ChatGPT is an AI tool that presents many novel opportunities for students to raise the standard of their work and utilise tools that will help them with focused academic research from relevant academic sources. IB Diploma Programme’s pedagogy promotes immersive learning that requires the student to engage with the curriculum at diverse levels and through various perspectives and activities. The board does not have a set textbook but is prescribed a syllabus and necessary reading to create a spark of inquiry and guide students through the process of academic research. ChatGPT is a fount of information and provides excellent results that can make learning fun, engaging and contemporary.
Ways in which students can use ChatGPT
Students will inevitably refer to ChatGPT to help them find results faster using effective prompts.
Students are using ChatGPT for -
- Trying different approaches to align their understanding of stated theories with their application.
- Generate ideas for framing questions, designing presentations, and developing project frameworks, or talking points for interactions and feedback.
- Accessing specific knowledge or information to address relevant and recent information. It helps students get rapid answers from relevant sources with a new perspective or query.
- Creating effective timetables, timelines, and defined courses for different activities.
- Crafting assessment objectives and framing relevant queries.
- Creating fresh content for new lessons, topics, projects, and more.
- Finding tools and resources for drafting communication, feedback, reports and other remarks.
Art of ChatGPT Prompting
The relevant skill for the AI-empowered world is asking the right question. A ChatGPT prompt is the way you instruct or give a task to the tool. The clarity with which the prompt is worded will influence the quality of the ChatGPT response. A general; rule of thumb is -
- Give clear and specific instructions such as “ideas for projects in 11th-grade Probability and Functions”, “critical reading on feminism” or “articles on terminal velocity”.
- Keep questions open-ended for comprehensive and varied answers.
- Refine and iterate your queries for better results
You can ask queries for -
- Differentiated instructions
- Lesson planning
- Assessment planning
- Report writing
- Research Assistance
- Communication planning
- Content creation
- Feedback and assessment
Defining elements of ChatGPT Prompt
There are four key defining elements for crafting effective ChatGPT prompts. These can be described as -
- Persona - define queries to indicate the role you want ChatGPT to assume. This will help the AI to generate content that is aligned with the IBDP pedagogical standards. For instance, “Prepare IBDP French HL student panel discussion ideas.”
- Subject & level - Define whether it is Higher Level or Standard Level and the name of the subject. For example, “English A - Language and Literature HL discussion question.”
- Topic and sub-topic - mention the topic and sub-topic for resources, strategies, or insights that are directly applicable to your lesson and resonate with the IBDP’s comprehensive approach. For example, “explore the role of waterbodies in clean energy generation and its economic feasibility.”
- Timeframe - provide a defined timeframe to indicate duration. For instance, “3-minute speech for commencement ceremony.”
Some effective ChatGPT prompts
Some instances and frameworks you can use for effective ChatGPT Prompts -
- Concept clarification - get clarification in simpler terms and with real-life examples for understanding complex concepts. Eg. “I am unable to understand the role of enzymes in biological processes”.
- Find relevant information sources - you cannot replace academic sources for research and information. ChatGPT can simplify the search process by directing you towards widely read and searched resources. E.g.. “Critical commentary on major themes in William Shakespeare's Hamlet character Ophelia.”
- Idea generation - you can find ideas for EE topics, or projects and themes. Eg. “Can you help me with ideas for a topic on electronic cars?”
- For self-study - find useful sources for learning a new concept, and understanding assessments or questions. For instance, “What are the model answers for the process of cell division in Biology in IBDP assessments?”
- For finding new approaches and verification - For example, “ideas and perspectives for designing a presentation on the impact of space research on the Indian economy.”
ChatGPT is a tool that can give answers to very specific problems, but it must be used judiciously to supplement traditional learning approaches. To gain mastery of a subject and learn and understand it you must apply yourself to performing the tasks such as writing the paper, answering the questions in your own words and logically organising the project or presentation.