When it was released in late 2022, ChatGPT grabbed the internet by storm by generating stories, poems, coding solutions, and more. New York City’s education board has banned it from schools due to its ability to answer questions, but might it provide a homework shortcut?
“Where have I seen this before?”
Since time immemorial, teachers have had to ask themselves this question while grading assignments.
But by the end of 2022, schools faced a new challenge: ChatGPT. Forget about kids scouring Wikipedia or scanning SparkNotes for a Great Gatsby analysis.
The ability of the online chatbot, which can manufacture genuine responses on a whim, caused it to become a global sensation.
Concerned about student cheating, the nation’s largest education agency outlawed it last week.
The teaching authority of New York City stated that while it could provide “fast and easy solutions to questions,” it does not develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, which are necessary for academic and lifelong success.
This will not prevent students from using it at home, but could they use it as a homework shortcut?
Teachers versus ChatGPT: Round 1
Galaxies are composed of billions of stars. Compare the development and life cycles of stars with a similar mass to that of the Sun to those of stars with a significantly larger mass.
As you can see in the photographs below, it is safe to conclude that ChatGPT quickly revealed its true identity.
Requesting that ChatGPT answer the identical question “to secondary school level” elicited an additional thorough response.
The instructor’s evaluation of?
“This is significantly more detailed than any of my classmates’ work. It exceeds GCSE expectations, thus I would be extremely skeptical if someone submitted it. I believe they copied and pasted from someplace.”
Teachers versus ChatGPT – second round
A Kent elementary school teacher, who was likewise unfamiliar with ChatGPT, assigned it as a recent homework assignment.
Research a notable Londoner and compose a biography of their life, including their childhood and professional accomplishments.
No issue responded ChatGPT, however, it’s fair to say that any nine-year-old who gave the response below is either being fast-tracked to university or going right into lunchtime detention.
“Even just glancing at that, I’d say they copied it directly off the internet,” remarked the teacher.
No eleven-year-old knows the word turbulent.
Core decisions” confronting schools
Therefore, just as copying directly from a more well-known website may worry teachers, so too will copying directly from ChatGPT.
Teachers assert that even though students are among the most internet-savvy individuals on the planet. ChatGPT’s ability to provide textbook-level responses quickly will still need to be regulated.
The chatbot offered schools some “important decisions,” according to Jane Basnett, director of digital learning at Downe House School in Berkshire.
“As with all technologies, schools must instruct pupils on the right use of technology,” she said.
“Because ChatGPT requires students to be able to evaluate the quality of their peers’ work. We must teach them to be discriminating.”
Ms. Basnett is already investigating how her school’s anti-plagiarism systems will handle auto-generated essays, given their increasing growth.
Ms. Basnett stated, however, that just as teachers must consider teaching pupils about the benefits and drawbacks of employing AI. So too should their colleagues be open to its possibilities.
“ChatGPT is strong, and as a teacher, I can see the effects.”
“For instance, I can enter a request to construct a series of lessons on a specific grammar issue, and the system will generate the lesson. Because the recommended lesson, while not terrible, was not optimal, a teacher would be required to analyze and revise it. However, the essential components were present and they had potential utility.
“I could envision working through a ChatGPT-generated essay with my students to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.”
Assistant professor of artificial intelligence at Leiden University in the Netherlands, Dr. Peter Van der Putten, stated that institutions that choose to ban or ignore the technology are simply burying their heads in the sand.
Dr. Van der Putten stated, “It’s there, and it’s remarkably similar to Google.”
“You can include it in your policy against plagiarism, but the existence of the instrument is a fact.
“There are moments when you must embrace these things. But be very clear about when you do not want them to be used.”
‘Bull****er on steroids’
It is an opportunity for both students and teachers to increase their digital literacy.
While it has demonstrated its value in creative tasks, such as problem-solving and idea generation. It is incapable of actual comprehension and understanding.
OpenAI developer concedes that responses can be “overly lengthy” and even “incorrect or incoherent”. Although appearing real in most circumstances, like a desperate, unprepared job applicant.
According to Dr. Van der Putten, ChatGPT is frequently little more than a “bully on steroids.”
Teaching pupils about its limitations is the most effective method to guarantee they do not rely on it excessively – even in an emergency.
