describe the pursuit of justice and accountability for the Nanking Massacre and its implications for post-war reconciliation.
• Briefly describe ONE way in which the Nanking Massacre is remembered and commemorated, highlighting the importance of memorialization in preventing future atrocities.
• To what extent if any did you fact-check and ensure the accuracy and credibility of the sources you’ve included in your bibliography?
• How did you go about verifying the accuracy and credibility of the sources you included in your bibliography?
• Did you cross-reference information from multiple sources to ensure consistency and reliability?
• Can you explain the process you followed to determine the credibility of each source? Did you consider factors such as the author’s credentials, publication reputation, or peer-reviewed research?
• Were there any sources that you found particularly challenging to validate? If so, what steps did you take to address this challenge?
• Did you encounter any conflicting information or sources with different viewpoints? If so, how did you navigate those discrepancies to arrive at a well-rounded perspective?
• Did you consult with your peers, teacher, or other experts in the field to discuss and evaluate the credibility of any of your sources
• In hindsight, is there anything you would have done differently in terms of fact-checking and evaluating the sources for your proposed exhibit?