In the world of K-12 and higher education, the launch of OpenAI ChatGPT has hit like a tsunami. His ability to write a passable essay on the Emancipation Proclamation, make a film about the Karamazov brothers , or pen a Springsteen-esque work on climate change has earned him both burning praise and dire warning in a decade or a few months .
Consider a recent student survey conducted by Intelligent.com just two months after ChatGPT launched. Up to 30 percent of four-year-olds report turning in some ChatGPT writing assignments; One in thirty says ChatGPT wrote them all. This is the first trailer; It is safe to say that their ratings will increase significantly soon.
Middle school and high school teachers have long relied on writing assignments to ensure students read text, absorb concepts, solve important questions, and simply get their work done. Since it is difficult to distinguish actual student work from ChatGPT, the whole model breaks down. That 's not because the ChatGPT style is cool, but because it tends to be plain, mundane, and boring like most student work.
However, the current lull suggests technological optimism. Because if chatbot work cannot be distinguished from so much routine student work, the question arises as to how useful and necessary this work really is. All of this is well known. In the 1970s there were many questions about whether having a calculator on an account meant death; and now it is seen as a trivial tool that saves time and allows students to spend less time on repetitive calculations.
Well, who's right, optimistic or pessimistic? The truth is that at any college or university, everything largely depends on the answers to three questions.
First, do students internalize the basic components of knowledge? Consider a Calculator: Once students have mastered numeracy skills, a calculator can be a great time saver for students as they apply these skills to complex functions or large numbers with many decimal places. However, it would be very different if second graders learned to push buttons instead of learning arithmetic, as this prevented students from developing a meaningful understanding. It took me longer than I thought to find that sensible middle ground.
Second, do students learn to structure and apply knowledge? Student writing should be an exercise in articulating thoughts, not just presenting content. That doesn't happen all that often now. There are many assignments in K-12 and college where students complete requirements and spit out a lot of information in the process. ChatGPT can make things worse, or allow students to focus less on placing content on the page and more on clarity, consistency, and relevance.
Third, are students using the chatbot in a way that prevents them from learning the required skills? For example, it would be a big deal if a student seeking a driver's license could submit AI-generated papers to meet the requirements. This means they will be on the road without having to learn to drive. This is a problem when the work generated by the chatbot means students are getting certified for work they don't really know how to do.
Reason for optimism is that educators took this opportunity to ask why they write so much mechanical and industrial writing. After all, some students have long cheated by completing tedious assignments, relying on plagiarism, thoughtlessly paraphrasing Wikipedia, or buying articles. In a way, ChatGPT just extends this behavior and makes it easier and more accessible.
This can be an opportunity to rethink what students are doing to emphasize quality work. Instead of mindlessly summarizing, students can offer an oral presentation or reconnect with the teacher through a step-by-step writing process.
So is ChatGPT a deadly threat to education, just another technological frenzy, or a great tool that can save students and teachers a hard day's work? In fact , both techno-pessimists and techno-optimists are right . An endless stream of mass-produced crap is an opportunity to focus less on making students earn more and instead gain valuable knowledge and skills. However, whether that will actually happen is a question ChatGPT cannot answer.
