Wisconsin high school teachers working to outsmart A.I. – KWTX
MADISON, WI (WISC) – If you tell it to “write an essay on how the moon was formed and make it sound like a high school sophomore wrote it”, it will do exactly that in a matter of seconds.
Teachers at Waunakee High School have already seen A.I. in assignments.
“I saw it in poems, in stories, and I thought ‘Oh, I know that human and that’s not their human thoughts’”, says writing teacher Jen Compan.
Waunakee schools has new rules for A.I., which prohibits students from using ChatGPT and similar programs on assignments, unless they have the teacher’s permission, and they cite the work. Unauthorized use will be treated as cheating.
A new survey of U.S. teachers shows half of those surveyed are resorting to handwritten assignments only, while two-thirds say they’re currently or planning on making changes to assignments to make it tougher for students to use ChatGPT. Some of those changes include; writing assignments by hand, requiring presentations along with written assignments, and submitting assignments in stages to track progress.
Diane Gayeski a professor at Ithica College helped compile the data.
“I actually require my student to use ChatGPT and a number of other A.I. tools, because they’re productivity tools that will be used in their future,” Gayeski says.
Compan says A.I. work is easy to spot. “I noticed that the poem was perfectly metered and pleasant but lacked the depth that a human can offer,” she says. and to be perfectly honest. It was grammatically perfect and even with Juniors and Seniors that’s not something I often see,” Compan adds.
Many teachers have changed their thinking on the use of A.I. in the classroom, shifting from fighting it to embracing it.
“I think generative A.I. is a new landscape change,” says Waunakee writing teacher Walter Stenz.
“I think it’s going to take time it’s going to take rethinking to adapt to a tool where they have this at their fingertips,” he says.
“It’s really going to require us to think about what students know and can do” focused more on skills, how they’re thinking, processes, problem-solving, relevant real-life scenarios as assessments, rather that assessing something ChatGPT can give you,” says middle school teacher Jessica North.
Students admit their peers are using A.I. to cut corners on assignments. Waunakee students do want to see a compromise for how students can use the technology.
“I struggle with getting a story started and where to begin. So, I’ll use it and ask (it to) write an intro or a prompt to go off of,” says Waunakee Junior Xavier Gousman.
Other students see it as another way to check their work.
“If you put your essay in and have it check for grammar and flow, that would be a really good usage of this A.I.,” says Senior Blake Beam.
“If I need to start something, I’ll ask it ‘how do I start this essay?’ and sometimes it’s a great start or it’s a little too formal,” says Junior Justin Bell.
We asked ChatGPT how it will impact education. It told us, “ChatGPT has the potential to enhance K-12 education by providing personalized assistance, answering questions, and supporting learning through conversational interactions with students and teachers.
The bottom line is that for now, yes students can use A.I. to cheat, but teachers are catching on quickly and coming up with solutions to embrace A.I. technology.
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