As someone who teaches high school juniors and seniors, your student identified everything I have had in mind for the past two years. I think we need to give ourselves a break in that we are not likely to get this "right" -- the balance between AI usage and creative thinking -- for quite some time. Continued experimentation and learning are needed, as well as the sharing of many different ideas and perspectives. Thanks for being a part of this process.
This is brilliant! Bravo to this student for being so thoughtful, and thank you, @Stephen, for putting this out. The described two-hour training would be very worthwhile.
Your student uses ChatGPT exactly the way I use it. For everyday, mundane stuff to higher-level learning. There is just so much potential, and to ban it to keep students from having that ability to use it as a tool to learn with just seems unfortunate.
Yes. Banning it is just not really an option, at least for the kind of things this student talks about. But professors can certainly make rules in their own classes. He confirmed what it's fairly clear to me - there is no going back for college students and every high school graduating class of the future. It's going to need to be dealt with more pro-actively than it seems many teachers / schools are approaching it though there are signs for the coming year this reality is sinking in.
I agree with you, and I think this is going to be a rough year for students, parents, and teachers/professors. There are going to be a tremendous amount of growing pains.
I'm not sure why, but I'm a little more optimistic, at least at the HS level. We'll see how it transpires. I think this is the first real school year everyone may be going in with eyes wide open - but you're right, there will be growing pains. I'll be surprised if there are a lot of schools that simply double down and try to keep it entirely out and continue to take a draconian approach to penalties. But actually using it in classes, or allowing it on assignments will be a challenge. I know it's been for me. Kids don't always use it the way we intend and sometimes it's unclear how we intend they use it! Will be important to monitor and revisit as the year progresses.
I think it's going to really depend on the school district you're in and probably the state that you live in, but it's going to be hard to put a blanket ban on it. Students are incredibly creative and they will figure out ways around it.
And yes you can think you've planned for every contingency and then realize, "Oops." But that's all part of the process at this stage.
I think the more open teachers are with students, it will make it a lot easier for everyone. And there are going to be students who cheat. There are always students who cheat.
I do think you're right - it will vary across every district, every school, and virtually every classroom. Big giant experiment which has already started. Ideally best practices will bubble to the top but may not be applicable everywhere. Small class sizes and teacher autonomy definitely help.
I wholeheartedly agree and perhaps it is exactly what is needed to give education that push forward, out of the dark ages of rote learning, that we've all been discussing for so long.
I see potential for AI to deliver different and more engaging ways for students to blend theory into practice - but have not yet experimented with ChatGPT's study mode yet.
Aside from capability, I also try to consider cost - which translates to availability for my students. My institution has provided access to some AI tools as resources for staff and faculty, but I don't know about students. So, I have been kicking the tires on NoteBookLM because I can control (to some degree) the content the AI uses to develop teaching and learning resources.
I'll have to give ChatGPT a look next - and the other consideration I try to keep top of mind is the potential for technology overwhelm.
This is thoughtful, but I'm struck by the lack of any reference to large language models (LLMs). I asked my sophomores last spring if someone could explain those, and my 14 smart students were stumped. Students are content to be users of this magic technology and disinterested in knowing how the magic works, and thus what its limitations might be.
In defense of Vivek, I asked him to write about how schools should approach AI, not to explain the technology - he could have written an entirely different post on that because he does understand it pretty well. But to your larger point, I agree that many students are not well versed in what LLMs actually are and how that impacts how they are used. That's one reason why I think AI literacy should be required in some fashion regardless of a school's overall stance on the technology.
I too appreciate your students’ perspective on the use and suggested integration of AI in the classroom.
As a college professor it was a little easier for me to ‘leapfrog’ beyond the “students will just use AI to cheat” concern. But admittedly, it’s because my field (Criminal Justice) is significantly more skills based.
That said, there are specific areas that require rote memorization and learning, as well as theory development and analysis. However, at the end of the day nearly every aspect of this field relies on effective application.
IMHO the more we educators can help students link history, theory, and abstract concepts to foundational knowledge and principles, the more effective and prepared our students will be to apply ‘next level’ thinking and learning with AI tools.
I plan to share your students’ perspectives and insights with my own in an effort to encourage them to “want to learn” how ‘else’ they might use AI beyond the classroom.
Thanks for the comment. I'm curious where or if you've seen the potential for AI in your course. It strikes me that areas of "rote memorization and learning, as well as theory development and analysis" are precisely where ChatGPT's new study mode is supposedly useful (I do have some doubts but for reinforcement of concepts, as long as the information is provided to the context memory, it might be something to consider).
