Chat-GPT3, Should We Rethink About What is Education and Learning?
Nachamma Sockalingam, Efounding Program Director Of Learning Sciences Lab, Learning Sciences, Office Of Digital Learning, Singapore University Of Technology And Design
Nachamma Sockalingam, Efounding Program Director Of Learning Sciences Lab, Learning Sciences, Office Of Digital Learning, Singapore University Of Technology And Design
The COVID-19 pandemic changed how we lived and worked worldwide in the years 2020–2022. It pushed education to be online or blended. We are just starting to adopt a new norm of post-covid education and discussing hybrid learning. And we have another formidable game changer and disruptor: ChatGPT-3, which was announced in November 2022.
ChatGPT-3 and such engines may change the way we seek and work with information as learners and educators. Before ChatGPT-3, there was Google and Wikipedia, to name a few. Google has been a popular search engine for information. Wikipedia is a crowdsourced pool of information. Both tools have transformed how we learn, making it easy for students to source information, write essays, etc. ChatGPT-3, the new kid on the block, breaks all rules and goes one step further in generating answers for students. It uses human-like texts in accepting queries and in responding. It generates text responses that provide not just facts and information but also logical stringing and structuring of the information so that that response looks like it was written by a person. The response may be incorrect or inaccurate at times, but it looks like it was written by a human, and humans make mistakes. It is obvious that ChatGPT-3 is going to be a favorite with learners for producing answers or getting inspiration or guidance.
This has serious implications for education. Educational assessments have typically been text-based essays, short-answer questions, multiple choice questions, project drafts, and presentations. Depending on the type of assignment or assessment, we could now get the work done completely through ChatGPT-3 or at least with the assistance of ChatGPT-3. How could we, as teachers or examiners, then determine if we were evaluating the student or ChatGPT-3? What are the implications for assessments and evaluation?
Even though faculty members and universities are of two minds about ChatGPT-3 the practical fact is that it is here to stay. Although one of the stated disadvantages is that ChatGPT-3 is limited in its responses, one cannot overlook the advantage of quick and relevant responses. These responses are likely to improve through machine learning.
This makes us ponder, “What is learning?”
Is learning the same as knowing facts or being able to construct knowledge in a social context? In the early days of the behaviorist theory of learning, learning was seen as knowing the right information.
This eventually evolved to the understanding that learning is more than just knowing information but being able to construct models of understanding, as explained by the theory of cognitive learning. Then came the theory of social constructivist learning, which says that we learn from our peers and others.
Learning is also seen as holistic and inclusive of knowledge, skills, and attitudinal values. What seems to differentiate human learning from machine learning are the emotions and social connections between people.
ChatGPT-3 could possibly help self-directed learning, especially in terms of building cognitive knowledge structures, and can be seen as social constructivist learning since the answers are from the “social” databases of knowledge. Although it can address the cognitive aspects of learning, it cannot possibly replace the human element of social connection, working as a team etc.
Learning Is Also Seen As Holistic And Inclusive Of Knowledge, Skills, And Attitudinal Values. What Seems To Differentiate Human Learning From Machine Learning Are The Emotions And Social Connections Between People
Moving forward, one strategy is for us to use ChatGPT-3 to support deep foundations through self-directed learning and complement that with team-based, group learning for social constructivist learning to foster future learning skills.
All said, ChatGPT-3 is a tool and has its advantages and disadvantages. As with all tools, it is about how we use them.
Perhaps we need to move beyond just looking at the tool. Here and now is a great opportunity for us to redefine and revolutionize education. We need to move beyond what we are learning (curriculum) and how we are learning (pedagogy, use of technology) to think about why we are learning.
What is the purpose of education and learning? Is it only for self-interest and economic reasons to get employment? This is probably the perspective of an individual. But how about society at large?
How has the world improved over time with the advent of all these new curricula, teaching methods, technology tools, rankings, and cutting-edge research? How have we contributed to Mother Earth and nature, for instance, in terms of the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals? I assume that our survival as a human species is an important end goal for us. If there is no nature, there is no human life.
So perhaps it is useful to think about the bigger picture from time to time. I urge all educators and higher educational institutions to think about “how we can leverage the innovation of ChatGPT-3 and such technology tools to contribute to reimagining and revolutionizing quality education in terms of not just immediate goals such as increasing student numbers and bringing in revenue, or even improving teaching and learning, but thinking beyond to bigger goals of how we can contribute to returning to nature and such visionary goals as the United Nations’ 17 sustainable goals. Innovators of ChatGPT-3 and other technologies, such as search engines, could also think about encapsulating these broader goals in their neural network logic, if that is possible.
The success of technological and pedagogical innovations would be reflected in how we have made this place a better place to live as a society and as a planet. So let us think beyond the tools and methods to re-evaluate what the purpose of education and learning is.
We are at an exciting time and place to revolutionize education as a society.
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