Differentiating Instruction in the AP Social Studies Classroom

In the Age of AI

For AP Social Studies teachers who, in the Age of AI, want to tailor their instruction to meet their diverse student needs (aka differentiate instruction), I’m curious what might happen if you were to take the following steps?

Step #1:

Either create a study guide for every unit in the class in collaboration with ChatGPT or find an existing one:

• Click here to view an APHG Unit 2 Study Guide that I created in collaboration with ChatGPT. This guide is divided into four sections.
• Click here to view a similarly formatted APUSH Unit 1 Study Guide.
• Click here to view the “Fiveable” APUSH Unit 1 Study Guide
• Click here to view the Simple Studies APHG Unit 2 Study Guide

Step #2:

Instruct the students to make a copy of the study guide; then direct them to review the guide and mark any sections they struggle to understand.

Step #3:

Encourage students to paste these “marked” sections into an AI platform of their choice, asking the AI to rephrase in simpler terms, translate it into their native language, add examples, use analogies, create concept maps, and/or give step-by-step explanations. Then call on students to add the AI-generated content to their study guide or replace any unclear parts with the AI-produced material.

Step #4:

Invite students to copy and paste any section of the study guide — especially the sections they’ve enhanced with the help of AI — into an AI platform of their choice and direct it to create a series of non-stimulus multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in an attempt to self-assess their understanding of the material.

In the alternative, the teacher can ask each student individually about the topics and key concepts they would like to be assessed on, as well as the number and type of questions (MCQs, SAQs, LEQs) they prefer. Then, using Class Companion’s AI, the teacher can then create and assign these tailored questions to each student.

Class Companion is a free online AI tool that helps teachers generate assignments and provides instant feedback on students’ SAQ, LEQ, DBQ, and MCQ responses.

This approach allows students to receive instant feedback on their responses and gives the teacher valuable insights for offering further support where needed. Teachers will not acquire this insight if the student merely responds to ChatGPT-produced MCQs and FRQs.

Sidenote #1

To create my unit study guides, I first copy and paste all relevant content from the CED related to the unit into ChatGPT (Key Concepts, Learning Objectives, Enduring Understandings, and Topic Descriptions.) Next, I add screenshots of any other important information (such as a list of key terms from the textbook and/or screenshots of any handouts I provide the students). Then I prompt ChatGPT as follows:

Create a Unit (# inserted) study guide for the students in my AP (name inserted) class. This Unit Study Guide should be broken into the following four sections:

1. Topic-by-Topic Breakdown
2. Vocabulary List
3. Learning Objectives
4. Frequently Tested but Challenging to Master

All explanations should be phrased in language accessible to an average (insert grade #)th-grade AP (insert course name) student.

When creating the study guide, please keep the following in mind:

The Topic-by-Topic Breakdown should consist of concise explanations for each topic found in the CED for that unit, explicitly mentioning the key concepts, examples, and insights into complex areas.

All vocabulary words should be explained in 2–3 sentences, though for especially complex terms, up to five sentences may be used.

Each learning objective should be answered in 2–4 sentences.

When ChatGPT doesn’t fully meet my request, I simply ask it to try again. For instance, if in response to the prompt above, ChatGPT only gives me a one-sentence response to each learning objective, I prompt it again with, “Please try again, using 2–4 sentences.” A single sentence doesn’t provide enough depth.

Sidentote #2

To learn more about Class Companion and how I have used it in APUSH click on the image below.

Click here to view a Class Companion PD Deck that can be used if you need to explain Class Companion to your colleagues and district.

Click here if you need data privacy approval.

Click here if you have 20 minutes and wish to be declared a Class Companion expert.

Sidenote #3

At the October 22 College Board Forum, APUSH teacher Dr. Marla James and I presented on the topic of “Using AI to Transform AP Social Studies Exam Prep.” During our presentation, we shared the above information (and much more) with an audience of 50–60 educators. AP leader Trevor Packer attended our presentation and, in response to the enthusiastic feedback we received, invited us to give the same presentation at next year’s AP Conference —but this time in a much larger room! The idea is that what we presented can and should apply to AP teachers and students well beyond AP Social Studies.