Introduction
Recently, ChatGPT has sparked a public outcry, becoming popular worldwide and even igniting a wave of applications among the Chinese populace despite the “Great Firewall”.
As a generative AI software, ChatGPT can generate text on any topic, completing various tasks including answering questions, writing articles, papers, and poetry. It has been praised across various sectors for its “significant historical significance, comparable to the birth of the internet or personal computers”.
What challenges will ChatGPT bring to education? How should education respond to these challenges? How can schools and teachers utilize ChatGPT effectively? This article provides a systematic overview.
Essentially, ChatGPT is a chat tool, officially launched by the San Francisco-based AI company OpenAI in November 2022. So, what makes ChatGPT special compared to other AI products?
Moreover, with just a slight prompt, ChatGPT can generate eloquent and beautifully crafted text. It is now being used to write love letters, poetry, novels, and school papers. In the latest survey data, 89% of interviewed American college students reported using ChatGPT for their assignments, raising concerns among many.
What challenges does the wildly popular ChatGPT bring to education? Is it a poison or a remedy for education? Let’s take a look.
01
What challenges will ChatGPT bring to our education?
The emergence of ChatGPT marks a significant milestone in the development of AI. The rapid advancement of technology is, to some extent, “forcing” the education sector to initiate deeper reforms, compelling us to rethink the impact and challenges AI presents to education and teaching systems. There are four main points:
1. Challenges to our talent perspective
What kind of individuals should we cultivate for the future? In comparison to the mechanical efficiency of AI, what advantages do humans need to develop? Many jobs may be replaced by AI in the future, making the direction of talent cultivation a primary concern for education, ensuring students possess sufficient “future survival skills”.
2. Challenges to our curriculum perspective
What should children learn to adapt to future challenges? How can we guide students to use AI effectively in their learning process to enhance efficiency while stimulating their creative thinking? Education needs to help students set creative learning goals, promoting the realization of creative learning, which is a significant challenge.
3. Challenges to our teaching perspective
How should educators conduct classes? The rapid development of AI presents more technical challenges for education. How can educators seize opportunities to utilize AI technology to update teaching methods, enhance teaching experiences, and improve education quality?
4. Challenges to educational evaluation perspectives
AI has created certain impacts on the assessment of learning outcomes. Surveys abroad indicate that students completing assignments with ChatGPT has become a common phenomenon.
Moreover, many students online admit to using ChatGPT for writing papers. Faced with assignments completed by students and AI, many teachers find it difficult to distinguish between the two. Therefore, educators need to rethink and make substantial, innovative changes to teaching and evaluation methods.
In summary, regarding educational behavior itself, the development of AI represented by ChatGPT has forced the knowledge transmission-centered education model into a corner.
On one hand, ChatGPT can answer almost all questions posed by students and can tailor its responses to individual needs, raising questions about the value of teachers;
On the other hand, since knowledge can be so easily accessed, what is the significance of our children spending so much time learning and doing exercises? What is the most urgent knowledge our children need to learn?
02
How should education respond to the challenges posed by ChatGPT?
In the face of the challenges brought by AI represented by ChatGPT, education must clearly recognize future trends; otherwise, the effort to educate will be as futile as building a ship only to find decades later that the destination is a desert.
To this end, Ni Minjing, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, proposed that educational reform urgently needs to make significant adjustments in the following three areas:
First, the primary goal of education should be to cultivate individuals capable of independent thinking and sound value judgment, rather than merely acquiring specific knowledge.
Of course, learning knowledge remains important as it is the most crucial clue for brain connections; the key question is which knowledge is most important.
This knowledge should be foundational, adaptable to this rapidly developing world, and capable of contributing to future world development. Therefore, I believe that fundamental knowledge in the humanities, technology, and mathematics remains important, as it contains a wealth of value judgments, thinking tools, and problem-solving methods. Additionally, learning content related to programming thinking, modular thinking, and critical thinking is urgently needed.
Second, the methods and approaches of education need significant adjustments, primarily aiming to collaboratively improve educational teaching methods using learning tools like ChatGPT, rather than avoiding and fearing them.
