27 thoughts on teaching with AI
/Even as some educators raise concerns, others see potential for new AI technology to reduce teacher workloads or help bring teaching materials to life in new ways. EdSurge
Professors can use the new technology to encourage students to engage in a range of productive ChatGPT activities, including thinking, questioning, debating, identifying shortcomings and experimenting. Inside Higher Ed
Ethan Mollick, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business said ChatGPT has already changed his expectations of his students. “I expect them to write more and expect them to write better,” he said. “This is a force multiplier for writing. I expect them to use it.” Forbes
ChatGPT can create David, said David Chrisinger, who directs the writing program at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, referring to the famous Michelangelo statue. “But his head is too big and his legs are too short. Now it’s our job to interrogate the evidence and improve on what it gives us,” he said. Wall Street Journal
For some educators, the chatbot helps to make their job easier by creating lesson plans and material for their students. Mashable
We can teach students that there is a time, place and a way to use GPT3 and other AI writing tools. It depends on the learning objectives. Inside Higher Ed
Judging from the reaction on TikTok, teachers on the app see ChatGPT as a tool to be treated the same way calculators and cell phones are used in class — as resources to help students succeed but not do the work for them. Mashable
Faculty members need time to play with new tools and explore their implications. Administrators can carve out time for faculty training support. How does bias play out in your area within the model? Inside Higher Ed
Here’s what I plan to do about chatbots in my classes: pretty much nothing. Washington Post
If a program can do a job as well as a person, then humans shouldn’t duplicate those abilities; they must surpass them. The next task for higher education, then, is to prepare graduates to make the most effective use of the new tools and to rise above and go beyond their limitations. That means pedagogies that emphasize active and experiential learning, that show students how to take advantage of these new technologies and that produce graduates who can do those things that the tools can’t. Inside Higher Ed
Are new rubrics and assignment descriptions needed? Will you add an AI writing code of conduct to your syllabus? Divisions or departments might agree on expectations across courses. That way, students need not scramble to interpret academic misconduct across multiple courses. Inside Higher Ed
We should be telling our undergraduates that good writing isn’t just about subject-verb agreement or avoiding grammatical errors—not even good academic writing. Good writing reminds us of our humanity, the humanity of others and all the ugly, beautiful ways in which we exist in the world. Inside Higher Ed
(Some) professors are enthusiastic, or at least intrigued, by the possibility of incorporating generative AI into academic life. Those same tools can help students — and professors — brainstorm, kick-start an essay, explain a confusing idea, and smooth out awkward first drafts. Equally important, these faculty members argue, is their responsibility to prepare students for a world in which these technologies will be incorporated into everyday life, helping to produce everything from a professional email to a legal contract. Chronicle of Higher Ed
After discovering my first ChatGPT essay, I decided that going forward, students can use generative A.I. on assignments, so long as they disclose how and why. I’m hoping this will lead to less banging my head against the kitchen table–and, at its best, be its own kind of lesson. Slate
There’s plenty to agree on, such as motivating students to do their own work, adapting teaching to this new reality, and fostering AI literacy. Chronicle of Higher Ed
As academe adjusts to a world with ChatGPT, faculty will need to find fresh ways to assess students’ writing. The same was true when calculators first began to appear in math classrooms, and professors adapted the exams. “Academic integrity is about being honest about the way you did your work.” Spell checkers, David Rettinger, president emeritus at the International Center for Academic Integrity, pointed out, are a prime example of artificial intelligence that may have been controversial at first, but are now used routinely without a second thought to produce papers. Chronicle of Higher Ed
For those tasked to perform tedious and formulaic writing, we don’t doubt that some version of this tool could be a boon. Perhaps ChatGPT’s most grateful academic users will not be students, but deans and department heads racking their brains for buzzwords on “excellence” while talking up the latest strategic plan. Public Books
These technologies introduce opportunities for educators to rethink assessment practices and engage students in deeper and more meaningful learning that can promote critical thinking skills. World Economic Forum
Khan Academy founder Sal Khan says the latest version of the generative AI engine makes a pretty good tutor. Axios
Information that was once dispensed in the classroom is now everywhere: first online, then in chatbots. What educators must now do is show students not only how to find it, but what information to trust and what not to, and how to tell the difference. MIT Tech Review
Don’t wait until you feel like an expert to discuss AI in your courses. Learn about it in class alongside your students. Chronicle of Higher Ed
The old education model in which teachers deliver information to later be condensed and repeated will not prepare our students for success in the classroom—or the jobs of tomorrow. Brookings
What if we could train it on our own rules and regulations, so if it hits an ethical issue or a problem, it could say to students: ‘you need to stop here and take that problem to the ethical lead.’ Columbia Journalism Review
I look at it as the future of: What if we could program it to be our substitute teacher at school? EdSurge
Once you start to think of a chatbot as a tool, rather than a replacement, its possibilities become very exciting. Vice
Training ourselves and our students to work with AI doesn’t require inviting AI to every conversation we have. In fact, I believe it’s essential that we don’t. Inside Higher Ed
A US survey of 1,002 K–12 teachers and 1,000 students between 12 and 17, commissioned by the Walton Family Foundation in February, found that more than half the teachers had used ChatGPT—10% of them reported using it every day—but only a third of the students. Nearly all those who had used it (88% of teachers and 79% of students) said it had a positive impact. MIT Tech Review
For my students and for the public, the quickest way to feel hopeless in the face of seemingly unstoppable technological change is to decide that it is all-powerful and too complicated for an ordinary person to understand. Slate
Consider the tools relative to your course. What are the cognitive tasks students need to perform without AI assistance? When should students rely on AI assistance? Where can an AI aid facilitate a better outcome? Are there efficiencies in grading that can be gained? Are new rubrics and assignment descriptions needed? Will you add an AI writing code of conduct to your syllabus? Do these changes require structural shifts in timetabling, class size or number of teaching assistants? Inside Higher Ed
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