Page 46 - 2023-Jour_90-1

Requests for additional examples enriched handout development. A creative
writing major was designing a lesson to inspire student poetry based on emotions.
He had prepared a list of several common emotions, such as fear, jealousy, happiness,
love, and so forth. A prompt asking for a list of 30 vocabulary terms for emotions
aided his ability to complete his handout.
Class members recognized that they needed feedback to perfect their ideas and
used ChatGPT for suggestions. To provide quick assessments, several methods-
course students created prompts to list potential discussion and exit-ticket questions.
Others used ChatGPT to produce multiple-choice questions based on the nonfiction
articles that would be assigned. In all cases, the material generated was reviewed for
accuracy and connection to the lesson objectives.
Besides lesson planning, the class found ChatGPT to be useful for formula-style
writing. During a 20-minute challenge to produce drafts of everyday writing needed
by teachers in their field, a music major was delighted to see that ChatGPT could
quickly draft a letter to parents/caregivers about the value of signing up for middle
school band class, a permission slip for a band field trip, and an email about an
upcoming practice and concert schedule.

Assessment of ChatGPT’s Weaknesses
Practice with the site revealed some weaknesses in ChatGPT responses. A social
studies major was planning a lesson requiring teams of 2–3 students to research
and create a slide presentation about soldiers who received the Medal of Honor.
Although ChatGPT generated a diverse and accurate listing of the names of 20
recipients, his follow-up request for website links to biographies produced a list
that was entirely fake. The lesson developer remedied that by locating appropriate
websites to complete the Google Classroom assignment posting.
OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT software, acknowledges the potential for
errors and encourages users to point out inaccuracies so responses can be reviewed
and improved. The opening page for each chat request cautions users to remember
that ChatGPT may generate incomplete or incorrect data and may produce harmful
or biased content. The class agreed that is will be important for teachers to recognize
the need for critical reading of the material produced by AI and to point out examples
of AI weaknesses to the students they teach.

Conclusion
As educators, our role remains significant in making effective use of this
emerging technology. We know our students, and we have the skills needed to assess
ideas from multiple sources to shape educational experiences that will engage our
students. AI resources such as ChatGPT can serve as one more valuable tool to
enhance our lesson-development process.

References
Finley, T. (2023, March 13). 6 ways to use ChatGPT to save time. https://www.edutopia.org/article
/6-ways-chatgpt-save-teachers-time

OpenAI. (n.d.). Chat with GPT-3. https://chat.openai.com

User Generated Education. (2023, January 1). A teacher’s prompt guide to ChatGPT aligned with
what works best [PDF]. https://usergeneratededucation.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/a
-teachers-prompt-guide-to-chatgpt-aligned-with-what-works-best.pdf

44 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators