Weighing the Pros and Cons of Chat GPT in the Classroom
In the age of technology, innovations are introduced to students on a near-daily basis. While new technological advancements have improved the educational system, they have also caused reasonable concerns over their negative impacts on growing minds.
Enter Chat GPT, the most infamous software of our generation.
Chat GPT is a free Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot that synthesizes text from the internet to generate output based on users’ input. A user asks Chat GPT a question or enters a prompt and Chat GPT produces a completely original answer.
After its introduction in 2022, students across the globe quickly discovered the most efficient method to completing assignments: paste their homework into Chat GPT and have the chatbot complete it for them – or, better put, blatant cheating.
From the back of the classroom, I can see it all. My teacher at the front of the room, enthusiastically clicking through slides while my peers copy and paste questions from the guided notes into Chat GPT and sit back as they watch the answers develop before their eyes.
But it’s not all foul play – I look around and see other peers asking Chat GPT to explain a concept further or define an unfamiliar term. Maybe this AI software isn’t purely harmful. Maybe it’s also a useful tool for young minds to integrate into their learning processes.
Still, the unethical use of Chat GPT threatens students’ learning and academic merit.
“Every assignment created by a teacher has a purpose and is scaffolded in alignment with what the student should know, should learn and will learn; the student may not understand this. Using AI obviates the difficulty and effort required to learn,” said Miramonte AP English Language and Composition teacher Linda Hora.
When students use Chat GPT to complete work for them, they not only cheat on the assignment itself, but also cheat themselves out of the knowledge they would have gained completing it honestly — and their grades reflect this when it comes to tests, as they have not properly learned the material.
Students using Chat GPT as an express lane give the software a bad reputation, and rightfully so; the reality is only a small percentage of students are using Chat GPT in an ethical manner. According to a 2023 Stanford University study, 60-70% of students admitted to using Chat GPT to cheat.
However, when used correctly, Chat GPT can become an innovative tool to help students learn and generate ideas, all in an academically honest fashion.
“Chat GPT can be very helpful in other applications [besides cheating], for example, explaining complicated concepts and problems, helping you structure your writing or coming up with ideas,” said Miramonte senior Mika Strickler.
For example, I made the grave mistake of enrolling in an extremely rigorous AP science course this year, knowing full well I am anything but a STEM student. Even after countless academy periods and YouTube videos, I still didn’t understand how to properly apply concepts to problems. Tutoring sessions helped, but were not accessible every time I needed help.
As a last resort, I turned to my brother who’d taken the course ages ago, and he told me to “just ask Chat GPT.” I’d never thought of using Chat GPT this way before – to teach rather than to cheat.
Chat GPT ended up making a grade-determining difference for me. It didn’t only tell me the answer, but the proper steps and explanation on how to get there. When I told it to “walk me through it,” Chat GPT went into even more depth about each step, explaining the exact principles to apply and why they were relevant. With the help of AI, I nailed each concept and saved my grade.
Chat GPT has its fair share of advantages and hindrances, but one aspect will always be prevalent: it has already deeply rooted itself into the educational system. The chatbot has made a large change that will permanently affect learning. Whether that is a positive or negative change, however, is up to how we decide to utilize the tool.
