How to Talk to Your Students about ChatGPT: A Lesson Plan for High School and College Students

April 7, 2023
bionic hand and human hand finger pointing

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

This article by Ben Edwards in ArtsTechnica (April 6, 2023) is worth a read, “Why ChatGPT and Bing Chat are so good at making things up”.

Edwards explains in clear language, with lots of details and examples, how and why large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT make up content. As I read this article, it occurred to me that it could serve as a really great way to have pro-active and generative conversations with students about the impact of artificial intelligence for teaching, learning, assessment, and academic integrity. So, here is a quick lesson plan about how to use this article in class:

Education level

Secondary school and post-secondary (e.g., community college, polytechnic, undergraduate or graduate university courses)

Lesson Plan Title: Understanding ChatGPT: Benefits and Limitations

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson students will be able to:

  • Understand how and why AI-writing apps make up content.
  • Explain the term “confabulation”.
  • Discuss the implications of fabricated content on academic integrity
  • Generate ideas about how to fact-check AI-generated content to ensure its accuracy

Lesson Preparation

Prior to the class, students should read this article: “Why ChatGPT and Bing Chat are so good at making things up by Ben Edwards, published in ArtsTechnica (April 6, 2023)

Come to class prepared to discuss the article.

Learning Activity

Class discussion (large group format if the class is small or small group format with a large group debrief at the end):

Possible guiding questions:

  • What is your experience with ChatGPT and other AI writing apps?
  • What were the main points in this article? (Alternate phrasing: What were your key takeaways from this article?)
  • What are some of the risks when AI apps engage in confabulation (i.e., fabrication)?
  • Discuss this quotation from the article, “ChatGPT as it is currently designed, is not a reliable source of factual information and cannot be trusted as such.”
  • Fabrication and falsification are commonly included in academic misconduct policies. What do you think the implications are for students and researchers when they write with AI apps?
  • What are some strategies or tips we can use to fact-check text generated by AI apps?
  • What is the importance of prompt-writing when working with AI writing apps?

Duration

The time commitment for the pre-reading will vary from one student to the next. The duration of the learning activity can be adjusted to suit the needs of your class.
  • Students’ pre-reading of the article: 60-minutes or less
  • Learning activity: 45-60 minutes

Lesson closure

Thank students for engaging actively in the discussion and sharing their ideas.

Possible Follow-up Activities

  • Tips for fact-checking. Have students in the class generate their own list of tips to fact-check AI-generated content (e.g., in a shared Google doc or by sharing ideas orally in class that one person inputs into a document on behalf of the class.)
  • Prompt-writing activity. Have students use different prompts to generate content from AI writing apps. Ask them to document each prompt and write down their observations about what worked and what didn’t. Discuss the results as a class.
  • Academic Integrity Policy Treasure Hunt and Discussion. Have students locate the school’s academic misconduct / academic integrity policy. Compare the definitions and categories for academic misconduct in the school’s policies with concepts presented in this article such as confabulation. Have students generate their own ideas about how to uphold the school’s academic integrity policies when using AI apps.

Creative Commons License

This lesson plan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license applies only to the lesson plan, not to the original article by Ben Edwards.

Additional Notes

This is a generic (and imperfect) lesson plan. It can (and probably should) be adapted or personalized depending on the needs of the learners.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Dr. Rahul Kumar, Brock University for providing an open peer review of this lesson plan.

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6 Tenets of Postplagiarism: Writing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

February 25, 2023
An infographic showing the 6 tenets of the post-plagiarism age. There is a circle with six points extending from it. There is an icon of a brain at the centre. These ideas were developed from the book, Plagiarism in Higher Education: Tackling Tough Topics in Academic Integrity (2021) by S. E. Eaton.

In the final chapter of Plagiarism in Higher Education: Tackling Tough Topics in Academic Integrity (2021) I contemplate the future of plagiarism and academic integrity. I introduced the idea of life in a postplagiarism world; thinking about the impact of artificial intelligence on writing. Here, I expand on those ideas. These 6 tenets characterize the post-plagiarism age:

Hybrid Human-AI Writing Will Become Normal

Hybrid writing, co-created by human and artificial intelligence together is becoming prevalent. Soon it will be the norm. Trying to determine where the human ends and where the artificial intelligence begins is pointless and futile.

Human Creativity is Enhanced

Human creativity is enhanced, not threatened by artificial intelligence. Humans can be inspired and inspire others. Humans may even be inspired by artificial intelligence, but our ability to imagine, inspire, and create remains boundless and inexhaustible.

Language Barriers Disappear

One’s first language will begin to matter less and less as tools become available for humans to understand each other in countless languages.

