We need to chat about ChatGPT

SANDRA GRENNAN PRINCIPAL OF SCOIL BHRÍDE, CLARA, CO. OFFALY

Artificial intelligence (AI) has exploded on the Internet in recent times. As educators, we tend to lag behind on the digital front and are often slow to catch up. Just before Christmas, I overheard a conversation between my three teenagers discussing the various uses of AI, in particular a site named ChatGPT but I simply deemed it to be ‘the latest fad’ in the digital world and left it on the shelf alongside BeReal, Insta Reels and Discord.

During the Easter break, I delved deeper into the AI world as its popularity has grown substantially. A discussion on the radio regarding the Leaving Cert reform, and the fact that it may need to be revisited in light of AI, made me sit up and listen. The educational world is grappling to come to terms with continuous assessment in light of the capabilities of students to produce highly academic and accurate work, through the simple click of a button.

As a first-year principal, I have tumbled from policy to planning, supervision to staffing, finances to fire drills and much more. Having spent an enormous amount of time on paperwork and managing the organisation in my first year, I feel my true role as a leader, which involves connecting with people, caring, teaching, and learning, has unfortunately taken a back seat.

Armed with an oversized mug of tea and a sneaky Easter egg, I sat on the couch and entered the world of ChatGPT. I didn’t stay long. I didn’t have to. Before I had time to finish my cup of tea, ChatGPT had written the following: a School Improvement Plan with a focus on spelling a lesson plan for 2nd class to teach

2D shapes a three-year Digital Learning Plan a Student Support File to support a pupil in the area of dyslexia a DEIS plan to promote attendance and retention an end-of-year farewell speech to the 6th class pupils leaving in June.

Was I happy with the results? Yes. Was it specific to our school or pupils? No. Would I use it again? Absolutely! The layout was excellent, and the ideas generated were very much in line with what we had come up with ourselves (and a few we hadn’t thought of!). Once you edit the document to suit your school context, it is invaluable. Time may then be spent more wisely on gathering evidence, implementing actions, and monitoring and evaluating the effect of the plan on the pupils.

Some Do’s and Don’ts of ChatGPT: As an AI language model, there are some general guidelines to follow when interacting with ChatGPT:

Do’s:

1. Be clear and concise in your questions or prompts

2. Respect ChatGPT’s capabilities and limitations

3. Provide context whenever possible to help ChatGPT understand your question better

4 Experiment with different ways of phrasing your questions if you’re not getting the desired response.

Don’ts:

1. Don’t expect ChatGPT to be perfect or have all the answers

2. Don’t use ChatGPT as a substitute for professional advice or assistance

3. Don’t tell the inspector.

Remember that ChatGPT is a machine learning model and not a human, so its responses may not always be perfect or completely accurate. However, it can be a useful tool for obtaining information and generating ideas.

I feel I have been given the gift of time with this resource. In my 28 years of teaching, I have embraced all types of continuous professional learning and postgraduate courses. I have acquired the relevant skills to write the documents that may now be generated by AI. However, how would my younger self have been affected? Had AI been available at that time, would my skills have developed in the same manner? Will this help or hinder the NQT in the first few years of their professional journey? This resource takes the skill and thinking out of academic writing, educational planning and personal preparation for teaching and learning. It’s a welcome resource at this stage of my journey but one that may, in fact, have hindered my development in the early years of my career.

So, where do we go from here? While ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionise the way we learn, it is important to consider the potential benefits and drawbacks of its use in education. While it can provide personalised learning experiences and be a cost-effective solution, it lacks the human interaction and contextual understanding that are essential to effective learning. Therefore, it is essential to balance the use of ChatGPT with human support and interaction to ensure a well-rounded learning experience.

I would like to thank AI for checking my work for this article and creating some of the material in this article also. Can you tell the difference? AI is here to stay so we must embrace it whilst teaching our pupils how to use it effectively without impairing their own development, potential and learning.

If you would like to contact Sandra about this article, you can email her at sandra.grennan@sbclara.ie.