Prior to watching “Most Likely to Succeed” (2015), I believed the current BC curriculum, post-redesign in 2015, was quite effective. However, I didn’t realize how much freedom a teacher could be truly given and the impact on student learning that that could have. I loved thee use of the phrase “teacher as designer” to illustrate this newfound autonomy and open creativity. However, both parents and students in the documentary presented valid concerns regarding potentially limited opportunities for higher education without standard classes offered at High Tech High. Oftentimes, there’s pressure from the school administration or society to meet certain standards and deliver certain results, which makes it difficult to prioritize experimentation with new teaching methods. This highlights how closely each stage of education is connected, which is ultimately controlled by colleges and universities. In reality, drastic changes to the education system must begin at the university level and filter down to high schools and elementary schools if students hope to further their education.
I’m quite new to ChatGPT at the moment and found today’s class fascinating. I had heard of ChatGPT briefly in the news, but I did not realize how mind-blowing it was until today’s class. Through some experimentation, we discovered ChatGPT not only writes responses and essays but can also write cohesive lesson plans using teacher language, write recipes for a given meal, write a movie script, and write code or responses in other languages. The possibilities are endless! However, it worries me if used in classes improperly or in excess. I feel it is critical for students to learn how to write cohesive pieces as it contributes to language and vocabulary development, verbal skills, reading level growth, etc. Students often ask: why is it important? When are we ever going to have to write an essay in real life? If ChatGPT is introduced too early, high school students might lack these foundational skills, mentioned above, which correlate directly with writing skills. This reminds me of how clocks are used nowadays. If I asked any child below the age of 12 to tell me the time using a clock on the wall, they will likely hesitate when attempting to read the hands. They’re so accustomed to reading digital clocks on phones, computers or digital watches that reading wall clocks is no longer second nature. Analog clocks are slowly becoming obsolete, in the same way that writing skills could be impacted by ChatGPT.
