3 Ways Chat GPT Can Make Your Teaching Job Easier
AI has the potential to take some of the most time consuming and laborious aspects of teaching and make them quick and easy.
“Listen to this headline,” I told my husband. “Chat GPT could replace telemarketers, teachers, and traders.” (source)
“Chat GPT can’t replace teachers,” my twelve-year-old daughter quipped, “Unless we want everyone to be idiots.”
I hope Katherine is right, that:
Chat GPT CAN’T replace teachers, and
We DON’T want everyone to be idiots.
Unfortunately, I’m afraid the jury is still out on both counts!
So, Chat GPT is here and it’s going to impact our classrooms. If we keep teaching in the same way, kids will use it to sidestep learning (see this blog post). I’ve been thinking a lot about how to keep kids from cheating using Chat GPT, and you can read about it here.
So how can we turn this into a positive? In fact, there are a lot of ways Chat GPT can make a world language teacher’s job easier.
1. Use AI to generate student ‘Can Do’ statements.
Chat GPT is well-acquainted with ACTFL proficiency guidelines, and this can save teachers a lot of time. Here’s a list of Can Do statements I painstakingly wrote on my own, as well as a list Chat GPT created. Can you guess which are mine and which are generated by AI?
Can Do Statements - List A
Interpretive:
I can record another student’s class schedule as they describe it.
I can understand the classes, days, and times on a school schedule.
Interpersonal:
I can ask other students what classes they have and how they feel about them.
I can ask to borrow or use a school supply
I can ask for information about a club or activity, including what time it meets and what supplies I need
I can ask and answer questions about what time it is.
Presentational:
I can describe my school schedule including my classes, days, and times
I can tell how I feel about my classes and give a few reasons why
I can tell which extracurricular activities or clubs I participate in and what I do in them.
Cultural:
I can list a few features of schools in my culture and in other cultures
I can compare factors that influence schooling in my culture and in other cultures
Can Do Statements - List B
Interpretive: I can understand the main ideas and some details in simple written texts about school, such as class schedules, school events, and basic school rules.
Interpersonal: I can have basic conversations with classmates or teachers about school topics, exchanging information about our favorite subjects, school activities, and discussing simple plans.
Presentational: I can create and present short written descriptions of my school routine, likes and dislikes about different subjects, and my experiences in school activities.
Cultural: I can identify and compare some cultural aspects of schools in the target culture, such as school uniforms, typical school meals, and the significance of certain school traditions.
OK, which is which?
Answer: I wrote List A. Chat GPT generated List B. What do you think?
“Chat GPT can’t replace teachers... unless we want everyone to be idiots!”
My statements are more specific, while Chat GPT’s are broader. On the other hand, it probably took me an hour (between drafting and tweaking) to create my complete list of statements for this unit. It took Chat GPT a few seconds. And, with my carefully honed expertise, I could certainly take Chat GPT’s draft and improve on it. Also, Chat GPT included a couple of details I hadn’t thought of, such as typical school meals and school uniforms.
In other words, Chat GPT can’t replace my human intelligence and years of experience. (At least… not yet!) what it CAN do is give me a solid first draft to improve upon. This frees up a lot of time for me.
2. Use AI to generate rubrics
Once I’ve got my Can Do statements (or other goal for students) Chat GPT can create a first draft of a rubric. For example:
My Prompt: Write a rubric for this prompt: I can describe my school schedule including my classes, days, and times
Chat GPT’s Answer: A detailed rubric with 36 bullet points, including areas of Content & Vocabulary, Grammar & Sentence Structure, Communication, Organization, and Overall Proficiency.
Here’s a few of Chat GPT’s rubric points:
Describes classes, days, and times with accuracy, including relevant details and appropriate vocabulary.
Constructs sentences with mostly accurate grammar, demonstrating varied sentence structures.
Ideas are clear and easy to understand.
Presents the school schedule in a logical and coherent manner.
Demonstrates a confident and effective communication of the school schedule.
My Analysis: This is a good starting point and I might use several of these ideas. Chat GPT’s full bulleted list had a lot of repetition, and I found the entire rubric to be overly general. The rubrics I write myself are more specific and student-friendly. See how to write a better rubric here!
3. Use AI to generate leveled reading assignments for your students.
How many hours do I spend poring over target language resources, looking for excerpts or clips that will work for my instructional purposes? A lot. And often I can’t find exactly what I’m looking for, so I end up either settling for a resource I don’t really like, writing my own, or giving up on the idea.
Enter Chat GPT. Have it write anything you like in the target language. Modify for factors like:
topic
length
proficiency level
verb tense
specific vocabulary or structures
- any other factor you can imagine!
My Prompt: Describe how Moroccan mosaics are made in 6 sentences. Write in present tense. Write at a 5th grade reading level
Chat GPT’s Answer: Moroccan mosaics, also called zellige, are made by skilled artisans. First, they cut colorful ceramic tiles into cool shapes, like squares and stars. Then, the tiles are shaped, glazed, and fired in a hot oven. The artisans put the tiles together carefully, making pretty patterns that look like kaleidoscopes. They use plaster or cement to stick the tiles to walls or floors. This ancient craft is still done today, making beautiful designs in Moroccan buildings. People all over the world love Moroccan mosaics and get inspired to make their own artistic creations.
My Analysis: OK, this is a great first draft! Now I just need to edit it, format it, and add some pictures and voilà! A perfect reading activity for my students. This just saved me hours of work. If at any point I don’t like what Chat GPT gives me, I just tweak my prompt and try again!
(Thanks to the amazing Joshua Cabral for this idea; check out Joshua’s website and podcast for thought-provoking discussion on world language instruction!)
“AI can’t replace my creativity and human intelligence. What it CAN do is give me a solid first draft of technical documents to improve on.”
One caution: Chat GPT will find a way to write something for any prompt you give it. You need to fact check, and the more specialized or controversial your topic, the more important to verify Chat GPT’s information. If it can’t find actual data, it will generate fiction for you!
So, as I play with it I’m coming to agree with my daughter. Chat GPT isn’t going to take away my job; teaching requires judgment, compassion, and creativity that simply can’t be replicated by a machine.
I’m more inclined to agree with this article from the Fordham Institute: “AI won’t replace teachers, but it can make them more effective.”
AI and Chat GPT ARE going to change my job. While there are some new challenges to address, and while AI can be misused, it also has the potential to take some of the most time consuming and laborious aspects of teaching and make them quick and easy. In fact, I’ve found that Chat GPT can generate a LOT of student practice activities; that’s coming in my next blog post.
How has Chat GPT made your life easier? Share in the comments!
