Top_Net_123 t1_j0kg7v0 wrote on December 17, 2022 at 9:04 AM

Reply to comment by FartOfGenius in What Plato Would Say About ChatGPT: Zeynep Tufekci argues that A.I. can be a learning tool for schools with enough teachers and resources to use it well. (The New York Times) by darrenjyc

Yeah, obviously it needs to be included in lessons. However, in exams it’d become problematic. I asked the AI about panopticon structures in Focault’s theories and it spat out a perfectly fine definition.

FartOfGenius t1_j0kggm8 wrote on December 17, 2022 at 9:08 AM

Aren't exams usually held in person? And for things like term papers can the AI really structure everything perfectly to have thesis statements, arguments and evidence laid out and cited properly?

Top_Net_123 t1_j0kgp7x wrote on December 17, 2022 at 9:11 AM

Yes, in person. But people are using the toilets and sometimes plant cellphones there. Difficult to spot this. I work as a teacher btw..:)

FartOfGenius t1_j0kjw5l wrote on December 17, 2022 at 9:57 AM

This reminds me of chess cheating… I think it would be more reliable for the cheater to just Google answers than to use GPT in that case tho

skytram22 t1_j0mcyd4 wrote on December 17, 2022 at 7:33 PM

I recently taught a few upper-level sociology courses, and I used essays to try to get students to engage in critical thinking (e.g., analyzing and applying theories). It took an inordinate amount of time and energy grade these compared to a more traditional exam, but I felt it was worth it.

With this, though... I'm concerned that a decently motivated student could take ChatGPT output, modify it in places where they feel comfortable in doing so, and bypass gaining the writing and analytical skills that I try to teach. I would love to incorporate this into an assignment, and I've got a few ideas how, but I'm still worried about how educators will assess the "higher" forms of cognition.

Top_Net_123 t1_j0mdbxc wrote on December 17, 2022 at 7:35 PM

Well you can always do oral exams or grade the contribution in class?

skytram22 t1_j0mox20 wrote on December 17, 2022 at 8:57 PM

I have tried grading in-class contribution/participation, but nothing I did motivated students to participate in a class of 50+ students. I just had 60% of students with zeroes, which my department did not accept, so they told me to change my grading policy mid-semester. I also had a few students come to office hours in tears because they felt too anxious to speak up in class. I do think that taking contribution into account for grading is great for seminar classes; as a grad student, though, I'm only given lecture-heavy courses. I design my own syllabi, but when I proposed a participation-based Intro to Sociology class, the professors just laughed and said no.

I have wondered about oral exams. I nearly flunked the one I had as an undergrad—I could not handle the pressure of my professor staring me down like that—but it does feel more straightforward. I will have to give that one some thought.