Responses to ChatGPT

This week I would like to follow up on a blog shared a couple of weeks ago on the relatively new topic of ChatGPT (Generative Pre-training Transformer). This is a very frequent topic of teaching and learning these days. Chances are all of you have heard about this program and perhaps have tried it out (I did using my own name, which resulted in about 20% accuracy). I would like to share a resource from Montclair State University on “Practical Responses to ChatGPT (2023).”

The page begins by quoting a NY Times article, “ChatGPT feels different. Smarter. Weirder. More flexible. It can write jokes, working computer code and college-level essays. It can also guess at medical diagnoses and explain scientific concepts at multiple levels of difficulty [The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT (Roose, 2022)].”

Practical Suggestions to Mitigate Non-Learning/Cheating

Course Design and Pedagogy:
1. Talk to students about your expectations for academic honesty.
2. Provide incentives for the behaviors that are associated with strong learning.
3. Run your assignment through ChatGPT.
Assignment Design
1. Reference class materials that are not available on the internet.
2. Include visuals that students need to respond to — in your assignment.
3. Reference or connect to current events.
4. Ask for application between personal experience and course concepts.
5. Replace a writing assignment with one that requires students to submit an audio file, podcast, video, speech, drawing, diagram, or multimedia project.
6. Chunk your assignments with due dates for individual elements that precede the final submission: an outline, notes on research articles, drafts.