We're holding in-class debates next week, and I supplied my high school sophomores with a link to the district-approved MagicSchool Role Play chatbot to help them practice for their debates. One of them suggested and executed the idea of having ChatGPT and Gemini debate each other and evaluating their arguments to help prepare for the in-person debates. A messy process, but many students are recognizing the potential opportunities that AI offers. Teachers need to work to keep up.
As a longtime debate coach, I have made a half dozen or more effective Debate GPT's as well as some prompts that require an LLM to apply criteria to actually evaluate which arguments are stronger. Often, what you may find, is that LLMs will not actually come to a conclusion about which arguments are stronger and frequently equivocate. I notice you're an attorney as well but I'm curious if you've had any experience with HS debate. A Public Forum debater created this tool which is pretty amazing as a practice tool and actually allows kids to debate against the LLM. In any case, I've done a ton of work with debate in the classroom and AI has been a really useful tool for that skill.
Thanks! I served as our school's speech and debate coach during the 2023-2024 academic year, but had to relinquish the role to make time for our Outdoor Academy and swim programs. We have a new speech and debate coach this year, and I'll check to see if she is aware of this tool. Debate appears to be a great way to utilize AI to enhance critical thinking. I had to write subplans for Thursday this past week, so during their prior class, I asked students to jot down their preferred activities to work toward mastery of our standards, and debate was at the top of their lists. And then I used AI to come up with in-class activities that engaged them. Scoring their submissions in Canvas this morning, although getting a little distracted by Substack. :) We will check out this tool in class on Monday. Thank you again!
Great stuff. From an employer perspective, you always want your new employees to bring a toolset and mindset that’s on the innovation frontier. So would push for that, while still developing your mind.
I am curious how colleges and universities are interfacing with employers and how that may or not affect their decision making process around AI. I imagine different types of schools in higher ed will approach the issue according to how they market placing their students in certain careers.
What a gift for this student to share their perspective—definitely love seeing more student voices being centered in this conversation.
My two takeaways from this (that top of mind right now): [1] how overwhelming it must be to work at the college level in trying to navigate all of this, particularly with the precipice of "the workforce" lingering and its norms; and [2] the ubiquity of AI usage is undeniable amongst student populations, especially at that age level, and without question outpaces what many educators use/are comfortable with in their own lives—and that gap is a problem.
Yes. How this impacts 9-12 is also a challenge. I do think the developmental issues are significant, especially the lower in age you get - what 9th graders need is quite different than 12th graders.
As someone who teaches high school juniors and seniors, your student identified everything I have had in mind for the past two years. I think we need to give ourselves a break in that we are not likely to get this "right" -- the balance between AI usage and creative thinking -- for quite some time. Continued experimentation and learning are needed, as well as the sharing of many different ideas and perspectives. Thanks for being a part of this process.
This is brilliant! Bravo to this student for being so thoughtful, and thank you, @Stephen, for putting this out. The described two-hour training would be very worthwhile.
Your student uses ChatGPT exactly the way I use it. For everyday, mundane stuff to higher-level learning. There is just so much potential, and to ban it to keep students from having that ability to use it as a tool to learn with just seems unfortunate.
Yes. Banning it is just not really an option, at least for the kind of things this student talks about. But professors can certainly make rules in their own classes. He confirmed what it's fairly clear to me - there is no going back for college students and every high school graduating class of the future. It's going to need to be dealt with more pro-actively than it seems many teachers / schools are approaching it though there are signs for the coming year this reality is sinking in.
I agree with you, and I think this is going to be a rough year for students, parents, and teachers/professors. There are going to be a tremendous amount of growing pains.
I'm not sure why, but I'm a little more optimistic, at least at the HS level. We'll see how it transpires. I think this is the first real school year everyone may be going in with eyes wide open - but you're right, there will be growing pains. I'll be surprised if there are a lot of schools that simply double down and try to keep it entirely out and continue to take a draconian approach to penalties. But actually using it in classes, or allowing it on assignments will be a challenge. I know it's been for me. Kids don't always use it the way we intend and sometimes it's unclear how we intend they use it! Will be important to monitor and revisit as the year progresses.
I think it's going to really depend on the school district you're in and probably the state that you live in, but it's going to be hard to put a blanket ban on it. Students are incredibly creative and they will figure out ways around it.
And yes you can think you've planned for every contingency and then realize, "Oops." But that's all part of the process at this stage.
I think the more open teachers are with students, it will make it a lot easier for everyone. And there are going to be students who cheat. There are always students who cheat.
I do think you're right - it will vary across every district, every school, and virtually every classroom. Big giant experiment which has already started. Ideally best practices will bubble to the top but may not be applicable everywhere. Small class sizes and teacher autonomy definitely help.
I wholeheartedly agree and perhaps it is exactly what is needed to give education that push forward, out of the dark ages of rote learning, that we've all been discussing for so long.
