Over the course of time technology has dramatically altered the way students learn and educators teach. Large language models like GPT-3 have achieved remarkable progress in Natural Language Processing (NLP) in recent years. These models, which have gone through extensive text data, have the ability to provide quick and easy access to information, respond to queries, and attain language-related tasks.
ChatGPT is one such example of a powerful tool that can enhance the educational experience in schools and colleges by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, with its multitude of benefits come unique challenges of ChatGPT that educators and students must steer through. Moreover, despite facing criticism and even bans in certain regions, these models are here to stay.
Schools in Singapore are using ChatGPT to their benefit wherein some educational institutions are using the tool to help students understand how they can use it without jeopardising their learning. In this blog, we’ll explore AI in education – the advantages and impediments ChatGPT presents.
Personalised learning, quick accessibility to information
Some of the benefits of ChatGPT in education include:
Personalised learning: ChatGPT offers personalised learning experiences for students as it can adapt to individual students’ learning style, pace and comprehension levels, providing targeted assistance and resources.
Prompt feedback: With ChatGPT, students can receive instant feedback on their assignments, projects or queries. This immediate response encourages students to engage actively in the learning process.
Enhanced creativity: ChatGPT’s ability to generate human-like responses can help in fostering creativity as students can brainstorm ideas, and even collaborate with AI to develop innovative solutions to solve complicated problems.
Easy accessibility of information: One of the most significant benefits of ChatGPT in education is its quick and easy accessibility. It can provide round-the-clock support to students, regardless of their location or time zone.
Misinformation, over-dependency, ethical concerns
However, some challenges of integrating ChatGPT in education include:
Quality control: While ChatGPT excels in generating quick and elaborate responses, ensuring the reliability of the information provided is a challenge. Therefore, to promote academic integrity, educators and students must cautiously curate the written material generated by ChatGPT, if they want to avoid falling prey to misinformation.
Dependency: It involves the risk of students becoming excessively dependent on the tool for answers, which can hinder their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Educators must strike a balance between leveraging ChatGPT as a learning tool and encouraging independent thinking among students.
Biased information: Using ChatGPT might result in responses, from the tool, which are potentially biased, and therefore undesired.
Privacy and security concerns: Integrating ChatGPT into educational platforms raises concerns regarding data privacy and security. Educators must implement strong privacy measures to prevent any misuse of personal information of the minors.
Also read: IB’s emphasis on academic integrity: Why it matters for IBDP students
‘IB will not ban the use of AI software’
Adapting to innovations is key to preparing students for the challenges and opportunities of the future. In March 2023, the International Baccalaureate (IB) released a statement confirming it wouldn’t ban the use of ChatGPT in its curriculum. However, at the same time, the IB underlined the significance of academic integrity.
“Latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) software, such as ChatGPT, that can write sophisticated essay responses have generated a great deal of interest and discussion. The IB will not ban the use of AI software. The simplest reason is that it is an ineffective way to deal with innovation. However, the use of AI tools should be in line with the IB’s academic integrity policy,” said IB on its official website.
“The International Baccalaureate (IB) will not ban AI software use, recognising it as an inevitable part of modern education. Instead, the IB focuses on adapting and teaching ethical usage. AI tools are not seen as a threat to IB’s core values but as a means to enhance research and communication skills,” says Ms. Deepa Chandrasekaran, GIIS IBDP coordinator.
“The use of AI in writing reflects a shift in educational skills, where students must learn to effectively utilise and edit AI-generated content, acknowledging inherent biases in these tools. The IB avoids the ‘arms race’ of distinguishing between AI and human authors.
“IB emphasises students discussing their work with teachers, avoiding baseless misconduct accusations. However, the IB requires clear indication and appropriate referencing of any AI-generated content in student work. Failure to do so is considered academic misconduct,” adds Ms. Chandrasekaran.
“The IB advises using AI tools for research and encourages students to understand good essay structures without copying. It emphasises the role of teachers in detecting non-original student work, as they are best positioned to judge a student’s capabilities. In confirming the authenticity of student work, teachers should observe the development of the work over time and ensure students can explain their work and reference sources appropriately.
Overall, the IB’s approach aims to maintain the integrity of its assessments while adapting to technological advancements, emphasising ethical use and teacher involvement in ensuring original student work,” adds Ms. Chandrasekaran.
Given the pros and cons of using ChatGPT for learning purposes, how can we ensure that students use it in an ethical and effective way? Some of the possible ways could be to educate students about the capabilities, limitations and the implications of using ChatGPT.
One of the ways is to help students understand that ChatGPT should be used as an assistant in their learning process, and not the other way around. Instead of looking for answers from the tool, students can share their answers and ask for feedback and evaluation.
Moreover, questioning answers received from the tool will help them evaluate the responses and ask questions rather than take the answers from ChatGPT as is. They also need to learn to use attribution methods when using ChatGPT’s output.
Students need to balance their use of ChatGPT with other sources. Complementing ChatGPT’s responses with proper research work, analysis, and then synthesising the two can benefit students.
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