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Research and Practice in Social Studies Series
AI in Social Studies Education

AI in Social Studies Education

Tools for Thoughtful Practice with Generative Artificial Intelligence

Edited by Christopher H. Clark and Cathryn van Kessel

Foreword by Kent den Heyer

Series edited by Wayne Journell

Published by: Teachers College Press

Series: Research and Practice in Social Studies Series

Imprint: Teachers College Press

224 Pages, 156.00 × 229.00 × 11.00 mm

Paperback
9780807786680
Published: April 2025

£31.00

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Hardcover
9780807786697
Published: April 2025

£91.00

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Description
Contents
Authors

Whether skeptical or enthusiastic about AI, every social studies educator will find something useful for their practice in this book.

The introduction of widely available generative AI tools has caused a frenzy of both positive and negative reactions. Between utopian visions and apocalyptic predictions of AI's impact on education, there is a need to thoughtfully consider what education in the age of AI can and should look like.

This volume focuses on the implications of AI technology for teachers in K– 2 and university settings, providing a careful look at its affordances and drawbacks for social studies curriculum and teaching. Scholars specializing in the field of social studies education provide information and practical ideas for teaching with current technology, alongside frameworks for thinking about future iterations of AI.

This book fills a critical need, especially among educators, to consider the current and potential future impacts of AI while avoiding the traps of alarmism or techno-utopianism.

Book Features:

First-ever compilation of AI considerations and strategies in the context of social studies education.
Nontechnical explanations of what AI can do (and not do) in practical educational contexts to enable educators to approach its use with careful judgment.
Advice for educators to help them assess future iterations of AI technology.
Critical considerations of AI across multiple contexts (e.g., ethics, equity, multilingual learners, cybersecurity).
Work from leaders in technology and social studies education across Canada and the United States.

Contents

Foreword: Forty-Two: Questability and AIs Kent den Heyer vii

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction Christopher H. Clark and Cathryn van Kessel

. A Technoskeptical Approach to Generative AI in Social Studies Education 2
Daniel G. Krutka and Marie K. Heath

2. What Do We Educators Want to (Re/De/Mis)Generate With AI? 29
Tim Monreal, Vi Trinh, Tina Soliday, Dawnavyn James, Patrick Kane, Matthew Cress, and Daphanie Bibbs

3. Unpacking the AI Hype: Essential Understandings and Recommendations for Social Studies Education 42
Rachel Moylan and Lindsay Gibson

4. Integrity, Confidentiality, and Equity: Creating Secure and Trustworthy AI-Driven Tools for the Common Good
Curby Alexander and Liran Ma

5. Critically Collaborating With Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Enhance Social Studies Educators' Instructional Practices 77
Michelle Reidel, Ariel Cornett, and Elizabeth Barrow

. Integrating AI Literacy Within Social Studies: An Argument, a Framework, and a Call to Action 99
Thomas C. Hammond, Zilong Pan, and Julie Oltman

7. In AI We Trust? 9
Christopher H. Clark and Elizabeth Reynolds

8. Preparing Social Studies Teachers to Apply ChatGPT as a Linguistically Responsive Tool for Multilingual Learners Through Teacher Research 3
Kevin Donley

9. Using or Eschewing AI for Mixed-Media Art Journaling in History Education 52
Leslie Smith Duss

. (Posthuman) ABCs of Artificial Alternative Intelligence(s) and Implications for Social Studies Education 5
Erin C. Adams and Bretton A. Varga

Concluding Thoughts 84
Christopher H. Clark and Cathryn van Kessel

Endnotes 9

Index 93

About the Editors and Contributors 2 5

Christopher H. Clark is an associate professor in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Professional Practice at the University of North Dakota. Cathryn van Kessel is an associate professor of curriculum studies in the Department of Counseling, Societal Change, and Inquiry in the College of Education at Texas Christian University.