Assessment practices have evolved over time, especially with the advent of technology that has revolutionized the way we interact and learn. One of the latest technological innovations that have caught the attention of academia is ChatGPT, which boasts of being able to write essays, produce stories and music lyrics, generate lesson plans, draft emails, and even solve mathematical problems. This technology has the potential to increase productivity and efficiency, but it has also raised concerns about academic integrity, particularly in relation to plagiarism and cheating. Instructors, therefore, need to find innovative and meaningful assessment practices that embrace the advancement of large language models while maintaining academic integrity.
Authentic and Personalized Assessment Methods
One way of ensuring academic integrity in the chatGPT-enabled world is by using assessment methods that require students to produce authentic, novel, and personalized responses. Instructors can use real-life examples and contextually specific situations that are meaningful to individual students. For instance, students can be asked to include their personal experience or perspectives in their writing or conduct analysis that draws on specific class discussions. Additionally, instructors can give students complex instructions that involve long texts that do not fit a typical chatGPT prompt or ask them to write about recent events not reflected in the data used to train the language model.
Alternatives to Essay-based Assessment
Instructors can also explore alternative assessment methods such as impromptu video presentations, digital forms such as animations, self-assessment or reflective writing, and peer evaluations. These methods promote co-construction of knowledge and application of certain skills. Instead of grading a final writing product alone, instructors can grade multiple drafts and assess how a student's writing has improved. Assessments that are formulaic need to be avoided, and instructors can use assessments that are open-ended or encourage students to demonstrate originality and creativity in their performance. One such example is creating original ideas or research questions.
Assessing Critical Thinking Skills
Instructors need to find ways to assess students' critical thinking skills by asking them to critique papers or text output generated by chatGPT, build logical arguments with appropriate reasoning skills, create a concept map or diagram to demonstrate a deep understanding of a topic and its knowledge structure, or locate accurate data sources to correct factual errors. Additionally, instructors can ask students to critique a piece of writing generated by chatGPT and assess its strengths and weaknesses in terms of readability, credibility, comprehensiveness, and accuracy.
Using ChatGPT as a Supplemental Tool
Instructors can use chatGPT as a supplemental tool for designing assessment activities by asking detailed and specific prompts to generate a rubric for grading students' knowledge and skills, create multiple-choice quiz questions or come up with group discussion questions about course topics. However, when using these sources, it is essential to ensure accuracy and check how the information presented can be interpreted or if it contains biased views. Lastly, instructors must caution students about the limitations of such tools and encourage them to develop unique and critical thinking skills.
Conclusion
Assessment methods that require students to produce authentic, novel, and personalized responses are essential in the chatGPT-enabled world. Instructors need to explore alternative assessment methods, assess critical thinking skills, and use chatGPT as a supplemental tool to design assessment activities. It is crucial to find ways to develop non-cognitive skills such as collaboration, communication, and leadership in addition to cognitive skills. Using chatGPT as a learning tool enhances student engagement and promotes co-construction of knowledge, but it is vital to caution students about its limitations.
