Chat GPT -Homework now pointless?

[mids2019]

My daughter was given an essay to write on reincarnation as part of religious studies homework.

All the class basically used AI write the homework leading to presumably a teacher spending hours marking the results of an algorithm. Is this a good use t of time? Can teachers identify the use of AI? Do we need a new model of teching/in term examination that will be meaningful going forward in this new AI world?

I imagine it’s pretty obvious if they’ve used chatgpt? The teacher will call them out on that.

I know in my line of work it’s pretty clear if they’ve used ChatGPT.

There was something on the bbc a couple of weeks ago about the issue

'Most of our friends use AI in schoolwork' www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67236732

Was quite interesting.

@RubySunset82 .

Good point but is that obvious? ChatGPT can put together some pretty coherent answers to questions like 'describe the battle of Agincourt'. OK SO don't perfect but some of the kids are editing the AI output and it looks quite reasonable especially when you have a teacher marking multiple bits of work. I don't think it is that easy to call out to be honest without proof of use.

I would have thought that the point of homework is to practise the skill. So if you don’t practise writing essays, you won’t get better at them. Good luck to the AI users in their exams!
Teachers will know, as they know what the student is usually capable of during a lesson.

The kids are only fucking things up for themselves though. When they get to their exams, they won’t have have done as much essay writing. I know teachers at my child’s school have picked up on writing being a different style to the child’s usual stuff. My other child’s Uni are shit hot on it and students have been removed from the course. Dickheads.

Nobody marks DC's homework and it's the same in a lot of schools so I can see why they don't want to put the effort in

I suspect it will move towards all essays being submitted electronically so they can be run through plagiarism and AI checkers. No more handwritten homework.

At my work (uni) we are leaning into it and setting assignments where they are asked to use it.

The education system is adapting to the use of AI and it will likely become a useful support tool and not the be all and end all.

When I was at school we had to look up everything in reference books - nowadays it's not considered "cheating" that you just use Google to reference multiple sources very quickly.

Teachers will become more aware of where DC are simply resorting to ChatGPT. Homework topics such as "find out about x subject" will be linked to "to support a class discussion the next day". Or topics will involve more than just fact finding - they will have to discuss various points of view, for example, or be exepected to voice an opinion and justify it. This sort of homework is already common place.

using "just" ChatGPT is akin to just taking your infomation from Wikipedia - which would also be frowned upon. Yes, some children will still do it - but they won't be the ones making most progress academically.

It's getting harder and harder to spot imo (I teach EFL in France) so I don't bother marking stuff done at home anymore (meaning I lose more lesson time as my pupils have more tests in class).

It will become much like the calculator is to maths.

It will just mean a general dumbing down because people won't be able to write things themselves, much like people can't do simple sums without a calculator

Honestly, I had an A Level student hand in something that was obviously ChatGPT just this week - I'm giving feedback today and we will have to have this conversation. The first give away was that it was typed when I ask for handwritten unless a word processor is used in exams. Strange, repetitive vocabulary that the student wouldn't use, niche knowledge that we haven't learnt in class applied in an odd way, and never engages with the conversation in the way an exam-style response requires. Bonus points for if the same niche knowledge and weird vocabulary pops up in any other student's work.

If the student swears it is not Chat then I won't pursue it strongly, but only they will then know that they have wasted an opportunity. This is also why more timed written work is done in class, reducing the time for learning the material and revision. They don't do it out of badness, usually an anxiety to get something 100% right 100% of the time.

My son used chat GP to complete his A Level History coursework. The school reported it , the exam board checked it and he was disqualified from the whole A level.

My eldest seems to do all assessments in class which gets around the AI issue but takes up a lot of time.

Since starting y7 this year not 1 piece of homework with a mark or even a comment!

And most has felt like busywork.

They will have to bring back exams fully and stop allowing coursework to determine your results.

@youngones1 they've already done that. Except for subjects that need physical pieces (ie art) coursework doesn't exist anymore.

I am a university lecturer teaching undergraduate and post graduate students. This is a really big problem. No, you can't tell whether it's human or AI and there is no programme to detect it. The only reason it's obvious is because the essays don't match the lectures and certainly don't match the students' normal contributions.

However, there is very little we can do. Plagiarism is detected by turnitin, which has been around for years and works really accurately and gives us the evidence we need to penalise students. However, there is very little we can do about chatGPT. It is incredibly frustrating, even upsetting. It makes you distrust all submitted work and I imagine the students are far less interested in the lectures or seminars because they don't think they have to fully engage with it.

Our solution is to return to exams and other modes of assessment like presentations. However, this means that students are not getting the experience they need in academic writing and this will have a knock on effect with PhD students who will be lacking in research and writing skills they need to do research and write a thesis/publish generally.

They might be able to get away with it but after a certain point, not knowing things because they never did the homework is going to have an effect on them alone. It may mean they don't get the grades for the next step and are stuck in a situation where it was all avoidable had they not relied on AI.

You can ask it to write you something "in the style of" for example 'write me a paragraph on the Roman Empire in the style of Robert dinero' it's scarily clever!

I’m currently studying a university module where we’re allowed to use it but it needs to be referenced appropriately. I haven’t actually used it as it tends to get everything wrong (maths-heavy subject)!

It's very obvious when something has been written by AI. The stuff it produces also isn't great. It could write you a C grade essay which you could then amend a bit to make it less obviously AI but why bother?

However this will definitely be an issue when the AI gets better- schools will have to rethink the sort of thing they set for homework and do more learning at home and essay writing in the classroom.

Ok so chatGPT answer in a few paragraphs on Juliet from R and J. I thought it made some sense and an essay can written in the style of a 10 year old say. AI is going to improve exponentially so I think it is a good time to start the conversation in schools and possibly have the D of E take a lead

Juliet, in William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," is a complex and multifaceted character, embodying both the innocence of youth and the passion of true love. At the start of the play, Juliet is portrayed as a dutiful daughter, obedient to her parents' wishes. However, as the narrative unfolds, her character undergoes a profound transformation.

Juliet's defining characteristic is her intense and impulsive nature. Her love for Romeo is instantaneous and all-consuming, defying the longstanding feud between their families. This fervent commitment is evident in her famous line, "My only love sprung from my only hate!" Her willingness to risk everything for love underscores the play's central theme of the power of love in the face of adversity.

Despite her youth, Juliet displays remarkable maturity in navigating the complexities of her predicament. She is not merely a passive figure swept away by fate; rather, she takes decisive actions to shape her own destiny. Her decision to take a potion to feign death, although risky, reflects her courage and resourcefulness.

Juliet's tragic end is a poignant reminder of the destructive consequences of the feuding Montague and Capulet families. Her character is a timeless symbol of the potency of young love and the high stakes that can accompany it. Through Juliet, Shakespeare explores the profound impact of societal expectations and familial discord on the individual, making her a memorable and enduring figure in the realm of tragic literature.

Teachers will become more aware of where DC are simply resorting to ChatGPT. Homework topics such as "find out about x subject" will be linked to "to support a class discussion the next day". Or topics will involve more than just fact finding - they will have to discuss various points of view, for example, or be exepected to voice an opinion and justify it. This sort of homework is already common place.

AI can already produce answers to complete all those tasks. In some ways it’s a good thing, because homework is going to have to become more creative if they’re still going to have it, and should become more
meaningful than the usual ‘write about…’ that lots of homework consists of now.