Summary
The rapid emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has sparked both optimism and unease within education. For geography and the broader social sciences, GenAI tools such as ChatGPT promise efficiencies in curriculum design, data analysis, and feedback, yet they also produce errors, false citations, and cultural oversimplifications. The use of large language models poses ethical dilemmas that risk undermining core disciplinary practices in the social sciences. This session situates geography educators within this tension, emphasizing the need for AI and data literacy that is critical rather than uncritical. Drawing on recent research in geography and social studies education, I propose a framework of “error typologies” that reveal how GenAI can reshape knowledge production and interpretation of curricular content. The session will engage participants in considering ways to integrate AI that fosters critical inquiry and civic literacy, without outsourcing essential human judgment to machines. Rather than treating GenAI as a shortcut for assessment or content delivery, educators are invited to explore how it can serve as a tool for critique, revealing questions of bias, representation, and the implications for its use in the social studies classroom. Attendees will leave with some practical strategies for guiding classrooms to critically evaluate GenAI outputs and apply disciplinary thinking to AI-generated claims. Bring your questions and comments!
Session Focus
All Audiences | Digital Literacy | AI | Technology
Conference Room
Winnebago
Meet the Presenters
Samantha Serrano is a high school social science teacher at James B. Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. She has a Master’s degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from Northeastern Illinois University and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Geography Education. Samantha carries professional interests in APHG, equity and access in education, creating curricular tools for teachers, and learning about ethical concerns in technology. When not teaching and running the school’s geography club, you can find her at the gym, in an airport, or at Target with her son, Matteo at the video game demo kiosk.
