How Metro Vancouver teachers are dealing with ChatGPT in the classroom

Teachers in B.C.'s Lower Mainland say artificial intelligence is posing challenges in the classroom,but it also presents opportunities for learning.

Some say students have submitted assignments written by ChatGPT. Others say the technology presents an opportunity to rethink teaching methods.

"There absolutely are students that come in with work that I look at and go, 'That's not your writing,'" Erin Tarbuck, a high school teacher at David Thompson Secondary in Vancouver, said on The Early Edition's back-to-school series, Beyond the Books: How AI is Disrupting Classrooms in Vancouver.

ChatGPT is an AI language program that can produce text based on user prompts, including writing essays or explaining string theory in the style of Shakespeare.

"When we look at a piece of student writing stylistically and grammatically, there are markers we can look at and go, 'Yeah, you know, you didn't master the semicolon overnight, sweetheart. Good try,'" Tarbuck said.

Simon Worley, a high school teacher at Handsworth Secondary in North Vancouver, says he encounters ChatGPT "all the time."

"There's like a student divide where they talk about [ChatGPT] in their little groups, and the teachers talk about it at lunch in their little groups. I really think there needs to be this bridge," Worley said.

"I actually had a big conversation at one of our staff meetings and I introduced 13 different AI tools for teachers. And so that was really helpful."

One such tool is Perplexity AI, he says, whichfunctions like a search engineby providinganswers to questions that include attributions to sources.

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A UBC professor and two high school teachers from the Lower Mainland talk about the challenges and surprising opportunities presented by AI tools like ChatGPT.

Another is Goblin Tools, which helps simplify tasks by presenting users with step-by-step directions for what they want to do.

It is being used to help individuals with developmental disabilities, according to Keegan Newberry, assistant director of assistive technology at the Developmental Disabilities Association, and can behelpful for neurodivergent people who find certain tasks overwhelming or difficult to understand.

"To have a tool that you can type in 'pack your bag' and it creates a task breakdown instantly for you, is not only amazing for caregivers and support staff but also for the individual who is using this," said Newberry.

It can also help students manage school-related stresses.

"If you write 'I'm really anxious about this test coming up,' when it pulls that out into a to-do list, it will actually give you a step-by-step of breathing exercises you can go through to help manage test anxiety."

Making room for face-to-face interactions

Somesay the growth of generative AI presents an opportunity to reconsider traditional modes of academic assessment, like assigning long-form essays.

Michael Hooper, associate professor of community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia, suggests more in-person interactions where students are asked to explain what they wrote, rather than solely handing it in and waiting for feedback.

"More human interaction, more dialogue between faculty and between students is really the solution I want to use," said Hooper.

"The take-home essay, for example, is a thing we kind of get locked into I think there's a lot of instances where it doesn't make sense," he said, adding some students spend a lot of time commuting to class, while others work full-time.

"There's so many reasons to move away from our current modes of assessment that are not even AI-related."

UBC has published guidelinesaround ChatGPT's use among students and faculty. In a statement, the university saidusing ChatGPT and othergenerative AI tools does not automatically equate to academic misconduct for students.

Simon Bates, vice-provost and associate vice-president of teaching and learning at UBC, says there are a "number of challenges" when it comes to formulating policy around generative AI programs.

"I don't think there's any Canadian institution that really has a formal policy in terms of academic governance," said Bates, who is currently on sabbatical. "One [challenge] is the fast pace of change.

"There are issues around how these tools might be regulated ... around access to tools, whether it's free or paid, and the implications that might have for students. And there's the privacy and IP issues as well."

'An issue of interest'

B.C.'s Minister of Education Rachna Singh says ChatGPT is a topic of ongoing discussion within the ministry and beyond.

"Recently when we were meeting with my colleagues from other jurisdictions, we were talking about this issue," Singh said. "So it's an issue of interest."

Singh says the ministry is looking to have further conversations with teachers about how AI tools can be used in education settings.

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For now,Tarbuck says she is spending more time familiarizing herself with students' academic abilities and writing styles.

"The biggest thing is knowing our students and what they're able to do. And a lot of that is just watching what they're doing and beginning on paper," said Tarbuck.

"When kids cheat, they do so because they think they can't do the work. Or they really don't know where to start. And so a lot of it is, 'Let's get you started, let's help you walk up those steps to that learning.'"