I see potential for AI to deliver different and more engaging ways for students to blend theory into practice - but have not yet experimented with ChatGPT's study mode yet.
Aside from capability, I also try to consider cost - which translates to availability for my students. My institution has provided access to some AI tools as resources for staff and faculty, but I don't know about students. So, I have been kicking the tires on NoteBookLM because I can control (to some degree) the content the AI uses to develop teaching and learning resources.
I'll have to give ChatGPT a look next - and the other consideration I try to keep top of mind is the potential for technology overwhelm.
~
Eugene
This is thoughtful, but I'm struck by the lack of any reference to large language models (LLMs). I asked my sophomores last spring if someone could explain those, and my 14 smart students were stumped. Students are content to be users of this magic technology and disinterested in knowing how the magic works, and thus what its limitations might be.
In defense of Vivek, I asked him to write about how schools should approach AI, not to explain the technology - he could have written an entirely different post on that because he does understand it pretty well. But to your larger point, I agree that many students are not well versed in what LLMs actually are and how that impacts how they are used. That's one reason why I think AI literacy should be required in some fashion regardless of a school's overall stance on the technology.
I too appreciate your students’ perspective on the use and suggested integration of AI in the classroom.
As a college professor it was a little easier for me to ‘leapfrog’ beyond the “students will just use AI to cheat” concern. But admittedly, it’s because my field (Criminal Justice) is significantly more skills based.
That said, there are specific areas that require rote memorization and learning, as well as theory development and analysis. However, at the end of the day nearly every aspect of this field relies on effective application.
IMHO the more we educators can help students link history, theory, and abstract concepts to foundational knowledge and principles, the more effective and prepared our students will be to apply ‘next level’ thinking and learning with AI tools.
I plan to share your students’ perspectives and insights with my own in an effort to encourage them to “want to learn” how ‘else’ they might use AI beyond the classroom.
Thanks for sparking our interest and imagination!
Thanks for the comment. I'm curious where or if you've seen the potential for AI in your course. It strikes me that areas of "rote memorization and learning, as well as theory development and analysis" are precisely where ChatGPT's new study mode is supposedly useful (I do have some doubts but for reinforcement of concepts, as long as the information is provided to the context memory, it might be something to consider).
We're holding in-class debates next week, and I supplied my high school sophomores with a link to the district-approved MagicSchool Role Play chatbot to help them practice for their debates. One of them suggested and executed the idea of having ChatGPT and Gemini debate each other and evaluating their arguments to help prepare for the in-person debates. A messy process, but many students are recognizing the potential opportunities that AI offers. Teachers need to work to keep up.
As a longtime debate coach, I have made a half dozen or more effective Debate GPT's as well as some prompts that require an LLM to apply criteria to actually evaluate which arguments are stronger. Often, what you may find, is that LLMs will not actually come to a conclusion about which arguments are stronger and frequently equivocate. I notice you're an attorney as well but I'm curious if you've had any experience with HS debate. A Public Forum debater created this tool which is pretty amazing as a practice tool and actually allows kids to debate against the LLM. In any case, I've done a ton of work with debate in the classroom and AI has been a really useful tool for that skill.
https://publicforumai.com/
Thanks! I served as our school's speech and debate coach during the 2023-2024 academic year, but had to relinquish the role to make time for our Outdoor Academy and swim programs. We have a new speech and debate coach this year, and I'll check to see if she is aware of this tool. Debate appears to be a great way to utilize AI to enhance critical thinking. I had to write subplans for Thursday this past week, so during their prior class, I asked students to jot down their preferred activities to work toward mastery of our standards, and debate was at the top of their lists. And then I used AI to come up with in-class activities that engaged them. Scoring their submissions in Canvas this morning, although getting a little distracted by Substack. :) We will check out this tool in class on Monday. Thank you again!
Great stuff. From an employer perspective, you always want your new employees to bring a toolset and mindset that’s on the innovation frontier. So would push for that, while still developing your mind.
I am curious how colleges and universities are interfacing with employers and how that may or not affect their decision making process around AI. I imagine different types of schools in higher ed will approach the issue according to how they market placing their students in certain careers.
AI is part of our lives now. Embrace it; own it.🍻
What a gift for this student to share their perspective—definitely love seeing more student voices being centered in this conversation.
My two takeaways from this (that top of mind right now): [1] how overwhelming it must be to work at the college level in trying to navigate all of this, particularly with the precipice of "the workforce" lingering and its norms; and [2] the ubiquity of AI usage is undeniable amongst student populations, especially at that age level, and without question outpaces what many educators use/are comfortable with in their own lives—and that gap is a problem.
Yes. How this impacts 9-12 is also a challenge. I do think the developmental issues are significant, especially the lower in age you get - what 9th graders need is quite different than 12th graders.