Chatbots, such as ChatGPT, are an example of a Large Language Model (LLM) that can answer questions and generate text so that the end result resembles something produced by a human. The arrival of chatbots has encouraged us to reflect on how we and our students work with text within an academic context.
We are educating students for a labour market increasingly characterised by technology that uses AI. By being at the forefront of chatbots and teaching our students how to use them, we can prepare our students for their future on the labour market.
Of course, like all technology, chatbots have their limitations and there are several ethical aspects we need to consider when using them. That’s why it’s essential that we learn to use them with integrity – which is also something we can teach our students.
Chatbots can be used as a valuable resource to generate ideas, creative inputs and text. As such, they also have the potential to support members of teaching staff and students in their academic work, provided we appraoch them consciously, reflectively and critically.
Here are some examples of what chatbots can be used for at university and some things to consider when using them.
Your students need to know how they may and may not use chatbots. Have a discussion with your students about the limitations of chatbots and the ethical implications of using them. It’s important that students develop a better understanding of how they can use chatbots in a responsible way. It could be relevant to discuss:
How to use chatbots responsibly | How to use chatbots responsibly within the framework of the course/subject and in a way that does not constitute cheating. This also relates to the general advice and guidelines on academic standards – which students can read more about on AU Studypedia. |
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Plagiarism and cheating | Students should be aware of AU’s rules on plagiarism and ensure that they provide correct references when taking text from other sources, including chatbots. |
Chatbots and reliability | Students should be aware that they cannot trust all the information they get from chatbots. Chatbots such as ChatGPT are often based on text from the internet, which is not always correct. It is therefore important that students check the reliability of the information elsewhere. |
How to reference chatbots | Students should know how to reference their chosen chatbot if they decide to refer to it, quote from it or include information from it in their assignment. If they use ChatGPT, they can reference it as follows: “OpenAI. (2021). ChatGPT. Retrieved from openai.com/blog/chatgpt/". |
The limitations of chatbots | Students should be aware that chatbots are a tool and not a replacement for their own critical thinking and writing. They are always required to exercise their own assessment and expertise when using chatbots. |
How the students use chatbots | Ask students how they use chatbots so that you can learn more about their practices. Perhaps you can find an interesting way to integrate this into your teaching. |
Materials for students | Students can find more information and inspiration on how to use chatbots in connection with their degree programme on AU Studypedia. |
You can use chatbots either as a resource to improve the students’ academic and study competencies or as a current topic that you examine from an academic perspective. There are many ways to do this.
Here are a few suggestions:
Chatbots as a current topic |
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Chatbots as a resource |
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Try out chatbots like ChatGPT for yourself and experiment with ways to use them within your academic field. It’s a good idea to get to know the technology so that you can teach the students about it and be a good role model for how chatbots can be used within your subject. Here are just a few examples of how you can work with chatbots:
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Chatbots can be a valuable resource for students’ academic work. Of course, students should not use chatbots to produce their text, but, if they use chatbots wisely and responsibly, they can help improve students’ understanding of academic content and assist them with the writing process. Students can use chatbots like ChatGPT to:
Get feedback on their own text | Students can give the chatbot a text excerpt, such as a report or an analysis, and ask the chatbot to give feedback on the grammar, coherence and clarity in the text. |
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Suggest alternative formulations | Students can ask the chatbot to suggest ways to vary the title of a text or to change the angle of a research question or hypothesis. |
Get started on their writing | The chatbot can help students get started on their writing by giving them initial suggestions for sentences or paragraphs, which the students can then work on. This can be helpful for students who often experience writer’s block. |
Understand a topic better | A chatbot can be a good tool for students to get a quick overview of a complicated topic, theory or concept before they investigate it in more detail and depth. |
Assist with the reading process | Students can use chatbots to get a basic understanding of a primary text, especially if the text is complicated. This could make it easier for students to relate to the text and to know what they should take from it and how they should approach it. Students can learn more about reading strategies on AU Studypedia. |
As a starting point, it is not allowed to use ChatGPT and similar LLMs in connection with exams, unless it is explicitly stated in the course description. If ChatGPT and LLMs are allowed for an exam, it is important that the students are aware that this is a source.
If it is allowed to use ChatGPT and other LLMs for exams, students should be aware that the same requirements for the use of quotations and source references apply as for all other sources. Otherwise it will be considered plagiarism. Students can read more about AU's rules for exams as well as the use of chatbots on AU Studypedia.
In order to reduce the risk that students use chatbots to cheat, consider the following approaches:
Approaches | |
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Try chatbots for yourself | Get to know chatbots for yourself so that you understand what they can and cannot do. |
Inform the students | Inform the students about the responsible use of chatbots and about AU’s rules on plagiarism. Read more in the section “Teaching students about chatbots”. |
Reference chatbots correctly | Reference chatbots correctly when they are referred to or quoted. For example, you can reference ChatGPT in the following way: “OpenAI. (2021). ChatGPT. Retrieved from https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/". |
Reformulate exam questions | Ask the chatbot to answer a previous exam question. If it produces an academically correct answer, try reformulating the question so that you start to see which questions the chatbot can and cannot answer satisfactorily. |
Use other modalities | Use other modalities such as images and videos. This makes it more difficult for the student to use chatbots, which rely on text input. |
Ask questions of a higher taxonomic level | Chatbots do better when answering questions of a low taxonomic level. Consider asking exam questions of a higher taxonomic level. The chatbot’s answer to these questions will often be weaker and lack the required context and academic insight. |
Ask students ot attach appendices to their assignments | If students choose to use their conversations with chatbots as part of their assignment, consider asking students to attach these conversations as appendices. This can help to clarify how the student has used the chatbot. |
Like any other technology, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using chatbots. It is important to be aware of the limitations of chatbots and to adapt the way you use them accordingly. Here are some examples of the advantages and disadvantages of chatbots.
Advantages | Disadvantages |
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