Humans can Relinquish Control, but not Responsibility

Humans can retain control over what they write, but they can also relinquish control to artificial intelligence tools if they choose. Although humans can relinquish control, they do not relinquish responsibility for what is written. Humans can – and must – remain accountable for fact-checking, verification procedures, and truth-telling. Humans are also responsible for how AI-tools are developed.

Attribution Remains Important

It always has been, and always will be, appropriate and desirable to appreciate, admire, and respect our teachers, mentors, and guides. Humans learn in community with one another, even when they are learning alone. Citing, referencing, and attribution remain important skills.

Historical Definitions of Plagiarism No Longer Apply

Historical definitions of plagiarism will not be rewritten because of artificial intelligence; they will be transcended. Policy definitions can – and must – adapt.

Translations of the Six Tenets of Postplagiarism

Since I first shared the Six Tenets of Postplagiarism, the infographic has been translated into French and Spanish. I am very grateful to the translators, who put in time and effort to go through the points in detail. Here are the translated versions:

Les 6 Principes du Postplagiat (French)

This translation was done by Dr. Elaine Beaulieu at the University of Ottawa, Canada.

Colleagues at the Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada), also wrote a web article in French. It is available here: https://collimateur.uqam.ca/collimateur/6-principes-de-lapres-plagiat-a-lere-de-lia/

6 Principios del Posplagio (Spanish)

The Spanish translation was done by Beatriz Moya, PhD candidate at the University of Calgary.

More Resources on PostPlagiarism

Check out my video on this topic on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NxFMMw1QZX0

Check out my article in University World News on this topic: “Artificial intelligence and academic integrity, post-plagiarism”

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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Just published! Ethics and Integrity in Teacher Education (Eaton & Khan, eds.)

January 5, 2023

We are pleased to share that our edited volume, Ethics and Integrity in Teacher Education, has just been published. 

Front cover of the edited volume, Ethics and Integrity in Teacher Education

Here is an overview of the book that Zeenath Reza Khan and I edited, with contributions from authors in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, UAE, Sweden and Mexico.

Book Description

This book addresses issues related to ethics and integrity in teacher training. Authors pay special attention to the role ethics plays in teaching practice and the importance of establishing expectations for students to learn with integrity from a young age. The book celebrates global perspectives on ethics and integrity for pre-service teachers, acknowledging that although some aspects of ethics are universal, the ways in which these are implemented can vary. Contributors present original research, case studies, and recommendations for practice and teaching.

The book draws on a range of theoretical and conceptual foundations including applied ethics, academic integrity, and moral education.

Table of Contents

Additional Details

Publisher: Springer

Book doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16922-9

Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-16921-2 (Published 02 January, 2023)

Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-16924-3

eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-16922-9Published: 01 January 2023

Number of Pages: XIII, 178

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks! Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Sarah’s Thoughts: Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity

December 9, 2022

The release of ChatGPT has everyone abuzz about artificial intelligence. I’ve been getting lots of questions about our research project Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies. We are ready to start data collection in January so I do not yet have results to share. Our team has two preliminary papers under review, but I won’t say much about them until they are published.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some high level thoughts on the topic since many of you have been asking. Even though I am on Research and Scholarship Leave (RSL, a.k.a. sabbatical) this year, I’ve got another big project on the go that is taking up a lot of my time and focus right now, in addition to the research project above. I am serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the the Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.) The first edition of the Handbook was edited by Tracey Bretag who passed away in 2020.

The second edition is well underway and I’ve been working with an amazing team of Section Editors (giving a wave of gratitude to the team: Brenda M. Stoesz, Silvia Rossi, Joseph F. Brown, Guy Curtis, Irene Glendinning, Ceceilia Parnther, Loreta Tauginienė, Zeenath Reza Khan, and Wendy Sutherland-Smith). We have more than 100 chapters in the second edition, including some from the first edition as well as lots of new chapters. (Giving a wave of gratitude to all the contributors! Thank you for your amazing contributions!) It is a massive project and it has been a major focus of my sabbatical.

Suffice to say, I have not had a spare moment to put fingers to keyboard to write in depth about this topic on social media, but I wanted to share a few high level ideas here. I will have to unpack them in a future blog post or maybe an editorial, but for now, let me just say that I think the moral panic over the use of artificial intelligence is not the answer. But so you know where I stand on the issue, here are some thoughts:

I am happy to chat more, but let me just say that if you are afraid of an explosion of cheating in your classes because of ChatGPT or any other new technological advance, you are not alone, but honestly, technology isn’t the problem.

