The Teaching History Her Way Podcast · CherylAnne Amendola

ChatGPT as an Opportunity in the Classroom

February 15, 2023·29 min·5 clips

The episode begins with Sherrilyn Amendola greeting both new and returning listeners in the show’s familiar, welcoming tone. She introduces ChatGPT as an AI topic many educators have already heard about, along with the worry that it might make students stop thinking. Rather than stopping there, she brings in Daniel Hutchinson to talk through why the technology deserves a more careful response. Hutchinson is presented as an associate professor in the history department at the University of Michigan. The conversation stays on classroom use, not hype. They talk about ways AI can be used badly, and also about where it can be useful on purpose. A major thread is that educators need to understand both the strengths of these systems and their blind spots. Hutchinson points out that AI can reproduce bias, objectionable language, framing problems, and inaccuracies. He also emphasizes that it is not always good at spotting its own weaknesses. Amendola connects that to students, noting that young people often need help figuring out why something is wrong and where information should come from. From there, the discussion turns practical. One classroom approach they explore is having ChatGPT generate an answer and then asking students to test it. If the response is strong, it can show students a new way to organize language and write like a historian. If the response is weak, it becomes a clear example of why source checking matters. The episode keeps returning to the idea that students should compare what AI says with class notes and multiple sources. That comparison becomes a lesson in analysis, accuracy, and evidence. Amendola and Hutchinson treat this as part of a larger information literacy conversation. They connect AI use to older classroom habits around Wikipedia and academic databases. The point is not to ban the tool outright. The point is to teach students how to work with it critically. The conversation closes by underscoring that ChatGPT is likely to keep coming up in education. Sherrilyn thanks listeners, invites them to keep the conversation going, and leaves the episode on a practical note. The result is a grounded discussion about how history teachers can use a new technology to sharpen inquiry instead of flatten it.

As heard by us

A practical conversation about ChatGPT, source-checking, and writing like a historian.

The conversation treats ChatGPT as something teachers have to work through in the classroom, not just a risk to sidestep. Sherrilyn Amendola frames it through history and social studies, while Daniel Hutchinson underscores how AI can introduce bias, questionable framing, and…

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You want a classroom-ready way to think about ChatGPT without the hand-wringing.

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