I didn't expect academia to enthusiastically welcome AI writing models, let alone adopt it. Although bans and busters have also been among the reactions, they haven't been the most prominent. Are people accepting the inevitable, or hoping they're getting in on the ground floor? I don't know. Education is prone to fads.
During my first week of classes, I didn't address ChatGPT directly, as my priority is getting to know my students. (I do have language in the syllabus that representing work as your own if it's not, including that generated by AI, is plagiarism.) But as I am spending the semester learning about it, they'll get to learn along with me, and I have no idea where that's going. I've experimented with different tools, topics, and techniques every single semester I have taught. Here we go again!
This week I'm culling a few different articles that offer up ideas and arguments for integrating it in classes. That doesn't mean I'm endorsing it. Surveying the landscape before barreling in for a hike or a swim is probably wise. Let's survey, shall we? We'll start with our new classmate, ChatGPT.
"I bring new and engaging ways for students to learn in the classroom," ChatGPT for Times Higher Education, January 18, 2023
When looking for answers, why not go right to the source? This was the result of prompting our new friend to “Write an 800-word guide for higher education faculty on how to use ChatGPT in the classroom”. If you haven't played with it yet-- and I recommend you do-- you'll notice the prose is bland and general, but passable. (A better iteration of these suggestions is in the next one on my list.)
"19 Ways to Use ChatGPT in Your Classroom," Larry Ferlazzo for EdWeek, January 18, 2023
I'm always a sucker for a good list. Rather than being all-encompassing, I find they prod me to continue to think of even more options. (I use listing a LOT in my classes as a starting point for assignments.) This was shared by a friend who teaches high school. When I think about what's to come, I wonder about the students that will one day enter college. How will they have used AI writing models...tools...whatever we're going to come up with next?
"AI Writing Detection: A Losing Battle Worth Fighting," Susan D'Agostino for Inside Higher Ed, January 20, 2023
True to academic roots, this one is a little more ponderous and reflective. The pause to think about the tools employed by GPT Zero-- "burstiness" and "perplexity"-- are the beginning of an exploration of why we want students to write and develop their voices. Voices matter.
"'Everybody is cheating:' Why this teacher has adopted an open ChatGPT policy,"Patrick Wood and Louise Kelly for NPR, January 26, 2023
Cheating is nothing new, and happens outside of school. This instructor has done what I haven't yet-- required students to have ChatGPT open in class-- and it's a bold move. While I'm still hesitant, I found the strategies of requiring students to both integrate text from it and acknowledge what they integrate to be a practical way to teach attribution.
"Teaching In The Age of AI Means Getting Creative," Zoha Qamar for FiveThirtyEight, January 23, 2023
Calculators didn't kill math class, the argument goes, and AI writing models won't kill English class. If anything, their presence will require us to rethink the way we teach writing and its ancillaries. This works as long as the current assumption that ChatGPT's creative and critical "thinking" are limited. Language is different from numbers, though, and the GIGO effect is still true. When ChatGPT generates misinformation or gets rude, that's derived on its input, but spreading the output can be really damaging.
Comments