How AI is Supporting History Teachers

Sponsored content from Humy.ai.

As a History or Social Studies teacher, you face a unique challenge: how can you make your lessons truly memorable and engaging in a world where dynamic digital content constantly competes for your students’ attention — and time is often limited?

As teaching methods evolve, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is opening up new possibilities to reimagine history lessons, turning them into immersive and interactive experiences. After all, helping students understand our shared past and develop critical thinking skills is often overlooked.

This article explores how emerging AI-driven EdTech tools can reinvent the teaching of History and Social Studies in the modern classroom — and how these tools will continue to transform instruction as AI evolves.

The Challenges of Teaching History and Social Studies Today

History teachers often struggle to balance curriculum demands with the need to engage students. Traditional lectures and textbooks may not capture the imagination of a generation raised on interactive and visual media. Meanwhile, it’s crucial to ensure that students develop critical thinking skills – essential for understanding how the past shapes today’s society and their lives, and how their choices today impact the future.

How AI is Enhancing History Education

The emergence of EdTech tools, particularly those powered by AI, offers a way forward by transforming how teachers deliver and students experience historical content.

One example of how AI is supporting history education is Humy.ai. After interviewing 40 history teachers and leveraging its deep EdTech expertise, the Humy team developed a platform featuring AI-powered historical figures – helping teachers implement inquiry-based learning. The platform has already been used by more than 60,000 teachers and students.

Humy is a supplemental program that focuses on History and Social Studies curricula, allowing teachers to choose from a variety of historical figures, create assignments for students, and monitor student interactions, including feedback for improvement.

Teachers have used Humy.ai to re-enact or explore pivotal historical moments, including:

• The Boston Tea Party: AI-generated personas represented colonists and British officials, highlighting the event’s complexities.
• Human Rights Through the Ages: Students engaged with ancient, historical, and contemporary figures—such as Cyrus the Great, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, and Nelson Mandela—to explore their understanding of human rights and the political and cultural contexts that shaped their perspectives.
• Three Main Questions of Economics: Students explored the Traditional Economy with a prehistoric leader, the Market Economy with Adam Smith, and Planned Economy with Karl Marx, and the Mixed Economy with Maynard Keynes and wrote an essay with their analysis.
• Winston Churchill’s World War II Leadership: Students explored Churchill’s leadership and dissected his iconic “We shall fight on the beaches” speech.
• 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Through five short-answer questions, students tested their understanding of the amendment’s historical significance, implications, and limitations.

By making history interactive and personal, AI enables deeper engagement with diverse contexts and perspectives, giving teachers innovative ways to impact student participation and comprehension.

Retaining a Personalised, Critical Approach to Learning

Human history is full of intriguing life stories, and every student should have the opportunity to explore them at a comfortable pace and in their own language. AI technology ensures accessibility by tailoring content to each student’s needs and learning level.

Beyond accessibility, AI fosters critical thinking by encouraging students to:

• Compare AI-generated responses with primary sources.
• Engage in debates with peers and teachers about historical interpretations.
• Acquire new skills by practicing open questions and essay assignments with AI feedback.

Crucially, effective AI platforms keep teachers in control, ensuring that lessons remain both personalised and aligned with curriculum objectives. For instance, Humy allows educators to adjust reading levels and learning goals for each Humy (ai-Historical figure), and can be aligned with educational standards, including Common Core and Advanced Placement.

What teachers are saying

“Social studies used to be my least favourite class, but now I look forward to it because it’s way more fun to learn about Ancient Greece when I can actually learn from the gods themselves.”
Grade 8 Student
Bison Run School, Canada

“Humy has enhanced the learning experience for students by providing them with additional methods of accessing material. It has enabled students to build on their understanding of historical topics by generating higher-level thinking questions and evaluating responses. It is a great tool for differentiation.

During our study of The French Revolution, students asked Robespierre to reflect on his use of the death penalty throughout his reign. Robespierre’s response sparked an interesting class debate about justice in today’s society. It is exciting to see students using technology to engage with complex topics!“
Melissa Vanicky, Teacher
Staten Island International School, New York, US

“In academia, virtual tutors have been extensively used in math and the sciences over the past few years. AI may increase interest in History, but interest is not the same as effective teaching. AI often merely presents what we already know about history and makes it immersive. However, this does not necessarily lead to deeper, thought-provoking questions.

For example, an AI representation of John D. Rockefeller might describe him as “robust,” yet he could also be viewed as a “robber baron.” Presenting him as merely robust fails to encourage an exploration of his negative characteristics. Going from the evidence to the AI might be better than going from the historical figures.”
Scott Merriman, PhD 
Troy University, Alabama, US

Conclusion

AI isn’t just about adding bells and whistles to history lessons—it’s about transforming how students engage with the subject. Teachers must balance its use by understanding its limitations, such as potential biases, and by integrating primary sources to provide a well-rounded and critical approach to learning.

Emerging platforms, like Humy.ai, demonstrate AI’s potential in history education by:

1. Making History Interactive
2. Providing Personalised Learning
3. Fostering Critical Thinking

As AI continues to evolve, a world where technology and pedagogy work together to inspire the next generation of learners beckons. Ultimately, if implemented thoughtfully – with teachers as the experts guiding the learning process – AI can be a useful addition in helping students explore the richness of history.