Cuban Missile Crisis simulation as JFK

Teaching goals

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a pivotal event during the Cold War, but teaching the nuances of the personalities and decision-making at play during the Crisis can be challenging.

Below, we can see how a teacher can use Flint to create an AI tutor specifically designed to help students understand JFK’s dilemma during the Crisis. The teacher has supplemented the AI with two optional resources: a high-level summary of the event and a transcript of President Kennedy's Address to the Nation.

Extra customization

Next, Flint provided the teacher with three conversation formats to choose from. These ideas are generated automatically by the AI, based on the learning objective that the teacher provided.

The teacher chose the role play that requires students to imagine themselves in the shows of JFK and have them apply their knowledge to a conversation with an AI advisor to the President. To assign this activity for students to complete, the teacher can set a deadline for students to interact with the AI (e.g. ahead of an in-class discussion).

Student experience

In the conversation with the AI, students can play the role of JFK and navigate the Cuban Missile Crisis. The AI will play the role of President Kennedy’s advisors, and will challenge the student’s understanding of the crisis.

To increase immersion, students can use Flint’s speech-to-text feature to speak to the AI, and click “listen” to hear the AI speak back to them.