The ability of humans to use tools is the reason for rapid human progress. In fact, ChatGPT is a brand-new knowledge tool. From this perspective, it is no different from the books and libraries we have relied on for thousands of years. With such a powerful knowledge tool for learning, our children should learn better. If we worry that children will depend on it and stop thinking, it is either because the content we teach lacks value or we have not understood that there are higher-level thinking methods beyond simple thinking that educators need to explore.
We need not be anxious about the future replacement of children’s jobs by AI, because in terms of human cultural evolution: new technologies always replace old production methods and labor, but new technologies also create more new labor by generating new human needs.
Third, we need to go beyond knowledge learning and focus more on the quality of learning.
Truly good learning, in some respects, seeks slowness rather than speed; only through slowness can depth of thought be forged and deep interpersonal relationships be built through interactions with others;
It seeks difficulty rather than ease; only through challenges can students’ motivation to learn be stimulated;
It seeks less rather than more; only through less can there be leisure time to develop one’s personality and form a diversified brain;
It seeks clumsiness rather than cleverness; only by seeking clumsiness can a person’s spirit of research and resilience be cultivated.
A person can truly succeed through focused learning, which can rise from interest to aspiration, becoming a uniquely characteristic individual; through responsibility and resilience, persevering in the face of difficulties; through good interpersonal relationships and collaborative spirit, receiving support and help from the team at critical moments.
These qualities of learning have always been unrelated to technology and, of course, have no relationship with the bull in a china shop—ChatGPT.
Therefore, in a world where new things emerge endlessly, we must maintain educational composure, adhere to reform directions, and truly provide children with appropriate and meaningful education.
03
How to Leverage ChatGPT for Education?
Fear and avoidance cannot stop the tide of technology; the era of deep integration between education and AI has arrived. How to treat AI as a tool and turn it into an opportunity for education rather than a threat is a new change the education system must face in the future.
Accepting ChatGPT as a teaching assistant tool, becoming a friend or helper to teachers, can unleash students’ creativity, provide personalized tutoring, and better prepare students to work alongside future AI systems.
So, how can schools and teachers practically apply the disruptive value of ChatGPT? Here are six common applications:
1. Course Design
ChatGPT can provide creative ideas for teachers’ course designs, assist in retrieving and organizing literature, and generate complete course materials such as teaching outlines, course plans, and reading materials.
For example, input “Please design an exploratory course for second graders on the topic of ‘The Chirping of Crickets'”, and soon, the AI will provide the following results. Then, we can propose more detailed design requirements: “Conducted during the summer vacation, lasting ten days, aimed at cultivating children’s exploratory ability, critical thinking skills, collaborative abilities, and knowledge related to natural history, as well as measurement and statistics skills, combining formative and summative assessments, and outlining the required materials, background information, and time planning.” Soon, ChatGPT outputs a detailed course report (see below).
2. Assisting in Lesson Preparation
In addition to course design, ChatGPT can effectively participate in teaching research and lesson preparation, providing teachers with a starting plan, offering general and routine content, and helping teachers save initial brainstorming time. Of course, such plans often resemble a simple recipe design guide; as a chef, one can design an actual recipe based on the ideas provided by this recipe.
Specifically, lesson preparation can be conducted through the following methods.
Knowledge Search: Quickly search for relevant knowledge points through Q&A. Simply ask the AI a question, such as “Explain the Doppler Effect in language understandable to eighth graders” or “Convince me to ban animal testing”, and ChatGPT will quickly generate a set of solutions.
Generating Teaching Content: By giving ChatGPT some instructions, it can automatically generate relevant teaching content, thereby improving lesson preparation efficiency.
Conducting Classroom Simulations: Simulate conversations with ChatGPT to better understand student questions and prepare for class.
Language Translation: If teachers need to use other languages in class, they can utilize ChatGPT for translation to better prepare for lessons.
3. Classroom Assistant
ChatGPT can provide a real-time sharing platform for teachers and students, answering questions in real-time, providing ideas for classroom activities, adding fun and richness to classes, and helping students understand complex content and concepts, becoming an AI assistant for teachers, an after-school mentor, or a debate practice partner.
For instance, in an English class, teachers can use the following methods to enhance classroom effectiveness.
