Four Ways Instructors Can Manage ChatGPT in Our Classrooms
As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, the use of ChatGPT and other emerging technologies by students is becoming more common in classrooms. This has raised some questions about the impact of AI on learning and grading. To help community college educators cope with this evolving classroom environment, Stanford's Global Educators Network organized an Inquiry Meetup in March entitled "Responding to Generative AI Tools such as ChatGPT."
To kick off the discussion, Aram Shepherd, Mission College Academic Senate President, gave an overview of the current state of AI technology. However, Shepherd noted that any overview is instantly out-of-date given the speed at which technologies are evolving. Regardless, it is a fact that many students are already utilizing these technologies in classes across different disciplines.
Here are four strategies instructors can use to manage ChatGPT in classrooms:
1. Forbid It
Forbidding students from using ChatGPT for assignments and tests is a common initial response. However, it is difficult to enforce this prohibition, and AI detection tools on the market are not always reliable. Additionally, students could request GPT to "write an essay that can't be detected," which the technology can already do. Ultimately, taking disciplinary action is not feasible due to the risk of false positives.
2. Allow It
Allowing students to use ChatGPT freely in class seems like another solution, especially since AI is already being used in the workplace. The question is whether allowing the use of ChatGPT will help students learn class content or only teach them how to use the technology. If the latter is true, it may disadvantage students who opt to learn on their own instead of using ChatGPT.
3. Work Around It
A work-around strategy involves designing assignments that limit the use of AI. However, ChatGPT can already write reflections on how it wrote the essay, which means that asking students to reflect on their writing process may not always help. Although ChatGPT does not currently have access to information on current events, this will soon change with Microsoft Bing and other products entering the market. Social Annotation tools or other methods of assessment such as podcasts, videos, and project-learning demonstrations may be used to move assessment away from traditional essays.
4. Teach It
The fourth option is to teach students how to use ChatGPT. This would require instructors to design assignments that require students to use and evaluate AI output directly. Teaching students about AI tools would equally empower all students, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds. However, designing such assignments requires updates constantly and additional labor from instructors. It may also fail to align with the overall course objectives.
Regardless of which strategy is chosen, instructors should feed their own assignments, prompts, and tests into ChatGPT to see what it produces. They should also incorporate clear written guidelines regarding ChatGPT and related AI tools into their syllabus and assignments from day one to ensure that students understand the expectations.
