AI Meets History at Charters – A Lesson to Remember!
Year 10 students welcomed ex-student Mike and his colleague Jamie from WillowLearn.com to their History lesson this week, when they used a new and exciting AI tool to support their learning.
With the help of Mr Cook, the students logged onto a new AI portal which brings the syllabus alive and allows students to work independently to uncover and strengthen areas of weakness in their GCSE History knowledge. Mr Cook is tasked with looking at AI to both support learning across the school and teach students how to use this powerful new resource appropriately.
The key focus in the lesson was "How do I achieve level 9 in the source-based questions in Paper 1 Section A", as Mr Cook expects each and every student to aim for the top!
The AI objectives were:
- To use AI to check understanding of key content
- To use AI to interview a historical figure from the 1920's
- To use AI to support understanding in approach to exam questions
Students began by completing a series of multiple choice questions on the platform which commented on their answers, and added background information to help them soak up more knowledge if the answer was correct, or explain that a better choice existed and why if the answer was wrong.
It was then time for them to look at different personas from history; Sacco & Vanzetti - two Italian immigrants who came to the United States in the 1920's and a white ango-saxon protestant who felt unsettled by the influx of new cultures and ideologies sweeping the country. Students started by writing two questions for each group and were encouraged to continue their conversations to understand more about the differing veiwpoints and beliefs. They were told to respond to what the historical figures were saying and to 'delve deeper' in their questions.
Used in conjuction with other resources, the AI technology creates an inspiring and refreshing change to learning which this group of students seemed to love. In the lesson, 95% of students reported increased confidence using WillowLearn, with 65% saying they learnt more than in a typical lesson and 90% wanting to use it at home - highlighting the platform's powerful impact on student learning and engagement. One student said, "I felt I could focus on what I didn't understand instead of learning everything."
We caught up with co-founders of WillowLearn, Mike - CEO - and Jamie - CTO - after the lesson, and heard that the two met at an entrepreneurship event and instantly hit it off. Mike left Charters in 2011 and studied a Business Degree at the University of Bath before working as a consultant at Deloitte, while Jamie studied Computer Science at the University of Surrey and St. Andrews, before working in the financial sector.
They are excited about their new venture and when asked what they would say to one of our students looking to follow in their footsteps Jamie said, "Don't let people tell you no!" while Mike said that the most important thing was, "to find someone to work with to help you build your vision".
Our thanks to both of them for showing our students - and staff - such a dynamic innovation. We look forward to using the platform more in the coming months.
