Raising the Floor
Using AI to help students do better work: Data visualization Edition.
Since the wide release of ChatGPT, there has been extensive discussion about what Artificial Intelligence means for education. I’ve had a lot to say on the topic, and I don’t imagine I’m going to stop any time soon. My perspective is informed by my life as a science teacher. Science is a unique domain for this type of thinking for several reasons. We have a long and established tradition of disclosure around the use of methodologies that are not our own. We also disclose knowledge that we did not gather by ourselves. There is an expectation that the work that scientists do is built on work that originated in other places. From that standpoint, it has been relatively straightforward to incorporate the use of AI into these practicesas far as student use expectations are concerned. We’re also not in the business of teaching the kinds of fundamentals that might lead us to gnash our teeth over the sorts of bootstrapping that AI allows for. I’m glad that I do not, generally, need to care how my students went about writing their work, as long as they are following our expectations around disclosure.
This is not meant to throw shade on my colleagues who teach subjects where this is a much more pressing concern (e.g. writing). I don’t envy them in this current moment, nor would I…
