The rise of generative artificial intelligence is raising concerns about how students work in the classroom.
Administrators and parents fear students will use this type of A-I to write papers or cheat on tests.
But as WCMU’s Stefanie Mills reports, not all teachers fear the worst and are actively thinking of ways to utilize the technology for positive outcomes.
Editor's note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Stefanie Mills: Andy Schoenborn, a high school teacher at Clare Public Schools, cut right to the chase with his students when he first learned about the website, Chat GPT.
Andy Schoenborn: Like, I wasn't hiding it. Have you seen Chat GPT? And some had, some hadn't. And so what do you think we can do with this? I don't know. What can we do? So we played around with it.
SM: Schoenborn, along with more than a dozen other K-12 teachers, recently attended a workshop to spend time learning and sharing concerns about how generative artificial intelligence, like Chat GPT, is transforming education. Professor Troy Hicks of Central Michigan University's Teacher and Special Education Department led the workshop.
Troy Hicks: I don't want to overgeneralize or sound dramatic here. Many of the teachers come in to it, even if they feel like there might be some things they could use here. There they're worried because they're learning about the tool. They don't fully understand how the tool works.
SM: Much like how calculators changed mathematics, the age of artificial intelligence is impacting everything we do. Sites like Chat GPT took the world by storm in 2022, with its ability to generate book length essays and answers to complex questions in minutes. The reaction from teachers and parents was immediate. Fears of cheating, lack of creativity and loss of personal connections are just a few of the concerns dominating the dawning of this digital landscape. But, Hicks is focused on how this technology can be used for good in the classroom.
TH: Students have always cheated and our technologies have always been biased and produce misinformation. That is not going to change either, so much like we teach students how to do critical website evaluation or to learn the next iteration of Google Docs, we're now going to have to teach them about artificial intelligence.
SM: During the workshop, some teachers describe the rise of generative AI in the classroom as being the nail in the coffin for educators. But, Hicks says other forms of AI are already part of our everyday lives.
TH: You're using artificial intelligence every time you ask your voice assistant or every time you autocomplete an email. These tools are here and they are only going to become more embedded in word processors and the tools that our students are using. How are we going to do this in a productive way? How are we going to do it in a responsible way?
SM: Every second of the day, the AI industry is rapidly enhancing the way it works. Teachers like Schoenborn say it's imperative for students and teachers to embrace the change.
AS: Working with teenagers specifically, or really anybody, if you're open about it, they know that you already know about it, so it kind of diffuses that ability or necessarily the idea to cheat. I think it's another tool. We like to think how original we are and all of our writing. However, writers use models all the time. We look at something and gain inspiration from it. If you look at any research book, any of Troy's books, any of my books, they're not created in isolation.
SM: Hicks agrees with Schoenborn's conclusions. Hicks says it's also important for teachers to have a plan for students when they're using air programs while working on assignments.
TH: Number one, for teachers, I think you just have to have a clear policy, say it early, say often. Here's what I believe about AI, here's how we're going to use AI, I'm going to model for you ways to use AI that I think are appropriate and useful.
SM: As AI evolves and finds its place in education, Hicks says it's clear that teachers and administrators must strike a balance between embracing new technologies and preserving the human element of education.
TH: I had to read something. I had to watch something. Somebody told me something about this. I've read lots of stories, watching lots of TV shows. My ideas got sparked from something. So then what do you do with it? How do you ask deeper questions? Where do you get more research? Who do you talk to? How can you use these tools to continue your own inquiry and become more curious, more intelligent, more thoughtful about your own understanding of these concepts or your own work as a creative writer?
SM: Michigan educators are in uncharted territory, as a development of AI Technologies is outpacing the response from administrators. Few schools across the state have established formal policy that determine the extent AI programs can be used inside the classroom. But as Hicks says, these technologies are unavoidable, and teachers have to prepare students for the demands of the future. I'm Stephanie Mills. WCMU News.
