Faculty Should Embrace ChatGPT, Not Fight It: Integrating AI In Class
In a recent faculty meeting, we broke into brainstorming groups to address questions related to our mission and values. I used ChatGPT during that session to help generate options based on the keywords we were coming up with. Many of my colleagues were amazed at what the tool was generating. They had heard of ChatGPT but had yet to see what it could do. I walked them through the process of using Otter.AI to record and transcribe conversations and then using ChatGPT to summarize and give outlines of the discussion. In this professional setting, I could quickly and easily showcase how the latest technology was a tool that could streamline processes and remove trivial tasks, such as transcription. (I wrote about how I have integrated these tools into my professional writing here)
But, almost immediately after everyone agreed that it was a great professional tool, the conversation turned to whether or not we should allow it in the classroom and how we could catch students who were using it. This is where I feel we as faculty forget that nobody expects students to pretend calculators don't exist and do all calculations by hand or pretend spellcheck doesn't exist and only self-edit. We welcome technology tools into our classroom daily, and ChatGPT should be no different.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have been at the forefront of the news over the last couple of months, especially their use to create artwork and language models such as ChatGPT (GPT-3), These AI language models can generate human-like text based on a given prompt or input, making them a powerful tool that professionals are using to perform a variety of tasks, including writing, and educators should be no different. Faculty members should use these tools to help develop their classes, and they should be utilized in the classroom as a tool to train students on.
ChatGPT, in particular, has a variety of potential uses in the classroom, such as during brainstorming sessions, taking notes, and creating outlines for talks or presentations. It can also assist with writing assignments and research projects, among other things. This tool can benefit all students but be especially helpful for those who need help at the early stages of projects getting their ideas onto paper.
While the use of AI language models in the classroom is still a relatively new concept, it can revolutionize the way educators teach, and students learn. As such, educators must familiarize themselves with these tools and consider how they can be incorporated into their teaching methods. The worst thing that can be done is for educators to ignore these tools, or attempt to outright ban their use. Faculty members who don't embrace the current technology will be remembered in the same light as those in the past that said, "You won't always have a calculator in your pocket"
One of the common concerns brought up by faculty members is the potential for students to use ChatGPT to cheat on assignments. While I am not ready to concede that all assignments require original text, the idea of simply typing a question into ChatGPT and copying the answers is a legitimate concern. We do not want students to outsource their learning, but rather enhance their learning through the use of technology. We don't do this by ignoring the technology as a whole, but by instructing students in the proper use of the technology as part of their overall educational process. Trying to stop the use of AI is an impossible feat; we can't unring that bell.
This is also a matter of equity across our students. If some of our students know and are familiar with the AI tools, they will have an advantage over those students that do not know how to use the tools. Imagine one set of students able to use calculators, while another set has to do all of the arithmetic by hand. We are in a very similar situation with the multitude of AI tools. Those students that know how to use them will be able to outpace and perform better than those students that are not made aware of them.
It is the duty of educators to prepare students for the future they will live and work in. The future of work and industry is already being heavily influenced by AI, and it is the duty of educators to prepare students for this reality. By educating students on how to use AI models like ChatGPT, faculty can help to prepare them for the future they will live in and give them an advantage in their future professional lives.
It is important for us to prepare students for the world they will live and work in. Not prepare them for the world that we were educated in.
This approach is to empower students to use AI models in a responsible and ethical way and to provide them with the skills they will need to succeed in their future professional lives. It is important that students should be taught how to use AI in general, and ChatGPT specifically as a tool rather than a crutch; it is a tool that can assist them in improving their writing skills, and research abilities and to be more efficient; it should not be used as a replacement for their own writing and thinking abilities. Through the use of AI, I was able to write and publish a book in under three hours; how can we keep those types of advantages from our students? (Read how I did it here)
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In my classroom, I plan to introduce ChatGPT and other AI tools to students in the first week of this new semester and encourage them to learn and practice with them. I hope to empower students by showing them how to use these tools in a responsible and ethical way. I believe this will provide them with a new set of skills that they will use to succeed in their future professional lives. If I actively choose to use AI tools in a professional setting (including to help me write this article), it would be hypocritical not to aid students in using them.
By teaching my students how to use these tools properly, I believe I will be more effective in reducing the use of AI for cheating, and I will be better preparing students for their future professional careers. It is a matter of providing the students with the right tools and skills to reach their full potential.
Specific ways I plan to use AI as a faculty member:
Specific ways I plan to encourage my students to use AI:
I plan to introduce these AI tools early in the semester to allow students to familiarize themselves with the tools and to understand how they can be used in their coursework. It will also allow students to use these tools for the whole semester, which will make them more proficient with the tools. Since this is such a rapidly changing field, with new tools being made available almost weekly, my goal is not to limit students' knowledge to a single set of tools, but to put them in a position to be constantly made aware of new methods to solve existing problems.
AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are becoming increasingly prevalent in various settings and are altering the way professionals work. It is the responsibility of educators to teach students how to properly use these tools, instead of pretending they don't exist or trying to make up penalties for students who use them. Educators should acknowledge the existence of AI, learn how to use it, and instruct students on how best to integrate it into their education and into their work. This will empower students to succeed in their future professional lives and be prepared for the world they will live in.
Transformational Sales Leader & Business Development Executive | CDMP? Strategy & Process| Data, Analytics, AI/ML |Payer, Provider, Pharma| Cloud| SaaS| IT Consulting & Professional Services|Customer Experience Innovator
1 年Well said, and thank you for the insight.
Cybersecurity Strategy & Transformation | Manage Complex, High-Profile Risks | Build Scalable, Resilient Teams | Foster Culture of Risk Prevention & Protection | Collaborative & Transparent Leader | US Navy Veteran ??
1 年Thank you for continuing to share insights about this tool and opportunities for use.
Practitioner-Scholar / Research Consultant
1 年Jason - It depends on the level of learner. A student that has not yet developed the capacity to think critically nor inspired with the curiosity to know how and why things work may have a difficult time adjusting to times when the technology becomes the impediment or worse, a dependency for building new knowledge. A foundational understanding of how learning is a progression should be applied to the decision for when to introduce new tools. For example, you depend on commercial airlines to get you quickly across large distances. I don’t assume you are cheating by not walking there anymore than you assume the flight crew is cheating by using autopilot for most of the journey. But would you board the plane if you knew the captain had not been trained how to fly using realistic simulations of flight control systems failures? At the college level, I employ universal design in order to destigmatize the use of what may otherwise be seen as accommodations for students who learn differently from the statistical norm. I try to prepare students by teaching them how to find answers when they need them. So they know they can trust the source of the answers they find and detect when the tech may be in error.