Becoming a Writing Prompt Generator: ChatGPT can be asked to generate story beginnings or creative writing prompts for students to use as a basis for writing.
Becoming a Reading Comprehension Tool: ChatGPT can generate an article on the topic students are studying for them to read and answer related questions. This helps assess students’ understanding of the material and pinpoint areas where they may need additional support.
Becoming a Vocabulary Builder: ChatGPT can generate sentences using unfamiliar words for students to guess the meanings based on context, expanding their vocabulary.
Becoming a Class Discussion Question Generator: Teachers and students can pose questions to ChatGPT, combining them with substantive discussions in class to enrich discussions, aiding students in refining their thinking and practicing ideas.
4. Assignment Assessment
ChatGPT can also participate in student assessments, generating assignments and exams to help teachers evaluate students and observe learning progress.
For example, a teacher sends a piece about Ukraine to the AI, asking it to generate 10 multiple-choice questions to test students’ understanding of the article. Out of the 10 questions generated by the AI, 6 are usable, making it a fantastic teaching assistant tool. Teachers can generate brand new questions anytime, anywhere based on teaching requirements.
For instance, inputting the prompt “Please generate a fill-in-the-blank question in English” will yield the English assignment shown below.
5. Learning Assistance
ChatGPT can provide rich explanations, methods, information, and ideas, helping students understand knowledge more deeply and creatively, improving learning efficiency and interest, and facilitating independent and personalized learning. It helps students understand their learning gaps and needs, motivating learning and self-improvement, stemming from its following functions.
Point Extraction. It can quickly generate learning materials, such as summaries, flashcards, and quizzes, helping students review and learn course materials. Students can ask ChatGPT to read a chapter from a textbook and generate a concise and comprehensible summary. ChatGPT can also help students break down tasks, dividing large tasks into smaller, achievable parts, cultivating students’ sense of autonomy and confidence in completing tasks.
Content Translation. ChatGPT can freely translate teaching content, making it easier for students to understand. Students can also ask ChatGPT for help learning various languages, obtaining resources for that language, such as vocabulary lists, conversation practice, and grammar lessons. Moreover, when learning a new word, they can ask the AI how to use it in a sentence:
Exclusive Guidance. ChatGPT technology can diversify teaching resources and information by providing explanations, distributed instructions, and additional resources to help students acquire problem-solving skills. This is significant for students struggling with a particular subject or concept who need extra support, enhancing their self-efficacy and learning motivation.
Project Research. ChatGPT can also play an important role in research-based learning, project-based learning, problem-based learning, thematic inquiry learning, etc., in primary and secondary schools. For instance, a student writing a research paper on climate change can ask ChatGPT for relevant information and receive a list of materials.
6. Task Assistance
ChatGPT can easily complete tasks such as writing emails, papers, scripts, drafting business proposals, composing poetry, stories, or even coding and debugging programs. It can naturally assist teachers and students in daily activity planning by generating ideas, improving suggestions, and providing feedback on written work.
For example, automatically generating various work summaries, weekly reports, and monthly reports can reduce the internal consumption of routine tasks, fully implementing “reducing the burden on teachers” and “reducing the burden on students”.
04
23 Ways Teachers Can Use ChatGPT
1. Answering Questions
ChatGPT can be used to answer questions in real-time, making it a useful tool for students needing quick information.
In this sense, ChatGPT can serve not only as an AI assistant for teachers but also as an AI companion for students.
For example, a student might ask: “What is the capital of France?” and ChatGPT would respond: “The capital of France is Paris.”
2. Help with Essay Writing
ChatGPT can assist students in writing essays, suggesting topics, outlining structures, providing ideas, and offering improvement help and suggestions.
For example, a student can request help writing an article about the environment, and ChatGPT can provide suggestions for thesis statements and potential main paragraph topics. Subsequently, based on this, the student can combine their thoughts and viewpoints to complete the article.
Of course, over the past two months, the most concerning aspect for many educators and local education authorities worldwide has precisely been this. As a result, many local education authorities in various countries have banned students from using ChatGPT on school premises.
3. Generating Learning Materials
ChatGPT can generate learning materials, such as summaries, flashcards, and quizzes, helping students review and learn course materials.
