What do students need to know about ChatGPT?

8th February 2023 by Anita Naik

ChatGPT is a powerful artificial intelligence that provides quick answers to the user's questions. Well-documented articles show it being used to write student essays to a high standard, leaving teachers worried about how it will transform education.

Mike Sharples, Emeritus Professor of Educational Technology at The Open University, used GPT-3, a large language model from OpenAI, to write a student essay on "learning styles". The result was he felt a graduate-level paper.

So is this the start of students getting AI to write their essays or a tool that will enhance education? It's difficult to say, but what's certain is that ChatGPT is a powerful tool that will have educational implications. Not only can it help students by guiding them through educational material, but it can also add additional resources and information to help enhance learning. However, it cannot replace a personalised human approach that considers the student's abilities and needs and their work.

How can AI help students?

AI can help students in various ways, but writing essays is the one area that you shouldn't rely on. Firstly, asking AI to write your essays undermines the process of learning. Researching, applying critical thinking, and formulating your own arguments based on your research is the cornerstone of education.

Instead of using ChatGPT to write essays, it's better to use it to improve your research and writing skills. However, be aware that ChatGPT can give students wrong answers or answers that are ambiguous or from sources that are not credible. This can lead to the wrong interpretation, so always do your research carefully, ensuring that you are in control of the information you are reading and the analysis of it.

How can ChatGPT help you?

1. It can answer questions and provide quick responses to various subjects. This is ideal for students doing homework, researching a project or trying to find more information on a topic.

2. ChatGPT can summarise articles and books for you, helping you find out more and determine if a text or article is valuable for your work.

3. It can help you with revision, generating revision material for you with flashcards, quizzes and tests and feedback to help you study.

4. No matter what level you are at, SATs, GCSEs, A-level or undergraduate, ChatGPT can offer further reading, specialist articles, and resources that meet your needs.

5. It can help you find study strategies tailored to the needs you tell it. For instance, if you need help with memorisation, it will give you tips on using connections and visualisations and practising spaced repetition.

The key with ChatGPT is first to ask the right questions and keep asking to drill down to the answer you want and need. Secondly, double-check everything you are told, especially if it doesn't ring true. Finally, and more importantly, see ChatGPT as a supplementary tool, not a replacement for working with a teacher or tutor or using traditional educational resources.