Berlin More recently, high school students in Hamburg allegedly used ChatGPT to cheat on their high school graduation – the case is still under investigation. The quality of text written by AI is indistinguishable from text written by humans. For students, there is a strong temptation to use it to write presentations and term papers.
However, German education ministers in charge of schools are taking the AI revolution in stride. In March, an expert explained to them what they could do with the technology in the classroom. The result so far has been nothing more than the establishment of a working group.
Elsewhere, education politicians have long recognized the signs of the times. For example, Singapore’s Education Minister Chan Chun Sing announced in Parliament in early February that such programs will become more popular, so schools and universities should also be able to use AI programs like ChatGPT to improve learning outcomes. His house has provided educators with “instructions and resources” for this purpose.
In answering key questions from lawmakers, Chen also pledged that educators will teach students not to rely too heavily on technology tools. It’s like a pocket calculator: It doesn’t ensure that students don’t learn basic arithmetic, he assured lawmakers.
The Khan Academy’s private, free learning portal in the US has already demonstrated how revolutionary AI can aid learning: “AI can provide every student with a personal tutor and every teacher with a personal assistant,” says founder Salman Khan In a recent talk with Khan Academy. Titled “How artificial intelligence can save (not destroy) learning,” it has been downloaded nearly 2 million times.
ChatGPT at school: Not a solution, but a hint
The example of his ChatGPT-based “Khanmigo” program is stunning: the AI assistant doesn’t just show students when a calculation is wrong – he also guesses and asks how they arrived at it. In this way, he can clear up misunderstandings—something hitherto only a good personal tutor can do.
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald asked a student to write an essay about The Great Gatsby. Despite second-hand literature, she still doesn’t understand the legendary billionaire’s odd behavior — until she asks him herself.
Khan Academy’s private, free learning portal has demonstrated how revolutionary artificial intelligence can help with learning.
(Photo: The Los Angeles Commitment via Getty Images)
Hammigo took on the role of Gatsby and explained why he often stared at the green light on the other side of the water. “It was all so real that she ended up thanking Gatsby for giving her time,” Khan laughs. So you can talk to any real or fictional character.
Khan explained that it does not lead to education and language impoverishment because it does not provide any solutions but only hints. This way, he can involve even shy students in intensive conversations.
>> Also read: How to recognize text written by AI or not
Khanmigo also helps with programming and points out errors to users. “This is especially important because there are so few IT teachers,” said its inventor.
Most importantly, AI can ensure that every average student becomes excellent, and every below-average student becomes above-average.
AI as a tutor for every student
AI will finally solve a problem that learning psychologist Benjamin Blom posed in the 1980s: In his study, more than 90 percent of students achieved their learning goals in individual lessons—compared to , only 20% achieved learning objectives in group lessons. So far, the cost of individual lessons hasn’t been high enough — now, thanks to artificial intelligence, “every student has their own tutor”.
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Of course, there is also debate in the US about cheating in the classroom and the risks of programs like ChatGPT. But the example of Khan Academy shows just how much AI’s enormous potential for learning is impacting the scene there. German experts also praised the U.S. Department of Education’s proposals from May as very positive, explaining in detail the possibilities and opportunities of artificial intelligence in the classroom.
>> Read here: How artificial intelligence should save the country
Doris Weßels, a Kiel artificial intelligence expert and advisor to the Minister of Education, also mentioned the example of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, which on January 19 established clear regulations on the use of AI language models: Use is generally permitted there – even if the work is not entirely written in it. However, they can help improve your own text or find initial ideas on topics.
This means a rethink for teachers: Not only should they educate students fully about the new possibilities, but they should also design their courses and tests in such a way that they cannot simply be helped to get good grades. a language model. “Irrespective of the material, it is impossible to answer tasks using only language models”.
“Turning Lessons Inward”
The advice to lecturers is to do this “by closely linking the tasks to the study material or to lesser-known cases”. They should also test them by “feeding the task into a language model and checking whether it provides acceptable answers”.
>> Read here: When chatbots do their homework
Weßels is something of a German AI teaching pioneer. She looks into the distant future. For her, the central question is: “What skills will our students need in 10 to 15 years?” She recently preached at the Re:publica digital conference in Berlin that teachers urgently need to discuss this with them.
Geländeejda Kasneci, a Munich-based computer scientist who specializes in human-machine interaction, also called for a “complete overhaul” of the curriculum. The current teaching is “too fragmented”. In the future, with the support of artificial intelligence, “holistic” teaching will be easier.
Not only can the AI assistant show students when a calculation is wrong, but it can also guess and ask them how they arrived at that result.
(Photo: imago images/Jochen Tack)
For example, approach an 18th-century poem in relation to the politics, economics, and culture of the time. For this to happen, however, the education minister must ensure that all teachers have a basic knowledge of AI, demanded Kasnage, who also co-leads the AI working group at the Technical University of Munich.
>> Read also: Adviser to Education Minister calls for greater digitization of teaching
Kasneci co-developed AI Tutor Peer (thesis assessment and empowerment resource). He uses a large language model to support learners writing German essays.
AI can even read handwritten texts, analyze them and suggest improvements—depending on age and type of text, such as fairy tales or news. Best of all, Peer provides tireless personal support and can be used as a template for feedback by teachers themselves. Individual help to students also greatly reduces the burden on teachers.
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