For example, students can request a summary of a chapter from a textbook, and ChatGPT can generate a concise and comprehensible summary of the key points.
4. Personalized Tutoring
ChatGPT can provide personalized tutoring by answering questions and offering individualized feedback. For instance, a student can ask for help solving a math problem, and ChatGPT can provide step-by-step guidance to solve it.
5. Conversation Practice
ChatGPT can be used for language learning, providing conversation practice with a virtual language tutor.
For example, a student learning Chinese can practice their Chinese with ChatGPT to improve their conversation skills.
This application can be said to be one of the strongest suits of large language model chatbots like ChatGPT, and such conversation practice is most beneficial for students to learn real, transferable language skills.
In recent years, many English classes in various regions have seen students using iFlytek’s Xiaofei, which is a similar practical application case.
6. Game-Based Learning
ChatGPT can be integrated into educational games to provide an engaging interactive learning experience.
For example, in a history-based game, ChatGPT can provide clues and hints to help players solve puzzles and complete challenges.
In this aspect, the challenge to teachers’ instructional design capabilities is quite significant.
Of course, teachers can also utilize ChatGPT to assist in designing a game integrated with it centered around historical themes, such as the historical context of the Normandy landings.
7. Supporting Students’ Research Learning
ChatGPT can assist students in research projects by providing information sources, search strategies, and suggestions for other resources.
In research-based learning, project-based learning, problem-based learning, thematic inquiry learning, etc., in primary and secondary schools, ChatGPT can play an important role.
For example, students can ask ChatGPT to help research a topic and receive suggestions for sources, search strategies, and further information resources.
A student writing a research paper on climate change can inquire ChatGPT for information about the topic and receive a list of relevant materials for reference.
8. Creative Writing Assistance
ChatGPT can assist creative writing by generating ideas, providing improvement suggestions, and giving feedback on written work. ChatGPT can also provide feedback on students’ written work, including suggestions for improvement, grammar corrections, and structural advice.
This blog post, in fact, was completed with the assistance of a chatbot! Many of the teaching application ideas and practical examples were provided by the chatbot, which I then modified and improved upon. Likewise, our students can do the same.
For instance, students can submit a draft of an essay to ChatGPT and receive feedback on writing style, organization, and grammar. They can ask ChatGPT to help them write a poem and receive suggestions for rhyming words and ideas to expand the poem. Subsequently, students can refine, modify, and polish their work based on this, and even after completing it, return to ChatGPT for further review and editing.
Through this iterative process, students complete their creative writing with the assistance of ChatGPT.
9. Generating Assessments and Quizzes
ChatGPT can generate assessments, such as quizzes and exams, helping teachers evaluate students’ understanding.
For example, teachers can ask ChatGPT to generate a quiz on a specific topic and receive a set of multiple-choice questions for testing.
10. Course Material Generation
ChatGPT can generate complete course materials, such as teaching outlines, course plans, and reading materials.
For example, teachers can request ChatGPT to provide a lesson plan on a specific topic and receive a comprehensive, ready-to-use lesson plan.
11. Content Translation
ChatGPT can translate educational content from one language to another, making it easier for students to understand and access information, and assist in multilingual education by providing information and resources for learning different languages.
For example, a teacher can ask ChatGPT to translate a scientific article from English to Chinese, enabling Chinese students to understand it.
This functionality and practical application are quite easy for ChatGPT!
12. Virtual Learning Groups
ChatGPT can facilitate virtual learning groups, providing students with opportunities to discuss course materials and collaborate on projects. For example, students can use ChatGPT to facilitate a virtual learning group for history class, discussing key events and sharing ideas and perspectives.
13. Promoting Teacher Professional Development
ChatGPT can respond to teachers’ questions and requests, providing relevant online courses, web resources, and MOOCs, thereby offering targeted help and support.
For instance, an English teacher wishing to learn how to use the 3-2-1 strategy to promote student reflection in English classes can inquire ChatGPT, which can provide relevant case studies, videos, reading materials, online courses, tools, platforms, software, etc., for her to learn and utilize.
14. Review, Practice, and Exam Preparation
ChatGPT can help students prepare for exams by providing practice questions, exam strategies, and other resources. For example, students can ask ChatGPT for help preparing for a science exam and receive relevant review materials and a list of practice questions.
