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The ultimate homework cheat? How teachers are facing up to ChatGPT | Science & Tech News


“Where have I seen this before?”

It’s a question teachers have had to ask themselves when grading papers since time immemorial.

But never mind students flipping through Wikipedia or flipping through SparkNotes for some analysis of the great Gatsby, late 2022 sees another challenge emerge for schools: ChatGPT.

Online chatbots, which can generate realistic responses to their liking, have taken the world by storm with their ability to do everything from solving computer errors to helping with writing. a Sky News article about itself.

Last week, concerned about students cheating, the largest education department in the US ordered a ban.

New York CityThe school’s teaching agency says that while it can provide “quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are so essential.” essential for academic and lifelong success.

Of course, that won’t stop students from using it at home – but will they really use it as a homework solution?

More about Artificial Intelligence

Teacher vs ChatGPT – round one

First, Sky News asked a middle school science teacher in Essex, who was unfamiliar with bots, to give ChatGPT a homework question.

Galaxies contain billions of stars. Compare the formation and life cycles of stars with a mass comparable to the Sun with those of stars much more massive than the Sun.

To be fair, ChatGPT dropped the mask almost immediately, as you can see in the images below.

FOR TOM FEATURES
FOR TOM FEATURES

Asking ChatGPT to answer the same “high school standards” question resulted in another detailed answer.

Teacher rating?

“Well, this is definitely more detailed than any of my students. It’s far beyond what you’d expect at GCSE, so I’d be very skeptical if someone submitted it. I’ll assume they copied it. and paste from somewhere.”

Teacher vs ChatGPT – round two

Next up was a Kent Primary School teacher, also unfamiliar with ChatGPT, who gave it a homework assignment recently.

Research a famous Londoner and write a biography of their life, including their childhood and career achievements.

No matter what, ChatGPT said, although it’s fair to say that any nine-year-old who submits an answer below will either be fast tracked to college or be taken into custody at lunchtime.

FOR TOM FEATURES
FOR TOM FEATURES

“Even at a glance, I was told they copied it directly from the internet,” the teacher said.

“No 11-year-old knows the word stir.”

‘Important decision’ for schools

So, just as copying directly from a more familiar site should sound the alarm bell for teachers, so does the verbatim removal from ChatGPT.

However, students are some of the most internet-savvy around, and ChatGPT’s ability to instantly give seemingly textbook-level answers will still need to be followed, teachers say. know.

Jane Basnett, director of digital learning at Downe House School in Berkshire, told Sky News that the chatbot presented schools with some “critical decisions” to make.

“Like all technology, schools must teach students how to use technology properly,” she said.

“So with ChatGPT, students need knowledge to know if the work created is good or not, that’s why we need to teach students to be discerning.”

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With its rapid emergence, Ms. Basnett explored how her school’s anti-plagiarism system would deal with auto-generated essays.

But just as teachers must consider teaching students about the benefits and pitfalls of using AI, Ms. Basnett said her colleagues should also be open to its potential.

“ChatGPT is incredibly powerful, and as a teacher I can see some benefits,” she said.

“For example, I type a request to create a lesson series about a specific grammar point, it will create a lesson for me. The teacher will have to analyze the created lesson and modify it, because the lesson suggests, while not bad, not ideal. But, the key elements are there and it can be really helpful.

“I can envision using an essay generated from ChatGPT and working with my students to review the pros and cons of the essay.”

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Will this chatbot replace humans?

Dr Peter Van der Putten, assistant professor of AI at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said institutions that choose to ban or ignore the technology will just bury their heads in the sand.

“It’s there, just like Google is there,” says Dr. Van der Putten.

“You can write it in your policies to prevent plagiarism, but the reality is this tool exists.

“Sometimes you need to embrace these, but be very clear about when you don’t want it used.”

‘Bull ****er on steroids’

For students as well as teachers, this is an opportunity to improve their digital literacy.

While it has proven its worth when it comes to creative tasks, such as solving problems or coming up with ideas, true understanding and insight is still beyond that capacity.

The OpenAI developer admits that answers can be “too verbose” and even “incorrect or meaningless”, even though it sounds legitimate in most cases, such as a type of person being job interview is unprepared and desperate.

As Dr. Van der Putten says, ChatGPT is often nothing more than a “steroid bully”.

Teaching students about those limitations is the best way to make sure they don’t take it too seriously – even when the going gets tough.

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