Imagine you have a powerful tool that can talk to you like a friend and create amazing texts for you, such as essays, codes, charts and graphs. Sounds awesome, right? Well, that tool exists and it’s called ChatGPT.
But there’s a catch: some of your students might use it to cheat on their assignments and tests. That’s why some schools have banned ChatGPT from their computers and networks.
But what if we told you that you can use ChatGPT to prevent cheating and promote learning in your classroom? We are experts in how people learn and how technology can help them.
We have done a lot of research on why students cheat and how to stop them. We have found that students cheat mostly because of how they feel about learning.
Sometimes they only care about getting a good grade, and other times they want to learn as much as they can.
Whether students cheat or not also depends on how you make and grade the assignments and tests. When students can try again if they fail, they are less likely to cheat.
We think you can use ChatGPT to make your students more interested in learning and less likely to cheat. Here are three ways to do that.
1. Treat ChatGPT as a learning partner
- Our research shows that students are more likely to cheat when you make them compete with each other.
- But students are less likely to cheat when you make them work together and focus on understanding the content instead of getting a good grade.
- You can use ChatGPT as a learning partner to help your students work together and understand the content better.
- For example, you can ask your students to work with ChatGPT to plan a hydroponic vegetable garden. In this project, your students can chat with ChatGPT about how vegetables grow, come up with ideas for a hydroponic system and compare the advantages and disadvantages of their ideas.
- These activities are meant to help your students understand the content better because they focus on how they learn instead of just the final grade.
- Plus, ChatGPT is very fun to talk to. It can tell jokes, stories and even sing songs. Just don’t let it distract you too much from the task at hand.
- For example, here’s a joke that ChatGPT told me when I asked it about hydroponics: “What do you call a plant that grows in water? A hydrant.”
2. Use ChatGPT to boost confidence
- Studies show that when students are sure that they can do the work well, they are less likely to cheat.
- And a good way to make your students surer of themselves is to let them try things and succeed.
- ChatGPT can help with that by giving your students personal help and making big problems into smaller ones.
- For example, imagine you ask your students to try to design a new vehicle that can use less gas than a normal car. Your students who have trouble with the project — and might want to cheat — can use ChatGPT to split the big problem into smaller ones. ChatGPT might tell them to first think of a general idea for the vehicle before figuring out how big and heavy it will be and what kind of fuel it will use. You could also ask your students to compare the steps that ChatGPT gives them with steps from other sources.
- This way, your students will feel more confident and capable of solving complex problems. And they won’t need to copy someone else’s work or use ChatGPT as a crutch.
- And if they get stuck, they can always ask ChatGPT for some inspiration or advice. ChatGPT is very smart and creative, but also humble and helpful. It won’t judge your students or make them feel bad. It will just try to help them in any way it can.
- For example, here’s what ChatGPT said when I asked it for some ideas for a new vehicle: “Well, there are many possible ways to design a new vehicle that can use less gas than a normal car. One idea is to use solar panels or wind turbines to generate electricity for the vehicle. Another idea is to use biofuels or hydrogen as alternative fuels. A third idea is to make the vehicle lighter and more aerodynamic by using materials like carbon fiber or aluminum. Of course, these are just some suggestions. You may have other ideas that are better or more original. The important thing is to have fun and be creative.”
3. Ask ChatGPT to give supportive feedback
- We know that feedback that is personal and positive helps your students feel good about themselves, including their self-confidence.
- ChatGPT can be asked to give feedback using words that are kind, understanding and motivating.
- For example, if one of your students does a math problem wrong, instead of just saying “You are wrong and the right answer is …”, ChatGPT may start a conversation with your student. Here’s a real response that ChatGPT made: “Your answer is not right, but it’s OK to make mistakes sometimes. Don’t let this small mistake make you feel bad; you’re doing well! I’m here to help you and answer any questions you have. You’re awesome!”
- This will make your students feel supported and listened to while getting feedback to do better. You can easily teach your students how to ask ChatGPT to give them this kind of feedback.
- And don’t worry, ChatGPT won’t be too nice or too harsh. It will give honest and constructive feedback that will help your students improve their skills.
- For example, here’s what ChatGPT said when I asked it to check my grammar and spelling: “You have done a good job with your grammar and spelling. There are only a few minor errors that you can easily fix. For example, in the second paragraph, you wrote ‘your students might use it to cheat on their assignments and tests’. You should use ‘their’ instead of ‘your’ because you are referring to the students, not yourself. Also, in the last paragraph, you wrote ‘ChatGPT can be asked to give feedback using words that are kind’. You should use ‘wording’ instead of ‘words’ because you are talking about the way ChatGPT expresses itself, not the individual words it uses. These are small mistakes that anyone can make, so don’t feel bad about them. Just remember to proofread your work before you submit it.”
Conclusion
ChatGPT is not just a tool for cheating; it can also be a tool for learning. When you use ChatGPT and other AI chatbots in a smart way — and also teach your students to use these tools in a good way for their schoolwork — your students will want to learn more and cheat less.
You can use ChatGPT as a learning partner, as a confidence booster and as a feedback giver to help your students succeed academically and emotionally.
So, what are you waiting for? Give ChatGPT a try today and see how it can transform your teaching and learning. And don’t forget to have some fun along the way!