Stay tuned for more…

Related posts:

Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing Technologies 

University of Calgary Graduate Assistant (Research) (GAR) – Job posting “Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity: The Ethics of Teaching and Learning with Algorithmic Writing” https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/university-of-calgary-research-assistant-job-posting-artificial-intelligence-and-academic-integrity-the-ethics-of-teaching-and-learning-with-algorithmic-writing/

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks! Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Forthcoming book: Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education

October 16, 2022
Front cover of the book, Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education, edited by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Jamie Carmichael, and Helen Pethrick. Published 2023 by Springer.

We are pleased to share the news that our edited book, Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education, has been submitted for publication (Eaton, Carmichael, and Pethrick, eds.) to Springer Nature. The book is slated for publication in early 2023.

Book description

This book addresses an important topic in higher education: credential fraud. This includes, but is not limited to, fake degrees, diploma mills, admissions fraud, and cheating on standardized admissions tests. The book directly addresses fake and fraudulent credentials in higher education. It explores transcript tampering and fraud in varsity athletics and discusses lazy practices in the higher education hiring processes that open the door for professors without proper credentials to get jobs in post-secondary institutions. 

The book also discusses how technology is being used to stop the proliferation of fake and fraudulent credentials in a variety of ways, including blockchain technology.

Table of Contents

Here is a sneak preview of the table of contents:

Chapter 1: Fake Degrees and Credential Fraud, Contract Cheating, and Paper Mills: Overview and Historical Perspectives – Sarah Elaine Eaton & Jamie Carmichael

Chapter 2: Admissions Fraud in Canadian Higher Education – Jamie Carmichael & Sarah Elaine Eaton

Chapter 3: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: A Tour of Axact, the “World’s Largest Diploma Mill” – Allen Ezell

Chapter 4: Bridging Today to Tomorrow: A Historical and Technological Review of Credential Exchange in Higher Education within Canada – Joanne Duklas

Chapter 5: Fair play, Fraud, or Fixed? Athletic Credentials in US Higher Education – Kirsten Hextrum

Chapter 6: Corruption in Admissions, Recruitment, Qualifications and Credentials: from Research into Quality Assurance – Stella-Maris Orim & Irene Glendinning

Chapter 7: Avoiding Favouritism in the Recruitment Practice of Turkish Higher Education Institutions Özgür Çelik & Salim Razı

Chapter 8: None of the Above: Integrity Concerns of Standardized English Proficiency Tests – Soroush Sabbaghan & Ismaeil Fazel

Chapter 9: Examining the Problem of Fraudulent English Test Scores: What Can Canadian Higher Education Institutions Learn? – Angela Clark

Chapter 10: There is no culture? A Framework for Addressing Admissions Fraud – Brendan DeCoster

Chapter 11: Security Risks, Fake Degrees, and Other Fraud: A Topic Modelling Approach – Jamie Carmichael & Sarah Elaine Eaton 

Chapter 12: Are You for Real? Lessons for the Academy About Professors with Fake or Fraudulent Degrees – Sarah Elaine Eaton & Jamie Carmichael

Chapter 13: Fake Degrees and Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials in Higher Education: Conclusions and Future Directions – Jamie Carmichael & Sarah Elaine Eaton

About the editors

Sarah Elaine Eaton

Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada, where she also serves as the inaugural Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity. Eaton’s research focuses on academic ethics in higher education. Her work can be found in the British Educational Research Journal, the Journal of Academic Ethics, the Journal of Educational Thought and Interchange, among other places. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal for Educational Integrity (Springer Nature) and co-founder and co-editor of Canadian Perspectives on Academic Integrity. In 2020 she received the national Research and Scholarship award from the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE) for her contributions to research on academic integrity in Canadian higher education.

Jamie J. Carmichael

Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Jamie Carmichael is the Associate Registrar of Scheduling and Systems at Carleton University. She is responsible for the construction of the university timetable, scheduling and administration of examinations, the operation of two examination centres for students with disabilities, a university-wide space management system, and other core student administrative systems. Since 2009, she has received ten service excellence nominations for her work that ranges from information technology projects, team acknowledgment to innovation.

Carmichael’s research lies at the intersection of academic integrity and machine learning, with graduate education in Applied Science in Technology Information Management (Engineering). She has presented or co-presented at national and international conferences and is often called up on by specialized groups in higher education to present on her work.

Helen Pethrick

University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Helen Pethrick, MA, is a researcher and educator in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Research areas include academic integrity in higher education, post-secondary student mental health and well-being, and peer mentorship in educational settings.

Related posts:

Fake Degrees and Fraudulent Credentials: Research Project Update

Scholarships Without Scruples: 3 Signs of Bogus Scholarships and Scams

Why Universities and Colleges Need Clear Policies to Deal with Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Records and Test Results

Degrees of Deceit: A Webinar

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, and the Educational Leader in Residence, Academic Integrity, University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of the University of Calgary.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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