Complaints from universities about student use of ChatGPT are crocodile tears
Universities should not be surprised that students use ChatGPT, write Leiden University lecturers Femke Klaver and Alexander de Wit in Dutch newspaper ‘Trouw’. After all, students respond to efficiency and effectiveness. Their suggestion? Teach students critical thinking skills.
Since the emergence of ChatGPT, universities have been concerned about how it is used by students. Lecturers Femke Klaver and Alexander de Wit report that they read essays and other contributions by students where ChatGPT has clearly been used. These often fail the academic test, for example because sources have been mixed up.
But universities have their own stake in the use of artificial intelligence, write Klaver and de Wit, due to the interplay between government regulation and their own policies. ‘They need to realise that the current university climate encourages students to choose the easy option,’ they add.
Moreover, artificial intelligence has become indispensable in the business world. It would therefore be smarter to focus on effective use of ChatGPT in combination with independent, critical thinking. Lecturers therefore argue that universities could do a better job of demonstrating their right to exist. That would involve training students to think properly so that they leave the institution as thoughtful, critical individuals.
‘The current university climate puts students in a dilemma: they need to graduate quickly but they’re not allowed to use the AI resources that are available. The alternative is clear: the university must once again stand firm for its traditional mission statement and explain it to students.’
For more information, read the full op-ed in Trouw
Photo: Tim Gouw through Unsplash