Using Technology to Support Students’ Understanding of Nonfiction Reading
Seema Srini
Assistant Professor in Commerce at SNS Institutions..Flexible in teaching having good communication skills..Acts as a good mentor..guide to students..Always passionate in teaching
Instead of placing restrictions on the use of technology in the classroom, what if?we were to promote its responsible and productive use to help students better understand nonfiction reading? We propose that search engines like Google or generative AI technology like ChatGPT can be leveraged to make expository text more accessible, make timely implantation of freshly reported science news easier by creating leveled texts, and help bridge gaps between separate disciplines.
Using AI to Level Text and Identify Vocabulary
We—science teacher Shawn and English language arts teacher Soojung—collaborated on a DNA unit that took us about two weeks to plan. We decided to use ChatGPT to determine if our selected text?was at an eighth-grade level.
We prompted ChatGPT to identify a text’s level by using conversational directives: “Identify the grade reading level of the following text: [copy and paste article].”?
ChatGPT gave varied answers, even with the same prompt. Sometimes, it provided the reading level alongside an explanation under four subheadings: (1) sentence structure, (2) vocabulary, (3) conceptual depth, and (4) clarity and accessibility. Other times, ChatGPT provided a rationale based on methodologies such as the?Automated Readability Index?and others.?
Once ChatGPT provided us with the reading level of our?text, we leveled the text by prompting ChatGPT: “Level the following text at the eighth-grade reading level: [copy and paste article].” This allowed all students to participate with essentially the same text but leveled for individualized needs.?
Furthermore, we prompted ChatGPT to identify key vocabulary: “From the following text, identify critical vocabulary for eighth graders to preview/understand: [copy and paste article].”?