The Fantastic 7: Impact of ChatGPT on The Higher-Ed Classroom

The chatter on ChatGPT has been immense.?

And for good reason too.

Open AI’s general-purpose chatbot has set its sights on the higher education sector with the aim of improving teaching and learning, transforming assessments and grading, strengthening research and writing, and putting critical thinking at the forefront of decision-making.

As we deep dive into 7 positive impacts of ChatGPT on the higher education classroom, we hope that our readers will find this useful in dealing with new and fast-moving technological developments.?

So, what are some of the possible impacts of this software application on the classroom, and what specific actions can it take?

Brainstorms ideas?

ChatGPT is a powerhouse of creative ideas and solutions. All it needs is a prompt in the form of a problem or question. It will then generate a variety of responses on any given topic, which adds significant value to the brainstorming process. This exercise allows students to think critically about solutions, form meaningful connections between them, and share these learnings with fellow classmates. The activity allows students to explore and expand their ability to think both critically and laterally.

Provides actionable feedback on essays

While ChatGPT is not a substitute for teacher feedback, it is a useful aid. By combining human expertise with AI capabilities, feedback becomes more personalised. Again, the more specific the prompt, the more relevant the feedback. For instance, the software will be able to pick up inconsistencies in flow, tone of voice, facts, and figures. What’s more, the tool can also help students plan, write, and edit their essays. From finding suitable sources to creating sample essays, the capabilities are far-reaching.

Corrects grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure

Whether a student is using the tool to augment their writing or a teacher is using the tool to critique it, ChatGPT helps users articulate their thoughts with confidence, coherence, and clarity.? From correcting spelling and punctuation errors to making the writing more succinct, the potential of AI in writing is advanced. Users can improve their writing skills over a period of time, which will prove to be useful in all tasks, academic and administrative.?

Strengthens arguments for debate and discussion

Debates are an integral part of the learning process as it helps to imbibe critical thinking skills in students and encourages them to look at both sides of an argument. ChatGPT can help students form and strengthen their arguments by acting as a makeshift opponent. A user must simply command the tool to refute a given idea or topic and use the rebuttal as a way to improve their case. This exercise is a great way to improve thinking and open up the mind to diverse perspectives.

Simplifies the research and information-gathering process?

Research, whether from a teacher’s or student’s perspective, can be a challenging and time-consuming task. It requires going through multiple sources and identifying the most relevant literature to support a topic. ChatGPT streamlines this process by quickly procuring relevant information, analysing large amounts of data to identify patterns and trends, improving the quality of findings by providing appropriate suggestions and offering a platform where people can exchange ideas and unique discoveries to investigate their projects further.

Sets question papers, rubrics, and assessments

ChatGPT is capable of collecting and collating all the necessary information for assessment creation. Teachers can then use a question-generation solution to set examinations, quizzes, and more. The tool helps to build personalised study guides and generate practice tests based on specific student requirements. By doing so, this process saves teachers the time and energy of generating materials from scratch and can also help curate student-friendly content.

Enables accurate language translation?

The superior language translation capability of ChatGPT makes higher education more inclusive to international students. By allowing students to write in their native language and converting the text into English, the software empowers a wider diaspora of learners to express their thoughts confidently. Furthermore, this feature also allows teachers to mine insights from foreign reports and papers, thereby adding more credibility to the course content and material.?

The artificial intelligence-powered tool has the potential to break traditional barriers in education, optimising resources and time, and thus enabling academicians to focus on nurturing students.

However, it can also pose challenges to the ethical standards and integrity of higher education.

It is therefore vital for each institute to develop standard operating procedures and a code of conduct relating to its usage.