Teachers have a lot on their plates, so if a tool appears that can save them time, they will find a way to use it. We have seen this with email, the Internet, learning management systems, and much more. Teachers have used these to network, share, and curate great teaching and learning ideas. ChatGPT is no exception, and the list below outlines a few of the uses that teachers have already discovered for ChatGPT:
While there is no substitute for your own creativity and invention when creating lessons, ChatGPT can save you lots of time by jump-starting those ideas. You can ask the app to create a lesson about nearly anything for any audience, and it will give you a nice bulleted list of options. These plans are usually not fully formed, but they often contain really good ideas that you can build upon. Asking quality follow-up questions can help you use ChatGPT to refine those ideas even further.
Because ChatGPT is good at synthesizing ideas and writing about them, you can use the app to generate examples for use in class. For instance, you could generate a series of examples written at different grade-level proficiencies. You might ask it to write an essay about summer vacation written with the skill level of a seventh-grader. Then you could do the same for a high school student, an elementary student, and an adult. These could be used to have students compare and contrast the writing samples by content, style, and word choice.
Provide ChatGPT with a list of vocabulary words, and then ask it to write a story using those words in any order. To make it age appropriate, indicate the age or grade level of the intended audience. You can even ask ChatGPT to generate comprehension questions to accompany the story.
Have ChatGPT generate content on a topic related to class standards, and then have students fact-check it. To do this, they will need to conduct their own research and verify that the content in ChatGPT is accurate. They can provide citations for the content and evidence they find. This will not only prompt them to think critically, but it will also help them develop good thinking habits for when they use ChatGPT and other AI programs on their own.
Ask the app to help generate prompts for specific topics.
ChatGPT is good at curating this type of information, and it can save you lots of time. For instance, if you want to give your students tips on staying organized in email or Google Drive, you can ask the app for these tips and share them with your students.
While you will need to fine-tune these, ChatGPT can give you a great head start on building rubrics.
You can enter student writing and ask for an analysis as well as suggestions. You will still need to engage in the assignment, but it can be a quick way to gain insights into the work.
If you’re stuck in a rut and looking for new ideas, consider asking ChatGPT for ideas. For instance, you could ask for strategies to facilitate collaboration in a second grade classroom, or you might ask for ways to authentically apply a certain geometry concept. The list of ideas that you get back can get you thinking in new ways and generate fresh approaches in your classroom.
Extend Your Learning
- Teaching History/Social Studies in the Era of AI Writing Tools (Torrey Trust and Robert W. Maloy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst)
- How Teachers Can Harness ChatGPT for Good (Chalkbeat)
- Video: 7 Ways Teachers Can Harness the Power of AI for Learning (A.J. Juliani)