Why does ChatGPT matter for educators

Since its public release at the end of 2022, ChatGPT – the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI – has experienced rapid growth and widespread adoption. Its role in education, however, remains a topic of contention.

While some view it as a tool to enhance learning and reduce teacher workload, others see it as a threat to integrity which opens the door to cheating and plagiarism.

In this Q&A, two researchers from the Faculty of Education offer a more nuanced perspective on the opportunities, challenges and possibilities of ChatGPT.

Dr Vaughan Connolly is a teacher and researcher with interests in the role of technology in education and teacher workload. Dr Steve Watson is co-convener of the Faculty’s Knowledge, Power and Politics research cluster, and has used social systems theory to explore the meaning and communication of ChatGPT.

Vaughan Connolly: ChatGPT represents a tipping point in the development of AI and we teachers ignore it at our peril. For educators, it’s going to be as transformational as Google was in 1998, and requires a serious conversation about the benefits, challenges and implications for schools and learners. The future will be changed by it indelibly. Educators have to start engaging with it in a meaningful way.

Steve Watson: I’d characterise ChatGPT as a hugely powerful assistive technology. For producing text, throwing around ideas and playing with them, it’s transformative. Historically, most communication innovations have tried to improve the exchange of meaning and avoid misunderstanding. Education is, in many ways, also concerned with this. I’d urge educators to start thinking about what ChatGPT can and cannot do from that perspective.