ChatGPT can also provide students with an opportunity to practice public speaking by allowing them to deliver speeches and presentations through ChatGPT. ChatGPT can facilitate debate practice, providing students with a virtual opponent to debate against and receive feedback.
For instance, students can ask ChatGPT to listen to their speeches and receive feedback on their presentations, including suggestions for improvement. Students can also engage in virtual debates with ChatGPT on current events topics, receiving feedback on their arguments and expressions.
15. Help with Problem Solving
ChatGPT can assist students in solving problems by providing step-by-step instructions, strategy suggestions, and tips.
For example, students can ask ChatGPT for help solving a difficult math problem and receive guidance on how to approach and resolve it.
Students can utilize ChatGPT as a research assistant and academic advisor when completing assigned tasks, engaging in research learning, and working on their projects and assignments, obtaining specific problem-solving help, guidance, and suggestions.
16. Classroom Discussions
ChatGPT can provide students with a platform for real-time sharing of ideas and perspectives, facilitating online classroom discussions.
For example, teachers can use ChatGPT to promote discussions on current events topics in class, allowing students to ask questions and share opinions.
I believe that in the near future, this application will become the most common and popular classroom teaching application in primary, secondary, and various training activities.
17. Peer Review Assistance
ChatGPT can assist peer reviews by providing students with improvement suggestions and writing feedback.
For example, students can submit their paper drafts to ChatGPT for peer review and receive feedback and improvement suggestions from other students.
Regarding this point, we have already analyzed it in the previous section on creative writing assistance, so we will not elaborate further here.
18. Career Guidance
ChatGPT can help students with career guidance by providing information on potential careers, job requirements, and related resources.
For example, students can ask ChatGPT for information on engineering careers and receive a list of potential careers, job requirements, and further information resources.
In recent years, there has been a strong emphasis on students’ career education in the country. However, in the age of AI, career education has become exceptionally challenging due to the rapid changes in the job market. Many positions and careers are being quickly replaced by robots and AI, while an increasing number of new careers are emerging.
Applying large language models and chatbots like ChatGPT in students’ career education and guidance is indeed a commendable application!
19. Time Management Assistance
Time management is a skill and knowledge that benefits everyone throughout their lives. Unfortunately, this is a skill that most schools, teachers, and parents fail to teach students.
ChatGPT can assist students in time management by providing tips and strategies to maintain organization and prioritize tasks.
For example, students can ask ChatGPT for help managing their time and receive advice on creating schedules, determining priorities, and staying organized.
20. Learning Skills Assistance
ChatGPT can help students develop learning skills by providing tips and resources to improve their ability to learn and retain information.
For example, students can ask ChatGPT for help improving their learning skills and receive suggestions for effective reading and note-taking techniques, memory strategies, and exam strategies.
However, the challenge here may lie in teachers needing to teach students how to formulate prompts. If students cannot formulate good prompts, they will quickly find this chatbot boring, let alone use it to learn and improve their learning skills!
21. Digital Citizenship and Technology Ethics Education
ChatGPT can assist in digital citizenship education by providing information about internet safety, privacy, and responsible technology use.
For example, students can ask ChatGPT for information on cybersecurity and receive a list of resources and tips for staying safe online.
This can greatly assist schools and parents in teaching students about the responsible use of technology, technology ethics, privacy protection, etc., as these topics are often too specialized for general subject teachers and parents!
22. Homework Assistance
ChatGPT can help students complete homework by providing explanations, examples, and additional resources, offering step-by-step instructions and other resources to assist students in completing their homework.
For example, students can seek help from ChatGPT with math problems and receive step-by-step explanations, examples, and additional practice problems to reinforce the concept.
By using ChatGPT, students can receive immediate help and practice problem-solving skills to succeed in their coursework.
This is particularly helpful for those students struggling with a specific subject or concept who need additional support outside of the classroom.
23. Promoting Teachers’ Scientific Research
ChatGPT can provide teachers with research ideas and points, assist in retrieving relevant research literature, organizing literature, and recommending core references.
In scientific research, ChatGPT can have numerous practical uses and typical cases, which we will not elaborate on here!
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